No matter what niche the business is in, it’s important to learn as much as possible about a franchise before committing to it. We can thank websites like Franchise Genius for making it easy to access that information.
A potential franchisee can depend on Franchise Genius to offer a list of franchises in a variety of areas. Through their franchise selection system they are able to pair up a potential franchisee with a list of franchises that meets their specific criteria. Once they are able to find the franchise choice they like most, each franchise has a page of basic information covering everything from training offered to the estimated cost of getting started.
What most people do not realize is how much time and effort goes into making a franchise resource of this size. Angus Hill, the President of Franchise Genius, was kind enough to answer my questions about his website and share with us a little bit about what he has learned as the site has grown.
What is Franchise Genius and what are some of the features your website has to offer?
FranchiseGenius.com is the most comprehensive online resource for prospective franchisees to identify, compare, and research a wide variety of franchise opportunities in a single location. FranchiseGenius.com has the largest online summary of franchises, with over 1,800 concepts covering 200+ industries in all geographic areas. In addition, FranchiseGenius.com also provides a rich set of objective selection & evaluation tools, to help prospective franchisees make an intelligent and educated choice. All of FranchiseGenius.com’s offerings and tools are completely free for franchisees. Franchise Genius’s goal is to provide an effective system to successfully connect franchisees and franchisors.
When someone looks up information about a franchise opportunity on your website, what kind of information will they be able to find on it?
At FranchiseGenius.com, visitors will find a one page summary for each concept plus key data such as number of years in business, number of units in operation, investment requirements, and geographic areas available. In addition, prospective franchisee can easily compare similar franchises side by side.
What are some of the most commonly searched franchises in your directory?
There are franchises available in almost every industry imaginable, and we see prospective franchisees visit a wide variety of the 1,800 franchise opportunities listed on FranchiseGenius.com. However, low-cost franchises are particularly popular because the lower priced entry point is accessible to more people.
What aspect within a franchise opportunity do you find people are most attracted to?
The attraction of franchising is the fact that the new business owner is getting a “play book” describing how to start and run the business, ongoing support from the franchisor, plus brand awareness and reputation that may have been built up over many years. This can be a tremendous benefit compared to starting a business from scratch, but of course you must pay franchise fees and royalties for this advantage.
How long has Franchise Genius been online? What was the inspiration behind the launch?
FranchiseGenius.com has been online since December 2007, following 2 years of system development. FranchiseGenius.com was created to help prospective franchisees ask the right questions and make the right choices. Our goal is to provide the knowledge and tools that empower prospective franchisees to make a wise and successful franchise purchase choice…and avoid making uninformed business and investment decisions.
Were there any problems that came up during the launch or growth of Franchise Genius? What lessons were you able to take from those experiences? How has it helped improve the website in the long run?
The site cost more and took longer to build than expected, but it always does! We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars developing FranchiseGenius.com’s proprietary systems and creating the content that provides unique value to the site’s users. The end result of this effort is that FranchiseGenius.com is the most robust resource for prospective franchisees to identify and intelligently evaluate their perfect franchise…and it’s free online 24/7/365.
How might an unlisted franchise go about getting listed within the website? Are there any fees included in doing so?
From www.FranchiseGenius.com, a franchisor can click on “Advertise” to inquire about listing on the site or they can call us directly. There are a variety of powerful & effective advertising and lead generation programs available for all types of franchises.
What separates Franchise Genius from so many other franchise directory based sites available on the web?
For prospective franchisees, FranchiseGenius.com provides the largest and most comprehensive listing of franchise opportunities in a single location and the site is completely free. In addition, FranchiseGenius.com provides free, powerful, and objective franchise selection, research, and comparison resources.
For franchisors, Franchise Genius provides a channel to reach serious, educated prospective franchise buyers. In addition, we provide a set of lead management and qualification tools for franchisors that are unique in the marketplace.
Are there any intentions to create future start-ups based on the website or expand into any other areas?
FranchiseGenius.com has a number of new and related concepts in the works.
What would you advise a potential franchisee to do before they take on any franchising opportunities? Is there anything they should do before committing to a company?
Explore many opportunities before narrowing down your list and then carefully research the industry and the particular companies you’re considering. Don’t be afraid to ask the franchisor tough questions…your money and your future is on the line. A quality franchisor wants an educated, hardworking franchisee as a long-term partner, so let the franchisor get an honest, complete assessment of you to see if you’ll fit in successfully with their system. Finally, before committing, always hire an attorney and accountant with franchise experience to review the franchisors numbers and legal work.
cassy on September 22nd, 2008 at 9:39 pm
If you are going to franchise any product see to it that you have research it and learn some of it. It is good to ask some advice to those who were experts before committing.