When Steve Leggett wanted to expand his first business 20 years ago, the Lumbly, B.C.-based entrepreneur figured he was best off becoming a franchisor.
By franchising, he figured he would maintain full control over his company, which made underground lawn sprinklers, along with the way his product was sold, as well as charge a hefty fee and collect ongoing royalties.
But after two years, he ditched the franchise model and set up the business as a dealer network instead.
That worked better than he expected. He grew his business from 25 franchisees in his first two years of operation to 320 dealerships four years later. Read full post.