Episode 33 Franchising in America The single most successful marketing concept ever!

Our quote today was from the late Tony Hsieh whose book Delivering Happiness I highly recommend.

The simple definition of a franchise is the right, or license granted by a company (franchisor) to an individual (franchisee) to market or sell products and services, in a specified manor, in a specific area or territory, often using the company’s logos, trademarks, and brand names. The history of the franchise. The word “franchise” is derived from the Anglo-French word meaning “liberty” or “signifying free”. The English term “enfranchise” is defined as empowering those who have no rights. The term “Royal Tithes” is the predecessor of royalties and originated as the practice of certain English men (referred to as “freemen”) receiving a percentage of the land fees paid by serfs to nobility. The explosion of franchising in the US. By 1960, more than 900 companies had franchise operations involving an estimated 200,000 franchised outlets. Between 1964 and 1969, fueled by an expanding economy, an estimated 100,000 new franchise businesses sprang up.

Everyone knows about McDonalds, but KFC is my favorite story. . In the Great Depression of the 1930’s, Harland Sanders operated a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky, feeding weary travelers a unique fried chicken that earned Sanders accolades from the governor of Kentucky. By 1960, there were 200 KFC franchised outlets, by 1963, 600 outlets, and by the end of the decade, approximately 1,000.

Today’s franchises are highly regulated you must be very careful when signing a franchise agreement. Experts say that a majority of all startups (75% to 85%) are bootstrapped. Tags: Becoming a franchise, Franchises, Franchise Start-up, Business Brokers, Buying a franchise, Transworld Business Advisors