Franchise Talk

The Art of the Successful Franchise

April 30th, 2007 | Author: Jack

Twenty-four years ago, Mary Rogers, a young wife and mother, co-founded a small business in Great Falls to teach children about computers when the new technology was unfamiliar. Its success encouraged her to expand, and in 1987 she took the business a major step forward by franchising it. By the time she sold her interest in 1997, Computertots had 150 franchises in 11 countries.

Now she’s doing it again, this time with children’s art lessons, as many test-oriented school systems are cutting back on non-basics. Her new business, Abrakadoodle, offers art classes for children ages 2 to 12. Three years after launching it as a franchise, Rogers and a new partner boast 70 Abrakadoodle locations around the United States.

One was on view recently at the Falls Church Community Center, where four 3-year-olds were busy telling their Abrakadoodle teacher about the cherry blossom paintings they had just made. Their mothers gushed that the children now had an appreciation for art and loved to show off their work.

Rogers, 57, who was a special-education teacher before starting Computertots, is by all accounts the quintessential successful franchiser. She is completely sold on the idea that this is the way for an entrepreneur with limited capital to expand beyond the start-up stage. “It’s wonderful to have a business you can see replicated in multiple locations,” she said. “You have people truly invested in building their own businesses.”That is the heart of the franchising advantage: The franchiser uses other people’s money to grow his or her business. The franchisees put up the funds to start their individual businesses and pay an ongoing royalty fee, generating a continuous cash flow for the franchiser.

To franchise a business — whether it sells burgers or brain food — owners must make sure their business model can be easily replicated. Can the potential franchisees do exactly what the original store does? Can they sell the same, teach the same or create the same product, even if they might be thousands of miles away from one another?

And is the owner willing to relinquish some control? It means leaving the business’s operation and reputation largely in the hands of others. “They have to be prepared to let a little bit go,” said Matthew Shay, president of the International Franchise Association.

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