Business plans are essential when it comes to planning out your perfect fast food franchise. From your future growth projections to financial planning and everything in between, building a good business plan is top of the to-do list for every aspiring franchise. But how exactly do you build a great business plan for your fast food franchise?
If you’ve already decided that you’re ready to make a career change with a fast food franchise, it’s time to start planning your next steps. At the heart of every franchise is a successful and accurate business plan setting out all the details of your franchise business. But where every successful fast food franchise already has one, many new franchises haven’t yet got a plan set in stone.
There are a number of key tips you need to know when it comes to putting together a cutting edge business plan, so if you’re looking for a few pointers, this is the article for you.
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How to build a business plan for a successful fast food franchise
Once you’ve started the process of finding the right franchise for you, you then need to start working on your business plan. With the help of your franchisor, you’ll need to put together this important document that will help you run your own franchise and gain third-party funding if you need it.
To start things off, put together some comprehensive research and go the extra mile to understand the industry you’ll be working in. Which are the best fast food franchises currently operating, and what kinds of services do they offer? Could you do things differently or better? How? On the basis of this important research, you’ll then be able to start assembling the various pieces of your business plan.
1. Ride the wave
While the fast food industry might not always sound like the most high-tech sector around, there are a number of tech trends innovating the fast food sector. Whether it’s sustainable packaging, food delivery apps or QR codes, it’s essential you highlight how - if at all - your franchise is going to stand out from the competition in technological terms.
While having a killer business plan puts you well on the way to running an exciting fast food franchise, it’s important to think about what kinds of technology will help you stand out.
Technology and innovation are what have helped, even saved, restaurants as they transform how they operate to not just survive, but thrive, in this new connected and contactless era. From online ordering, self-checkouts and touchless payments to delivery and pick-up, the F&B industry can no longer afford to ignore the trends that are helping businesses reinvent themselves to remain relevant and competitive.
- Hospitality Insights
2. Be clear on your finances
Starting a franchise has lots of benefits: from job security to secure income to having dedicated training and support at every turn, there’s lots to look forward to. But it doesn’t all come for free, so it’s time to start thinking about how you intend to finance your franchise. Where the average cost of starting a franchise business in the UK is around £42,200, there are fast food franchises with levels above and below this threshold. So as ever, planning is key.
If you’re already able to go straight ahead and pay many of the costs up front, you’re at liberty to do so. But for the many franchisees who seek third-party financial support, be transparent about what kind of payment structure you will be pursuing, who is lending you the money and how repayments may affect your own revenues.
3. Location, location, location
And who says you even need a fixed premises? Some franchises like Camile Thai operate on a delivery-only basis meaning you might not even need to find a fixed location for your franchise. If you do decide your business needs a location, it’s worth offering an indicative location for where you would like to have your business, but if you’d rather operate on a delivery-only basis - and providing your franchisor agrees - detail how you’ll get around this.
Delivery platforms have proven themselves to be essential in the recovery, and even survival, of the fast food and restaurant sectors, which is why so many businesses are flocking to them to get their meals out there.
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4. Your own background and future needs
Not all franchises look for franchisees with a detailed history of work within the fast food sector. Almost all franchises offer training and support packages of various kinds, and you’ll be able to make use of this initial and ongoing training throughout your franchising experience. But it’s worth talking about your own experience if you have any.
And if you don’t have any relevant experience, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for support. Your franchisor is there to help you and your business develop in the right way, so you should always be prepared to have a two-way relationship with your franchisor. Talk about what kind of training and support you think you’ll need once you've opened your doors for business.
Starting building your fast food franchise with a strong business plan
Your business plan will change over time and reflect the various influences that your franchisor and stakeholders have over your business, but with a good plan at your disposal, you’ll have all the information and planning you need to make a success of your business.
If you think your skills are better used in another sector however, have a look at the UK franchise directory for a full list of franchising opportunities.
Elliott Fudge, Point Franchise ©
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