The Franchisers and the Franchisees. A special partnerhsip of trust.

Meet the world's expert on franchising

Washington, DC:  Meet Don DeBolt, the past president of the International Franchise Association (IFA).  The IFA is the world's oldest association representing the franchising community and represents franchisors,  franchisees and suppliers; it is a unified voice to speak on behalf of franchising whenever there's a regulatory or a legislative issue. 

A key part of franchising is networking.  As franchisors provide forums for their franchises to network, the IFA provides a forum for everyone associated with  franchising to learn from each other.  They learn how to operate a business better.

Don DeBolt says, "When you are a franchisee, you are in business for yourself, but not by yourself."

First, the franchiser provides a peer group of franchisees to help each along the path. All of the obstacles that any small business faces are still going to be faced by the franchisee, but they're going to have a lot of support and help. When you acquire a franchise, you acquire a recognized trademark or brand name, a proved operating system that's perfected year after year. And, of course, the marketing and advertising support that makes that brand more recognized in the marketplace. But most important, continued training and support by the franchisor and the other franchisees in the system.

Don Debolt says, "There are over 500,000 franchisees in this country today who figured out it was better to open up under a brand name that was recognized in the marketplace than Joe's Hamburger Stand."

"There's a varying number, from 2,000 to 3,000 franchise concepts out there that you can select from. We know there are at least 2,000 very serious concepts that are major players in the franchise field today. So you have a lot of choice, and most importantly, 70--70 different industries."  More...

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