A new how-to guide to social franchising has been launched by the Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC). ‘The Social Franchising Manual’ is primarily for franchisors who want to replicate their business model, but it offers a general introduction for anyone interested in the subject.
The manual outlines the ten steps to social franchising and provides social enterprises with practical tools to make it easier for them to assess whether, when and how to replicate. These include a simple readiness tool, a template franchise agreement and advice on how to set franchise fees.
The new resource was developed in response to research carried out by SEC, which identified a number of obstacles that stop some social enterprises from branching out. One of the key findings published in the ‘Growing social enterprise: research into social replication’ was that the process of launching a franchise needs to be better understood.
The manual features six case studies describing the experiences and journeys of real-life social franchises. The different stories follow people with various degrees of experience and highlight when social franchises have and have not been successful in their attempt to replicate.
Peter Holbrook, CEO of the Social Enterprise Coalition, the UK’s national body for social enterprise, said:
“Franchising is a hot topic for social enterprise at the moment. It represents an exciting opportunity to grow your business. By taking what works and replicating it elsewhere, successful social enterprises can branch out and increase their social impact even further. It’s not for everyone and it’s not always easy, but this manual will equip social enterprises with the knowledge to help them decide if franchising could work for them.”
The manual is available to download for free from the Social Enterprise Coalition website – www.socialenterprise.org.uk. More support on social franchising will follow from SEC later in the year.