Expanding an established business through franchising is anything but a sure bet. However, for the right, properly prepared business, franchising can be a successful and rewarding route.

Let's take a look at what kinds of businesses have the best chance at success as franchises-and why.

Businesses that are easily replicated and run. ServiceMaster, the home- and office-cleaning franchise, quietly became a major success story. One of the major factors that led to its strong showing is the fact that it's an easy business to get into-supplies, equipment, and training are provided-and it's an easy business to run. No allowances have to be made for the tastes or needs of different regions; no elaborate tasks have to be learned.

Yet businesses that are too simple are sometimes too easily copied. A franchisor still needs a system that gives its franchisees distinct advantages.

Businesses with a new idea or twist with broad appeal. There's nothing wrong with being solely a local success, if that's all you aspire to be. But to achieve national prominence, you may find that your concept needs refining or broadening. If your business wouldn't necessarily appeal to audiences outside of your home market, you may find yourself hamstrung when you try to expand.

If you want to have a regional chain, a regional idea is fine. However, if you desire a franchise that is national in scope and penetration, you need an idea and a business system that works as well in New York as it does in New Mexico.

Businesses that are not personality-, site-, or fad-specific. An example of a site-specific business would be a restaurant overlooking a waterfall. This would not be easily duplicated.

More keys to franchiseability. While the following characteristics are not the be-all and end-all of predicting whether a business has the potential for success as a franchise, they can provide a clearer understanding of what it takes to establish a solid and eventually prosperous franchise program. As always, the marketplace will have the final say, and, as we suggest throughout this book, the advice of franchising experts should be sought (see Francorp Consulting).

Size. Is your business large enough to convey an image of success to potential franchisees? It need not be General Motors or Exxon to accomplish this-many smaller operators have made excellent franchisors-but it should compare favorably to others in your field. Franchisees are, in fact, investing in you and your dream, and the bigger and, therefore, more successful your dream looks, the more impressive-and the more reassuring-it will be to them.

Longevity. Has your business been in operation long enough to have reached a solid level of success? Are those day-to-day operational flaws that crop up in any business becoming much fewer and farther between? Can you confidently predict its levels of sales and market share in the immediate and long-term future? Your business must be sufficiently established to demonstrate that it is functionally sound and has a bright future.

Profitability. To be blunt, is your business making money? If not, you're looking in the wrong direction. A franchise program is a way to make an established business grow, not a way to try to put a struggling business in the black. If you aren't making money with your system, how can you expect franchisees to turn a profit?

Teachability. Can other people be taught to run your business in the same way you do, the way that has made it successful? For example, do you or your senior staff have an easy or difficult time training managers and/or general employees? Franchising is, in effect, teaching a business to others over and over, often to those who may have little or no experience in your field. The easier it is to impart your way of doing business to others, the better your chances of success in the long run.

This does not mean that your business cannot be complicated. However, if your business has a more complex concept, you may be better off looking for franchisees with experience in your field.

Marketability. You know that your pizzas or accounting services or sports apparel can be successfully marketed-that's how your business has grown to the level it has. But what you need to know is, can your business system be effectively communicated and sold to others? Potential franchisees will choose your business, only if you can convincingly relate the strengths of your business. That is much more challenging than selling someone a pizza or a new muffler.

Affordability. Your business must be profitable, but it also must be potentially profitable for your franchisees. How do these points differ? Remember that your franchisee's profit comes after paying for the initial investment in the business, including your franchise fee and all the costs of starting the business-not to mention the ongoing royalty they will be paying. An unrealistically high fee and royalty may fill your pockets at first, but if franchises are eventually bled dry by those and other expenses, you'll find your sources of income drying up just as fast. In other words, there must be a margin of profit for both you and your franchisees. Expensive startups don't necessarily preclude sales-multimillion-dollar costs are common for franchised hotels, for example-but they do limit the pool of prospects.

Take our Franchisor Quiz to help you assess your business with factors considered necessary for franchise success. Remember, though, the test is not meant to be a replacement for a thorough and professional analysis of your company by a qualified consulting firm (see Francorp Consulting).