People who want to enter franchising might like a quick glance at the 2008 British Franchise Directory which is now available, and before you ask, neither I nor SmallBizPod have any connection with the publication.

One of the best things about it is that the publishers have made it so much more than a simple directory. It has articles on what you need to take into account when entering a franchise agreement and how to work out a decent financial projection among other topics. These things are actually more important than deciding which franchise you’d enjoy running.

Better yet, these two articles and one on business planning are available free on the link above. I recommend them highly to anyone who’s just starting up; if you also want the items on dispute resolution, turning your business into a franchise and several other useful bits then you have to cave in and buy the directory. If the standard is the same then it’s probably worth doing.

The only section whose value I’d query is the directory itself. There are now so many websites dedicated to finding the franchise that will work for a particiular individual, and these will be updatable from minute to minute. They should, logically, be more up to date than a hard copy directory which has spent time being printed.

It does seem a good book for the other reasons, though - it should be bought by anyone considering franchising as a way forward.

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