How to Choose the Best Franchise Location
Scoping Out the Perfect Spot for Your Franchise
This is perhaps one of the most exciting phases of your franchise venture. You’ve already been approved to be a franchisee, your financial obligations to the parent company have been met, you know what region you’d like to be in, and now it’s time to find the perfect location. Here are some tips to use as a guideline as you continue on your franchise venture as a Physical Therapy Now franchisee or as the franchisee of the franchisee of another business growing rapidly.
Find a Commercial Leasing Agent
It is imperative that you don’t merely choose just any leasing agent to find the perfect location for your franchise. Instead, find a COMMERCIAL leasing agent. These individuals have a first hand take on not only the properties currently available for lease, but also for those that are due to come on the market. Commercial agents are well versed in the demographics of your particular region, which falls in line with the requirement of all Physical Therapy Now locations to have a highly visible retail space.
Think along the lines of a specific storefront that has a well-branded name such as Whole Foods, Exxon, Target or Wal-Mart. When your signage is clear, your company has a strong brand in its chosen field, AND your facility is in a high-traffic location, your franchise business will surely reap the benefits of being visible.
Pick the Perfect Size
Your chosen franchise will likely come with size requirements that you must adhere to when scoping out your location. For Physical Therapy Now, each franchise location must offer a specific minimum square footage and those facilities that exceed a certain square footage must be pre-approved by the Physical Therapy Now franchise management team. Traffic considerations are also an essential factor when determining the best location for your franchise.
Lease Negotiations
Once you have chosen your location and your franchise management team has approved it, you will move into the lease negotiation phase. Your franchise family will offer support in every area and will provide guidance if needed through each step of this process. However, it is STRONGLY recommended that you hire an attorney to oversee these negotiations. A lawyer with expertise in commercial lease negotiations will introduce certain factors that you may not know to consider.
The Build OutRemove featured image
In most cases, a build-out is required for your franchise location. It is imperative that you contact a professionally licensed and certified architect for this project. Your franchise has likely chosen a preferred architectural company, so you may not need to search for anyone to fulfill this task!
There will also be specific requirements in place for restrooms, work/office space storage space, cleaning/janitorial facilities, as well as customer space, if applicable.
Once the architectural layout of your facility is designed, you will need to find a licensed general contractor. It is most advantageous for you (and your business) to get bids from no less than 3 General Contractors, so you can make a fully informed decision based on not just cost, but also experience, past projects, references, and reviews.
Physical Therapy Franchise
Physical Therapy Now is one of the fastest growing Physical Therapy franchises in the country. Are you curious about what it’s like to be a franchisee? Consider reading about some of the franchisees featured on the Physical Therapy Now blog located in Florida who are currently in different phases of the franchise venture.
To learn more about opening a franchise location with Physical Therapy Now, call us today at (800) 481-4582. We would love to partner with you!
