The franchise business has been around for a long time, in fact, dating back to the 1850s. The idea of selling a business or part of a business to expand into new areas usually arose from a lack of investment funds by the business owner. Through their creativity, they were able to keep the business alive by selling franchise opportunities to prospective entrepreneurs.
While the franchise business has grown over the years, it all had to start somewhere. The concept of franchise business began with none other than the sewing machine manufacturer, Singer.
The Singer Franchise Business Opportunity
In the 1850s, the Singer Company was producing sewing machines, but it did not have enough capital to pay its salesmen’s wages. Instead, they created a network of distributors. These early franchise owners paid Singer a fee to work in a particular territory and earned money for each sale of a sewing machine they bought from the company and resold.
Its importance in the start of the franchise and the opportunities it created came from the creation of the contract that is still used today between the original owner of the business and the new entrepreneur. Many feel that the contract was what really sparked the creation of franchises in the future, as it allowed business owners to retain some control over how franchises were run.
The Coca-Cola Company Franchise Business Opportunity
When Coca-Cola was originally created, it was only sold as a fountain drink. In 1899, two men obtained a brief 600-word contract and permission to bottle the soda.
Thomas and Whitehead soon realized that although they had a great idea, they couldn’t afford to start a bottling company. As an alternative, they created a franchise company by selling the right to bottle the product to individual bottling plants.
KFC Franchise Business Opportunities
One of the most famous start-ups in the franchise industry was Kentucky Fried Chicken. The franchise opportunity began when Harlin Saunders, or the ‘Colonel’, was about to go under. His business began to fail when a road was created seven miles from his restaurant. With his business failing, Sanders had to find new ways to bring his famous chicken to the people.
When Sanders finally lost his business, he practically went door-to-door selling his chicken recipe. His popularity improved over time and within a few years restaurant owners flocked to him. He created franchises and today there are more than 10,000 KFC restaurants around the world.
Companies Leading the Way in Franchise Business Opportunities
The establishment of KFC and others like it paved the way for companies to expand throughout the world. It also gave new entrepreneurs the opportunity to find their way to success. Many of the early KFC franchise owners became millionaires. People who joined similar companies like McDonald’s were also successful.
Thanks to these companies, we now have the opportunity to share the success of other businesses and business owners have the opportunity to expand their dream. By reaching out to others, they can build a franchise empire from a business opportunity.