How do I come up with an original franchise idea?
What avenues should be explored to arrive at the right idea?
On which pillars should we base our choice of an original concept?
An idea that comes from your passions
Great entrepreneurs repeat it in their best-sellers: to succeed in business is first and foremost to work with passion. So to find the idea of your franchise, the one you're going to get up for every morning over the next few years, rely on your passions. Especially since you are not the only one with these passions. Each of your interests is shared by a more or less large population that will make up your target customer. If your target population is important, your franchise will target a large public. If your target population is smaller, then consider a niche strategy. And a niche strategy for your franchise can be very profitable. You don't have to have the whole of France as a customer!
How do you go about it?
Take a sheet of paper and your pencil. Take it easy. Make a list of 5 items. Think about your hobbies, your passions, your interests. List the activities you are passionate about. Select a minimum of 5. You can list more of course.
Let's take an example. Here is a list 1. The list of the 5 selected passions :
DIY
Painting
Restaurant outings
Stock Exchange
For each of these passions, make a sub-list: list 2. For each passion in list 1, make a list of 7 elements necessary to satisfy this passion, to carry it out. These are things that may seem trivial. Also look for more original elements, which would allow you to have even more fun or be even more effective in your passions.
We are going to list 7 elements that serve or can serve the "DIY" passion:
The right tools
The materials
Plans / guides / tips to follow
Ideas for projects
The weather
A helping hand (for larger jobs)
A place (garage, hut, ...)
This list 2 includes products (e.g. tools), services (e.g. advice) and other tangible or intangible elements (e.g. time).
For each element of this list 2, we will ask ourselves the question "Does a company offer a solution somewhere? and close to my home?
For example, for the element "Tools", you can imagine either a DIY store or a tool rental company from person to person. Yes these two types of companies exist. Near my home there is (surely) a DIY store. On the other hand after research I realize that there is no tool rental company in my area.
Another example. There are surely more existing solutions for the element "Tools" than for the element "Do-it-yourself place". So if you're looking for a more original idea it's worth digging there. An original idea is a rental service for DIY space in the city, modelled on coworking spaces.
Creating a franchise business requires thinking through the concept of your business. Think carefully about the solutions you will bring to your customers. With the process I give you here you will find a lot of exploitable ideas. Then you have to do some research. Your goal is to find out if a franchise already offers this innovative concept. If so, do you have the opportunity to represent this company in your city, region or even country? You will also find original franchise ideas that do not exist on the market. So why not create your own franchise? Anyway, keep the idea warm. Today's original ideas can become tomorrow's successful opportunities...