What is business-format franchising?
Precision Tune Auto Care is an example of business format franchising, in which the franchisor prescribes for the franchisee a complete plan, or format, for managing and operating the establishment. The plan provides step-by-step procedures for major aspects of the business and, anticipating most management problems, provides a complete matrix for management decisions confronted by the franchisees. The major advantage of buying a business format franchise is that the system, the means for distributing goods and or services, has been developed, tested, and associated with the trademark. As a result, rapid expansion of a successful retail concept can occur more quickly than through company-owned expansion.

What are the major growth areas for business-format franchising?
As the economy becomes more service and technologically oriented, as more women enter the workforce, and as a larger percentage of the population grows older, growth areas in franchising are responding to these changes. The industry categories in franchising that are expected to continue to experience rapid growth are service-related fields such as the automotive indudstry, including automotive repairs and services such as quick-lube and tune-up.

While it is important to consider industry growth before investing in a franchise, it is more important to analyze an individual franchise company's track record, keeping in mind that quick growth does not always spell success. A franchise organization that grows too quickly might not have a service team in place to support all of the units properly. Overall, long range trends indicate a steady, solid growth in business format franchising. Some will fall by the wayside, as is natural with any business, but others may well be the "household name" franchise success stories of tomorrow.