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By Armando “Butz” Bartolome, The Franguru | GMB Franchise Developers
It usually starts with a customer. “Ang sarap nito! Nagfa-franchise ba kayo?” Then a friend asks. Then a relative abroad who wants a business back home. Suddenly, franchising feels like the obvious next step.
It can be. Franchising is one of the most powerful ways to grow a brand without carrying every branch on your own balance sheet. But a franchise is not just a store with your logo on it. When you sell a franchise, you are selling a system: a proven way of making money that someone else can follow, in a location you don’t manage, with their own savings on the line.
At GMB Franchise Developers, with 35 years in business and 350+ brands helped, we have seen the same pattern again and again. The brands that grow well through franchising are not always the most popular ones. They are the ones that were honestly ready. Here are seven questions we ask every business owner before we talk about franchise fees, brochures or expos.
1. Is your business profitable, not just busy?
Long lines are great for morale, but they are not proof. The question is: after rent, salaries, supplies, utilities and your own time, does each branch make money consistently?
A franchisee will pay you a franchise fee and, usually, a monthly royalty. That money comes out of the branch’s earnings. If your own store is only breaking even, adding royalties on top can turn a franchisee’s branch into a losing one.
In practice: Look at at least a full year of numbers per branch, including slow months. If you don’t have clean per-branch records yet, that is your first project, not franchising.
2. Has it worked in more than one location?
One successful store can be luck: a great spot, a loyal barangay, or simply you being there every day. A second or third company-owned branch tells you whether the system works, not just the owner.
In practice: Many franchisors first open a pilot branch in a different kind of location (a mall vs. a street-front, a different city) and run it the way a franchisee would, with a hired manager and without the founder on site daily. If it still performs, you have something worth franchising.
For a deeper self-check, read Are You Ready to Scale Your Business Through Franchising?.
3. Can someone else run it without you?
Be honest here. If the sauce only tastes right when you mix it, if suppliers only give good prices because they know you, if staff only follow rules when you’re around, then the business depends on you. That cannot be sold.
In practice: Take a two-week break from daily operations. Whatever breaks while you’re gone is what still needs to be turned into a system.
4. Is your know-how written down?
This is where your operations manual comes in. It is not a document for show. It is the day-to-day playbook: opening and closing checklists, recipes and portioning, cash handling, customer service scripts, cleaning schedules, inventory ordering, and what to do when things go wrong.
In practice: The best manuals are built from the floor up. Watch your best crew member do the work, write it down step by step, add photos, then test it on a new hire. If the new hire can follow it, it’s working. Keep updating it. A manual that hasn’t changed in years usually means nobody is using it.
5. Can you supply and support branches you don’t control?
When a franchisee in another province runs out of your key ingredient or packaging, who delivers it, how fast, and at what cost? Consistency across branches depends on a reliable supply chain.
Support also means people. Someone has to train new franchisees and their crew before opening, help during the first weeks, visit branches regularly, and answer the phone when there’s a problem.
In practice: Before your first franchisee opens, decide who on your team owns training, field visits and supply. If the answer is “ako lahat,” plan to build that team first.
6. Do your franchise fees and royalties make sense for both sides?
It’s tempting to set a franchise fee by looking at what other brands charge. But your fees should come from your own numbers: what it actually costs you to recruit, train and open a franchisee, and what ongoing support costs per branch each month.
At the same time, run the numbers from the franchisee’s side. After paying the investment, the royalty and all operating costs, can a typical branch earn a reasonable return in a reasonable time? If the math only works for you, franchisees will struggle, and struggling franchisees close, complain, and hurt the brand.
In practice: Build a simple model of one franchised branch: investment, monthly sales, costs, royalty, and net income. Test it with conservative sales, not your best month.
7. Are you ready to say no to the wrong franchisee?
Your first franchisees will shape how the market sees your brand. Someone with money but no time, or no interest in following the system, can do more damage than having no franchisee at all.
In practice: Look for owners who will be hands-on, who respect the system, and who share your values with customers and staff. Interview them, let them work a few shifts in your store, and be willing to walk away. The first few “yes” decisions matter more than speed.
Once you find the right franchisee, explain the deal clearly. Here is why you should explain the franchise agreement before they sign. And watch out for 5 red flags before expanding.
So, ready na ba?
If you answered “yes” to most of these with confidence, your brand may be closer to franchising than you think. If several answers were “hindi pa,” that’s not bad news. It simply shows you what to build next: cleaner numbers, a pilot branch, a working manual, a support team, or a fair fee structure.
Franchising done right means your brand grows and your franchisees succeed. That’s the only kind of growth that lasts.
This is the same checklist we at GMB Franchise Developers use with every brand we help franchise.
Get a Free Franchise Readiness Check
Not sure where your business stands? GMB Franchise Developers offers a free Franchise Readiness Check. We’ll go through these questions with you, look at your current setup, and tell you honestly what’s ready and what still needs work before you franchise.
Message us or visit gmb.ph to book your free Franchise Readiness Check.
About the author
Armando “Butz” Bartolome, The Franguru, is the founder of GMB Franchise Developers. In 35 years in business, he has helped 350+ brands grow and franchise. Read more from him at butzbartolome.com.
© 2026 Armando “Butz” Bartolome and GMB Franchise Developers. All rights reserved. This article first appeared on /pwede-na-ba-i-franchise-7-honest-questions-to-ask-before-you-sell-your-first-franchise/. You may share the link, but copying or republishing without written permission and credit is not allowed.