Is it possible to franchise a web site?"
Yes, and people fall for this flawed business model every day to the tune of thousands of dollars.
But when you think about it, to work well for the franchisee, the franchiser must at least:
- Provide a tested business model.
- Provide training in a tested method of operations.
- Provide franchise labeled products or advertising collateral at a reasonable price.
- Provide joint advertising (where there is a cluster of franchises in the same area), and
- Protect the franchisee from competition that will cut into sales.
Some of these might apply to the web, but the fifth just does not fit an Internet-only business model, since the Internet is a national and global phenomenon. Traditional brick-and-mortar franchisees are protected by geographical separation between franchise locations. But every web franchise sold within one's country or language group is an additional direct, head-to-head competitor. The franchiser -- and maybe a few others -- will make money for a while. But the chances of you getting rich this way are slim to none. Don't buy a prepackaged Internet business -- no matter how extravagant the claims of bulging profits and wild success. It's all hype!
You might think there's an exception to this -- Quixtar (formerly Amway). Of course, Quixtar is not a true franchise model. Quixtar combines a local network marketing model with sales and product fulfillment via the web. Since Quixtar IBOs are required to build a downline through personal networking and relationships, rather than via traditional Internet marketing, the hybrid local/web system works.
It's quite legitimate, however, to buy services on the web that help you develop your own unique web business. This isn't a franchise model at all, but a business tools and training model. The best example I know of this model is Ken Evoy's Site Build It! http://sales.sitesell.com/buildit/
