If your local business has experienced an extended period of success and you’re confident that the business model can be scaled up, you’re probably thinking about expanding the company by working with franchisees. If you take the alternative approach of funding each new location out of your own pocket, the expansion will take longer, and you’ll be incurring more financial risk. Thus, many times the wisest approach for turning a local business into a national chain is to let investors and entrepreneurs join your company as franchisees. In this scenario, they would be required to invest a set amount to cover the cost of facility construction and other startup expenses, and you would simply provide the branding, marketing, and products for them to sell. That’s the basic concept but here are a few steps you should take during the process to make sure everything goes as planned:

1. Hire a Franchisor Lawyer

First and foremost, you need to understand that every new franchisee who you bring on board is technically a liability in many ways, and they’ll also represent an additional contract and corporate obligation that you’ll need to uphold. As such, it’s imperative that the documents which govern your relationships and dealings with franchises are well-worded and all-inclusive to cover every possible situation that you might encounter when expanding your brand through a chain of franchises. Creating the contracts, disclaimers, and other legal documents that will be necessary to protect your company is a job that should be allocated to an experienced franchisor lawyer, as even small mistakes in this step could significantly heighten your risk during expansion.

2. Work with Franchisees to Find Ideal Locations and Markets

When you’re just starting to launch your first set of franchise locations, it’s not a good idea to start popping them up willy-nilly without considering the area’s demographics through extensive market analysis. You’re not obligated to approve all investors who apply to become a franchisee with your company, so be selective in which ones you choose to partner with in the beginning, based on how profitable the local market might be.

3. Optimize Budgets and Manufacturing Processes

Once you’ve got a few franchise locations operating successfully, it’s time to help your partners earn more profit and bring in more customers by working to optimize budgets, reduce losses and unnecessary overhead, and refine manufacturing processes to achieve a higher bottom line. It’s important to remember that even small adjustments can have a major financial impact when you’re managing a chain of dozens of franchise locations.

Refine Logistics and Branding

One more step you can take to ensure your locations are always well-stocked and attractive to prospective customers is improving the systems used to transport and re-stock items, as well as your brand’s visual appeal. Try coming up with new products or menu items and running routine promotions that give people a reason to come try what you have to offer. With your brand providing real value in its industry and a fleet of trucks efficiently keeping your franchises stocked, you should be able to facilitate expansion without unnecessary hiccups.