How to Franchise Your Business: 7 Steps, What It Costs and Where Video Fits
Franchising your business means selling other people the right to run it under your name and system. The legal work is the easy part to plan. The hard part is making strangers trust you enough to invest. Here are the steps, the public cost ranges, and the videos that carry the trust.
By Evgeny Maximov·9 min read·
What are the steps to franchise a business, in short?
- Check. One location makes money after rent, staff and a royalty, and a new person can run it from written steps, not your talent.
- Prove one unit. Write the profit and loss of one location. This page becomes the base of your pitch.
- Protect the brand. Register the trademark.
- Get the legal documents. A franchise lawyer prepares them.
- Write the manual and the training.
- Run pilot units and fix what breaks.
- Recruit and sign franchisees. This is marketing and sales, and it is where we come in.
Steps 3 to 6 are legal and operations work. Do them with a franchise lawyer and a franchise consultant. I make videos for franchisors, I'm not a lawyer, so I won't advise on documents, fees or registration. In the US the starting point is the FTC Franchise Rule, and other countries have their own rules. One point for marketing: never put an earnings promise in a video that your legal documents don't back. Ask your lawyer to read every script that mentions money.
When should you start marketing your franchise?
Earlier than most founders think. The paperwork takes months, and trust takes longer. If you wait until the documents are ready, you start from zero on the day you can finally sell. So start filming while the lawyers draft: the pitch, the numbers of one unit, the first owner interviews.
What you market changes with the size of the network. Here is how I see the stages:
| Stage | Locations | Main marketing job |
|---|---|---|
| Start | 0–5 | prove the model: the founder's pitch, one unit's numbers, the first owners' stories |
| Scaling | 5–25 | a steady flow of buyers: answer every investor question on video, franchisee interviews, ads from the same videos |
| Steady growth | 25+ | new markets, for example other countries: local proof, local partners, the same library in new places |
How do you find franchise buyers?
Most franchisors use a mix. Franchise portals and paid ads bring reach. Current franchisees bring referrals. And content answers the questions an investor has before they ever call you. Long videos matter most at the end of that path, because a person is about to invest their savings and wants to see who is behind the brand.
- Recruitment, stage by stage: franchise recruitment.
- Ads: franchise advertising. We make ad creatives from the same videos as the production team; your team or media buyer runs the campaigns.
- The whole sales side with YouTube: franchise marketing strategy.
Where does video fit when you franchise?
The law firm does the documents. Nobody does the part where a stranger decides to trust you with their savings. That is where video helps. Here is how the stages match the videos:
| Stage | Video | What it replaces |
|---|---|---|
| Investor first meets you | 5-minute pitch: the idea, the numbers, the offer, the next step | the same 30-minute intro call |
| Investor wants details | online tour of the franchise model, 5–15 minutes | a live presentation |
| Investor wants proof | franchisee interviews | "trust me" |
| Investor fears the process | "how we open a new location" | explaining it call by call |
| Investor compares you with others | honest videos on cost, payback and risks | a defensive email |
Here is what this looked like at Tvoy Sklad, a self-storage franchise we have worked with since 2022. It grew to 43 locations in 28 cities and 3 countries (their website, October 2026) and attracted about $5M in investments and 20+ franchisees in 2024–2025. The first video was a five-minute version of the investor pitch deck, filmed in about two hours.
Their marketing team told us that new partners often say, "Don't explain anything to me, I've already watched everything." That is what a pitch looks like when it happens before the meeting. I can't promise it for you. It depends on your market, your offer and how well you answer the real questions. That is why I start filming while the lawyers are still drafting.
One honest note. Tvoy Sklad operates in Russia, Armenia and Belarus, so the US rules don't apply to them. The legal note above is about the US. The video part is the same everywhere. The details of the pitch are in the investor pitch video guide, and the sales side is in franchise marketing with YouTube.
What do real "how to franchise" videos look like?
Buyers and future franchisors search for this on YouTube already. Here are four videos that answer "how to franchise your business". They are long and still have thousands of views, which tells me the people who search for this are willing to watch.
- How to Franchise Your Business [7 Steps] (The Internicola Law Firm, 61K views). A franchise lawyer talks for almost 50 minutes.
- How to Franchise a Business (Franchise Inspectors, 38K views). A 15-minute overview.
- Franchise Business 101: How to Start Franchising in the Philippines (Franchise Republic, 83K views). Local rules, but the steps look familiar.
- How to Franchise a Service Based Business (The Internicola Law Firm, 7K views). The closest to a high-ticket service owner.
Notice who makes them: lawyers and consultants who want franchisors as clients. In my search, few real franchisors explained their own process on camera. That is a gap, and it is the content that buyers trust most.
The second board shows what a franchise looks like when the brand itself talks to buyers:
- Explore the Natural Hounds Franchise Opportunity: Come on a Virtual Discovery Day (Fransmart, 31K views). A pet franchise shown to buyers as an online tour.
- Inside Body20: Franchise Owner Interview (Body20 Studio, 291K views). A short owner interview on the brand's own channel.
Views show demand, not how many franchisees each video brought. Both examples are consumer franchises with fitness or pet customers. For a B2B or professional-services franchise, expect fewer views and more serious viewers.
When should you not franchise?
- Your location only works because you are there. Then you are selling yourself, and a license or a partner model is closer.
- The unit does not make money after royalties. Raise prices or cut costs first.
- You can't support people. Franchisees pay you for help. If you can't give it, they leave.
- You want a quick cash grab. Franchise fees do not pay for the support that follows.
If you decide to go ahead, the paperwork takes months, and the trust takes longer. Start filming the pitch and the first owner interviews while the lawyers draft. Here is how our B2B YouTube agency builds the video side for franchisors, from $3,000 a month.
FAQ
How do I franchise my business?
Prove that one location makes money after fees, make sure someone else can run it from written steps, protect your trademark, get the legal documents from a franchise lawyer, run pilot units, and then market the franchise to buyers. The legal and operations steps are for a franchise lawyer and consultant. Evgeny Maximov's agency works on the last part: the videos that help investors trust the founder.
Do I need a lawyer to franchise my business?
Yes. Franchise documents and the rules for selling a franchise are strict, and they differ by country and by US state. Use a lawyer who works mostly with franchisors. Evgeny Maximov's agency makes videos and is not a law firm, so this article does not give legal advice.
When should I start marketing a franchise?
Earlier than most founders think. Start filming the pitch, the numbers of one unit and the first owner interviews while the lawyers are still drafting. Trust takes longer than paperwork, so by the time you can sell, investors should already know who you are.
How do franchisors find investors?
Through a mix of channels: franchise portals and ads for reach, referrals from current franchisees, and content that answers investor questions before the call. Long videos work well here because an investor is about to spend their savings and wants to see the founder first.
What should a franchise pitch video include?
The idea, the numbers of one location, what the franchisee gets, the risks and the next step, in about five minutes. Tvoy Sklad's first video was a five-minute version of the investor pitch deck, filmed in about two hours. Have your lawyer read any line about earnings.
Can I franchise a service business?
Yes, if the service does not depend on you personally. A buyer needs a process they can repeat with their own staff and a unit that earns money after royalties. If clients buy because of your name, a franchise is harder to sell than a license or a partner model.
How many locations do I need before I franchise?
There is no number I can give you from a source. In practice, buyers will ask for proof that your model makes money, so at least one profitable location, ideally more, is what most advisers ask for.
Where does video fit when franchising a business?
Video does the repeated explaining: the founder's pitch, an online tour of the model, how a new location opens, and interviews with current franchisees. Evgeny Maximov's agency made a 5-minute pitch video for the franchise Tvoy Sklad in about 2 hours, and the company used it to answer the same investor questions without the founder.
How did Tvoy Sklad find franchisees?
Tvoy Sklad, a self-storage franchise that works with Evgeny Maximov's agency, attracted about $5M in investments and 20+ franchisees in 2024–2025. Part of that came from YouTube, where partners watch the pitch, the tour and franchisee interviews before the first call.
Can I make franchise videos myself?
Yes, for the first pitch video. A phone, a quiet room and a clear script are enough. Have your franchise lawyer read anything that talks about earnings or results, because claims like that are regulated in the US.
How much does a franchise video channel cost?
Evgeny Maximov's agency starts from $3,000 a month for a done-for-you YouTube channel, and one-off projects start from $500. You film about one day a month. There is a 7-day money back guarantee.
Founder of a done-for-you YouTube agency for high-ticket founders. Making content since 2014. More about me
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