Does a franchisee have to live within the trading territory their business is based in?

Louise Harris writes:

Not all franchises are based on territories. Some may be split into business sectors, trading sites or other forms of delineation.

The nature of the business will dictate whether a franchisee will be required to live in that territory. If the business is store based, it most likely won’t matter if the franchisee lives in the locality. If the franchisee works in the business operationally, it may be essential that they are located in territory.

What is important to note is that you may give yourself significant competitive advantage by living within the territory - your personal networks may give you a boost at the start of your business and help out as you grow.

Check with the franchisor and trading franchisees, as everything you can do to drive the success of your business is valuable and living in territory might be a significant boost.

You should be encouraged if a franchisor declines your application because you’re not living in territory. It will know and understand what is needed and if you don’t fit the profile that’s better than being awarded a territory only to find that you’re in the wrong place.

Louise Harris is an experienced franchisor, having built and sold an award winning franchise. She’s currently franchise operations manager at Mathnasium UK.