What options do I have when it comes to financing my franchise?

If you have the funds, the first option is simply to put all your own money into the venture and finance it entirely yourself, or get an investment partner, maybe a friend or relation, who will also introduce some funding. However, even if you can do this it is essential you prepare a business plan and funding forecast to make sure you have taken everything into account and, since your business will need a bank account however you decide to fund it, you should run the plan past your own local business manager at your current bank. That way they will know something about your business, and if in due course you find you need to borrow extra funds for an overdraft it will be easier to have that conversation.Most franchisees, however, borrow from one of the banks that have specialist franchise units, not least because the latter will have built up knowledge of the franchisor in question and can therefore guide you away from the sort of franchisor who, possibly because of the low investment required and the doubtful nature of its offer, discourage their potential franchisees from getting objective advice. In the early days of setting up any business, especially if you have never done such a thing before, the advice available from your bank is invaluable, so I would say your only real option is to see how they can help.