The global economic recession has led to more and more people opting to open their own franchises. Many people are interested in, knowing how to open a franchise. Although franchises are often more expensive to open than individual businesses to open, they offer some benefits that are lacking in individual businesses such as the support offered by the franchisor in supporting the franchisee in activities such as sales promotion and marketing. In addition, the franchise is also well developed in its business with a huge customer base and large capital outlays to finance its operations. There is also a higher chance of getting loans or other types of financing when opening a franchise. The franchise agreement between the franchisor and the franchisee can be between 5-20 years. Business franchises can be in a wide variety of areas such as the retail sector, automobile, hotels, fast foods, senior care, car wash, homecare, cleaning services etc. The guidelines below will help you understand how to open a franchise: • Decide the kind of franchise you want to open. It is more advantageous to start a franchise in a business you that you have some previous experience. • Determine the amount of capital you are ready to dedicate to the franchise and possible sources of financing.SBA backed loans are one example as well as a bank loan. • Choose a suitable location to open your franchise such e.g. a busy street would be a good location for a car wash while a quiet location would be more appropriate for a senior care facility. • Determine your business targets such as the amount you would like to earn from it. • Examine the competition you are likely to face and what strategies you will put in place to counter it. • Consult your franchisor and provide all the documents demanded. Some of the things a franchisor may ask from you include commercial space for the business, security deposit etc. Be sure to read all the details of the contract document before signing it. Make sure your franchisor has a good history. • Establish a marketing plan such as advertising, sales etc.When deciding how to open a franchise, you have to come up with a good marketing plan which will act as a guide on how you are going to market your business. These guidelines will prove to be useful for those who would like to know how to open a franchise. Franchises are generally less risky to open than new individual businesses and offer many advantages.