The Colonel met some good people who took the product and ran with it. Trujillo should know. She first learned about Kentucky Fried Chicken back in 1953, when she was working as a carhop at Harman's Cafe in Salt Lake City. Today, HMC operates 267 KFC franchises and Trujillo serves as chairperson of its board. But hundreds of other restaurateurs have successfully franchised a dizzying array of concepts.
Many people find it a much better solution than going public or finding venture capital.
But franchising a concept isn't for every restaurateur or every concept. Unless a franchiser follows a time-tested path of action, the chances of successfully franchising a concept can be slim. When you franchise your concept you're basically in two businesses. You're in the restaurant business, but you're also in the business of franchising, and you've got to be willing to take on the second business. The concept must be unique, but not necessarily unseen on the dining scene.