As a 35-year franchise veteran who has helped brands such as Sbarro and Five Guys evolve into what they are today, Kestenbaum focuses on helping both start-up and emerging franchisors implement best practices in legal services, but also serves as an elite advisor and confidant for franchisors.“Some of the fastest growing franchise concepts today are ethnic restaurants, education and tutorial services, health and elder care or viable home-based, therefore requiring negligible overhead costs,” said Kestenbaum. “If you are in one of these industries or another fast-growing business that might be ripe for franchising, having a really good concept is the key to finding success.”Assuming you have a golden business idea, don't walk before you crawl; businesses younger than six months should not attempt to franchise, suggests Kestenbaum. “Having never experienced a full year's cycle, you cannot fully gauge whether your success might just be seasonal.”A necessary milestone in setting your concept up for success, is settling on the right advisers to guide your growth. Though some long-lasting, internationally-known brands made beginners mistakes, they learned quickly the importance of good advice. With many of his clients, Kestenbaum was there in the beginning to guide them through the franchising minefields. He began working with the Sbarro family in 1982 when they had only 45 locations, and wound staying around as a director of the company until 2006, when it had almost 1,000.Even a winning concept lead by knowledgeable managers is hard to launch without money to invest in the franchising infrastructure. Thanks to the Great Recession, capital is hard to come by, but don't dip into your 401k just yet. Experts say there's been softening in the credit markets, particularly at community banks, since September of 2009. If lending continues to increase at this pace, there could be a boom of new franchises erupting by the third quarter of this year.Specialties: For those who are ready to roll, here's an excerpt to inspire you from Kestenbaum's So You Want To Franchise Your Business:"One day you have a vision. You imagine your [business] not just in your town, but the next town over. And the town beyond that. And in the next county. OK, throughout the entire region. Suddenly, you envision going national, even international. For a moment it all seems possible."
