---
title: "IFA: We Are Officially a Franchise… Now What?"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/c7b20b24-9d40-4bdb-b858-3d90d1e1b8f9
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/ifa-we-are-officially-a-franchise-now-what-2720191
category: "Franchise Industry"
industry: "Franchise Industry"
topics: ["Regulation & legal"]
published: 2022-10-28T16:11:16.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:11:25.954Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/6a9cf432e3554341918ddf3873365f3d5171.jpg
---

# IFA: We Are Officially a Franchise… Now What?

**TL;DR:** The International Franchise Association (IFA) discusses the next steps for new franchisors, including compiling a Franchise Disclosure Document and building relationships with vendors. Steve Beagelman, president and CEO of SMB Franchise Advisors, shared his expertise on the topic.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2022-10-28. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/ifa-we-are-officially-a-franchise-now-what-2720191).*

## Story

Once a concept is officially a franchise, there are a few crucial steps to ensure the franchising future runs smoothly.

Steve Beagelman, president and CEO of SMB Franchise Advisors, joined the IFA WednesdayWise webinar to discuss what a new franchisor needs to know.

“The Franchise Disclosure Document is the most important thing, no doubt about it,” Beagelman said. Working with a consulting firm and qualified franchise attorney can ensure that the FDD is both compiled well and includes the correct information.

An operations manual, franchise website and strong Discovery Day plan are equally important.

Building relationships with strong vendors allow franchisors to better grow as well.

“Having a relationship, whether it’s with a funding partner, payroll company, technology… When you’re an emerging franchisor, you don’t think it’s important initially,” Beagelman added. “You just want to go out there and sell.”

However, developing these relationships can mitigate many of the challenges that can be crushing to an emerging franchisor. Having the correct systems in place to attract, evaluate and implement the best franchisees is what will best set the concept up for long-term success.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Franchise Industry (sector)
- IFA (company)
- SMB Franchise Advisors (company)
- franchise disclosure document (topic)
- discovery day (topic)
- vendor relationships (topic)
- operations manual (topic)
- franchising future (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/ifa-we-are-officially-a-franchise-now-what-2720191). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/c7b20b24-9d40-4bdb-b858-3d90d1e1b8f9).