Selecting Your First Franchisees in Belarus: A Process for Business Owners

The first person to buy your franchise will not necessarily be the right partner. For owners of established businesses in Belarus, it is important to check not only whether candidates have the money, but also whether they can manage an outlet, honour commitments and discuss problems openly. Franchising is a community of independent business owners: the quality of your first partnerships sets the tone for the entire future network. That is why you should establish a selection process before actively selling franchises.

1. Define your ideal partner through tasks, not impressions

Start with a question: what must the future franchisee do personally? Some models require the owner to be present every day; others allow for an employed manager. Unless you clarify this in advance, you and the candidate may have very different ideas about how the partnership will work.

Draw up a partner profile covering five areas:

• Management involvement: who will be responsible for staff, purchasing and customer service.
• Practical experience: which tasks the candidate has already handled independently.
• Financial resilience: how the launch and ongoing costs will be funded.
• Local knowledge: how well the candidate understands local demand, commercial rents and recruitment.
• Willingness to cooperate: whether they can follow shared rules and provide reports.

For each area, record a minimum requirement and how you will verify it. For example, a willingness to manage the business is demonstrated not by saying ‘I’ll be involved’, but by agreeing a clear division of responsibilities between the owner and the manager.

Distinguish between gaps that can be addressed and reasons to reject a candidate. Unfamiliarity with your accounting system can be resolved through training. Refusal to disclose funding sources or an intention to conceal revenue is a reason to end negotiations.

2. Use a consistent assessment process

Follow the same sequence for every candidate: questionnaire, interview, resource checks, practical exercise and final meeting. This makes the decision less dependent on personal charm or your desire to secure the first payment quickly.

Ask for specific examples during the interview. Rather than asking ‘Can you manage people?’, invite candidates to describe hiring an employee, dealing with a customer dispute or handling an unsuccessful launch. Clarify what they did themselves, what the outcome was and what they changed afterwards.

Keep financial checks proportionate to the stage of negotiations. Initially, a budget breakdown and an explanation of funding sources should be sufficient. Before making a final decision, agree which documents will be provided to confirm that funding is available. Establish separately whether a reserve will remain to operate the outlet after fit-out and initial purchases. Do not confuse an assessment of available resources with a promise of a particular payback period.

If someone else is providing the money, discuss their role. An undisclosed co-investor may later demand a change of manager or cuts to essential spending.

When collecting information about individuals, take account of the Republic of Belarus Law on Personal Data Protection. Define the purpose and legal basis for processing, restrict access and set a retention period. Do not collect copies of identity documents simply in case a deal goes ahead.

3. Disclose the terms before the final decision

Selection should work both ways. Candidates cannot make an informed decision about accepting your rules if they only learn about mandatory purchases, inspections and restrictions just before signing.

Belarus has no standalone franchising law, but its Civil Code contains specific provisions in the chapter entitled ‘Comprehensive Business Licence (Franchising)’. Article 910 governs this type of agreement. These provisions do not prescribe a standard mandatory pre-contractual disclosure document along US lines. That is no reason to replace verifiable information with marketing promises.

Prepare your own information pack for candidates:

• a description of the business format and each party’s responsibilities;
• a list of initial and recurring fees, with no hidden mandatory costs;
• financial data identifying the period, outlet type and assumptions used;
• details of training and ongoing support;
• terms governing territory, oversight, renewal and termination;
• a draft agreement and a list of schedules.

If you have no existing franchisees, say so explicitly. Present your own outlet’s results as precisely that, rather than as verified earnings for a future partner. Separate facts from forecasts and keep a record of which version of the pack you supplied.

Disclose confidential information in stages, where necessary after signing a confidentiality agreement. That agreement must not become an excuse to withhold material commercial terms.

4. Test the working relationship with a practical scenario

Give the candidate a short exercise related to their future work. For example, ask them to assess several premises against specified requirements or work through a staffing shortage before opening. Use sample or anonymised data: the assessment must not become unpaid work for your company.

Assess the reasoning rather than whether the answer matches your own view. Does the candidate ask clarifying questions? Do they recognise budget constraints? Are they willing to acknowledge missing information? Can they distinguish a mandatory standard from a decision that can be adapted to the local market?

Record the outcome on a standard assessment form: demonstrated strengths, risks and actions required. Where possible, involve the employee who will support the partner after the sale. They need to assess the likely workload, not just how attractive the deal looks.

5. Record the decision and the conditions for proceeding to an agreement

Use three possible outcomes: approval, further work required or rejection. Where further work is needed, list verifiable conditions, such as appointing a manager or confirming funding. Do not treat a payment as proof that the candidate is suitable.

Before signing, check the legal status of the prospective contracting party and the signatory’s authority. Under Article 910-1 of the Civil Code, a franchise agreement must be in writing and registered with the patent authority, the National Centre of Intellectual Property. Failure to meet these requirements renders the agreement invalid. Agree the registration procedure and the permissible sequence of preparatory steps with a lawyer: approval of a candidate does not, by itself, entitle them to start operating under the franchise.

Practical takeaway: before looking for your first franchisee, prepare a partner profile, questionnaire, disclosure pack and decision form. A consistent process helps you build a franchise community around compatibility and clear commitments, rather than the speed of a sale.