Problems faced by Franchisors

Isaac Singer faced two problems when he wanted to get his sewing machines to market in the 1850s: training and money. His customers needed to be taught how to use the machines before they would buy them. He also needed a great deal of money to build his manufacturing facilities. Rather than hire a huge staff of trainers and raise all the capital himself, Singer decided to sell the rights to local businesspeople, whom he trained to teach customers how to use the product. In exchange for the right to sell the product, the businesspeople paid Singer license fees, which Singer used to help fund his manufacturing costs. The language, format, and contractual franchise agreementss Singer used are very similar to those still being used today.