The transition from running a successful business to franchising is enormous, and is no guarantee of success for the franchised operation. For one thing, the franchisor may have been successful because of unique local market circumstances. Or perhaps the leadership team has specialized knowledge or leadership qualities that may be difficult to pass on. In this case, the franchisor has to transition from running a business they know extremely well to running an entirely different kind of business: a franchise sales business. Being a good franchisor requires knowing how to sell business opportunities to the right buyers, documenting all aspects of the business, training franchisees (not just employees), being consistent across the entire franchise chain, understanding how to market the business in brand new territories, etc. Those skills are all different from what made the core business successful.