Hi All,
Those of you who franchise...
1. How did you go about finding your franchisees?
2. Do you think it's less hassle than employing someone?
Andy 
Hi Andy
I have one franchisee and am about to advertise for my second in mid January. The first was a customer who wanted a change, spoke to another customer of mine who told him I was after a franchisee. This time I am advertising in the local press for 3 weeks. Hopefully that will bring in someone.
As for less hassle than employing, vastly so, yes. Once the franchisee is full you might not hear from him for a whole week, and then just to catch up. No holidays to pay, targets to hit, missed days to cover, sickness, fuel, tax, equipment, water, resin, vans, insurance and so on. Just 20% dropped into my account every week.
Obviously you need to find the right guy, don't take just anyone. Make sure they have something to sue them for should they go renegade. A house owner for example.
Don't underestimate the cost of getting the first guy up and running. I recon setting up my first guy cost me 7k not including my time other than the week off I took to train him.