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Is Buying a Franchise a Wise Career Choice?

Written by: Sebastien Page

Article Overview: It’s a common tendency nowadays among people seeking to escape the 9 to 5 trap of corporate America to consider going into business for themselves. After all, the idea of becoming your own boss and running your own business however you please is very appealing. What makes franchising such a popular choice is that it combines the benefits of independency and security of a preexisting brand name and business plan, into one neat little package.

Is Buying a Franchise a Wise Career Choice?

It’s a common tendency nowadays among people seeking to escape the 9 to 5 trap of corporate America to consider going into business for themselves. After all, the idea of becoming your own boss and running your own business however you please is very appealing. What makes franchising such a popular choice is that it combines the benefits of independency and security of a preexisting brand name and business plan, into one neat little package.

Franchising depends a great deal of course on your own business skills and know how. There is a lot of competition in the market for the available customers. That’s why your success depends on your ability to withstand the fierce competition by winning and keeping customers.

Be clever when choosing the location where you’ll set up your business operation. Put yourself near your target customers and along their routes. Carefully assess the demographics involved and make your decisions accordingly. While franchise has its risks, it still has the benefit of an established business model and therefore is much safer than starting a small business from scratch with a potentially higher risk of failure.

As previously mentioned, franchise still has its risks. The biggest risk of all though is your own mismanagement. The success or failure of your business lies primarily in your hands. Spare no effort in making things work because after all, your life and your investment are the things that you’ve just put on the line, so keep this in mind and run your business wisely and carefully.

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Article Tags: benefit, boss, brand name, business model, business operation, business plan, business skills, corporate america, decisions, demographics, franchise, independency, mismanagement, risk of failure, running your own business, scratch, starting a small business, target customers, tendency



Related Forum Posts
Re: Enticing Franchises - Top 9 List - All Franchise listed above are in millions of dollars. Do you have the list of Franchise in thousands
Re: Info for would be franchisers... - [quote="Sebastien":1d29sdv1]Like Franchise Times, Franchise Update is a very practical magazine. There is no blah blah, just straight facts that anyone in the franchise community can relate to. I just want to mention that all these magazines are NOT franchisee oriented. I mean these magazines are for franchise professionals. If you're looking to buy a franchise, you won't find much information in there. To answer your question, getting published in Franchise Times was fairly easy. I don't want to brag too much but I think I am known in the franchise industry. I was the marketing guy at Franchise.com for a few years before joining my new company, the World Franchising Network. So people know me and I have a very good relationship with Nancy Weingartner, the Managing Editor at Franchise Times. I was talking with her at the last Franchise Expo South in Miami and she mentioned she'd like me to be profiled. I was like "ok, sure!". I like this franchise executive profile thing in Franchise Times as it is rarely BS. People are usually really natural in there.[/quote:1d29sdv1] Thanks for the follow up Sebastien! And I can't say that I'm surprised that networking with the right people and managing your relationships with them properly are the keys to being published. I guess the old adage holds true of "it's not who you know, but who knows you" that's important.
how much for a franchise fee? - Dear Colleague There is no easy answer to this question. Things to consider: [list=] The sizeof the Franchise Clent base Expected Turnover Intellectual Property costs (recoup) Number of Franchises Number of employees Original Set up costs Franchise admin costs An example: A franchise that I was involved in setting was to a simple "lawn mowing/home repair" franchise. The Franchise included national/local advertising - preparation of client lists - general admin - central accounting etc The Franchise involved 300-500 clients - and an annual turnover of about $300,000 . The annual franchise fee was $30,000. Hope that this gives you some idea Take care Ian[/list]
Re: Franchise Surveys - Another good tool to researching a franchise is to speak with their existing franchisees. This contact information is included in most Franchise Disclosure Documents. In order to get a Franchise Disclosure Document or FDD as it is often referred to, you will have to complete a basic franchise application. The franchisor will then usually provide you with the FDD at that time. Included in that book of information is a list of the existing franchisees, the contract, the investment information etc... This information is required by Federal Law to be disclosed to your prior to making a purchase. So be sure to do your research and start with the Franchise Documents to get the initial information.
Re: Info for would be franchisers... - [quote="Sebastien":2gam0klq][quote="BuzzAroundBooks":2gam0klq]Like Franchise Times, Franchise Update is a very practical magazine. There is no blah blah, just straight facts that anyone in the franchise community can relate to.[/quote:2gam0klq][/quote:2gam0klq] That is really what I look for in any industry publication. We lead busy lives and when people fill their magazines with fluff, not only does it benefit no one, but it makes us truly appreciate those that don't. Thanks!


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