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I think I want to downsize my Boss but is franchising right for me

Written by: Mike Callahan

Article Overview: In this second article of the series we consider the question; is franchising is right for you? We are all individuals with strengths and weaknesses. How do you know if franchising fits your strengths? This question must be dealt with openly and honestly before one considers a step into the "franchise zone". Join us as you answer 5 questions that will help you focus on this important question.

I think I want to downsize my Boss but is franchising right for me

Article 2 in the ‘Downsize your Boss’ series.

In our previous article we discussed the ‘day dream’ of downsizing your boss and taking your future into your own hands. One of the ways this can be accomplished is by taking advantage of a franchise opportunity. In the interest of continuing to educate and build a strategic process for self examination, this article will focus on determining if a franchise opportunity is right for you.

Many folks would like to run a business because they feel they have the entrepreneurial spirit necessary. As we have discussed, franchise opportunities may meet your desire to run your own business, but in truth—maybe not. Just like most things, one size does not fit all circumstances.

Following are 5 questions that we believe will help guide you in determining if franchising would be a good fit for you. Since this is self evaluation, only you know the correct answers for you. We feel these questions will be revealing for you if you answer them truthfully and thoughtfully, here you go.

1) Are you truly “customer service” oriented? The preferred answer here is an unqualified YES, YES, YES! At some level every business has to have customers. If you are more comfortable sitting in the back office and analyzing reports and looking for errors or even opportunities to improve--you may not be best suited to franchising.

Overall, franchisors are looking for franchisees that are focused on customer service and growing a sound business with this is a premise. A ‘maybe’ here does not automatically cut you out of franchising, but it does require you to develop this deeper with yourself and your franchise consultant.

2) Do you work well with others? As may be expected the preferred answer to this one is ‘yes’. You will need customers and you will need the support group that the franchisor is providing. You will also need the ability to work with vendors and marketing people among many others. If your best work is done on a solo project and you can be un-disturbed in your own world, franchising may not be an obvious avenue for you.

3) Can you work with someone else’s plans without wanting to change them constantly?
This pretty much requires a resounding ‘yes’. One of the many advantages in purchasing a franchise business is that one is purchasing a system that has been tested and ideally has been proven to work. Many bumps and bruises have already been worked out and the franchisee is garnering the benefit of these past learning moments. In spite of this, some people cannot accept working within the parameters of someone else’s plans. They feel the need to constantly ‘tweak’ things to make them ‘better’. Independence is not the friend of a franchised business. The franchise business model already exists; for optimum results the rules should be followed faithfully. This does not mean that franchisors should ignore valid feedback from franchisees; it means that franchisees are not free to make changes or improvements without approval from the franchise company. Often, the ideas a new franchisor foresees as a ‘better mousetrap’ have already been tried by the franchisor and did not succeed. Being open to feedback and able to stay within the lines is pretty well recognized as core strength for the successful franchisee. In short, when you played ‘follow the leader’ did you always have to be the leader? If so, you may want to reconsider a career as a franchise owner.

4) Can you accept that a business nearby with your same franchise name is NOT a competitor but a ‘brand enhancer’? It may be difficult to grasp but one of the strengths of a franchise operation is brand recognition. Not all franchises are mature today and all have gone through a period of growing. Name recognition and brand identity are constantly evolving in even the most mature and recognizable franchises. Visibility and repetitious exposure to the brands will magnify the brand’s identity. This is a win-win for the franchisee. But, as a successful franchisee you cannot get hung up on every new location that borders your territory. These businesses must be viewed as additional advertising for your brand. (We are not talking about the case of “market saturation”, rather normal, logical growth)

Keep in mind; the McDonald’s at one Interstate exit does not take business away from the one 5 miles down the same road—they complement each other by reinforcing the brand identity.

5) Are you willing to work as hard as possible to succeed? We have noticed that many clients enter this search thinking that a franchise does not require hard work to succeed. They presume since they are looking at an existing business model and all the other support that comes from a franchise, they can sit back and count their money. That is not the case. Even successful franchise brands fail if they are not operated correctly. To my knowledge every franchise has had some failures. Of course the franchisors work diligently to improve their training and support as well as their franchisee selection process to better hedge their options. You may not be surprised to learn that one of the chief reasons cited by franchisors for location failures is generally franchisees that would not follow the path as laid out. This path typically deals with the business plan as well as the time commitment expectations to succeed. While this reason is not the only reason for failures, it is generally cited as the most frequent reason for failure.

If you are one of those under the mistaken impression that running a franchise is an auto pilot event, I urge you to re-think that and acknowledge that is just not the case. It is often true that a franchise opportunity may reduce risk in a business start up, but nothing is guaranteed; not even the best known franchise or well known company is assured success. Hard work is going to be required.

If you answered these questions honestly, you should have a pretty good idea if franchising is a viable path for you. If it is, welcome to a fairly elite group that produces huge results. Some recent studies suggest that franchises represent less than 20% of the businesses today, but they represent nearly 50% of the dollars spent. Franchises employ hundreds of thousands of people and sell thousands of products ranging from fast food to Chiropractic services (you have to be a Chiropractor for this one) and many points in between.

We encourage you to consider this step seriously and earnestly. Success is possible, but not guaranteed; consider if you can follow someone else’s efforts and not tweak them. Can you commit to the time that will be required to run an effective business and are you ‘customer service driven’ in your desire to succeed? Add in your ability to work well with others and you have a solid foundation to look further into the “franchise zone.”

In our next article we will discuss where you go from here now that you have determined franchising is for you? Join us.

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Article Tags: boss series, circumstances, correct answers, day dream, desire, entrepreneurial spirit, franchise consultant, franchise opportunities, franchise opportunity, franchisees, franchisor, franchisors, own business, preferred answer, premise, self evaluation, self examination, solo project, sound business, support group



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