Is Franchising Right for You

Posted by admin

May 29, 2008

Content provided by Douglas Boehme. For more information visit www.dougboehme.com .

Thinking about starting your own business? Your choices include: starting their own business from scratch, purchasing an existing business, starting a consulting business, or leasing an existing system (franchising). If you do not view yourself as a pure entrepreneur, leasing an existing and proven system that franchising provides may be the logical choice. Franchising has proven to be the fastest and safest way to become a business owner.

MORE THAN FAST FOOD

In the past, people coming out of the corporate world may have shied away from franchises because they equate franchises with only fast food outlets. This is actually a myth – in reality, food related franchised make up just 20% of the overall types of franchises. If you desire a M-F work schedule rather than the evening or weekend hours that come with many restaurant or retail businesses, the business-to-business category of franchises can be very attractive to them. These franchises are selling products and services to other businesses during normal business hours. Examples would be business consulting/coaching, financial services, employment services, light manufacturing, etc.

Of course, there are many traditional and more familiar business-to-consumer franchise concepts, such as restaurants, retail, and service businesses. Many of these concepts employ a manager to run the daily operations allowing for multiple unit ownership.

This new found attraction to the franchise world for the corporate manager is also shared by the franchises themselves. The ideal franchise owner profile is not necessarily someone with specific industry skills, but someone with management skills, experience in marketing/sales, and budgeting/financial statements.

With over 4,000 different franchise options from which to choose, how do you find the best fit for you? It can be an overwhelming task to sift through all the different types and brands. Many people choose to use the services of a franchise advisor. An advisor can assist you in determining your buyer values and create a business model which is used to identify potential options that may fit your lifestyle needs and goals. Regardless of whether you do the research on your own or use an advisor, choosing the right business is not a matter of picking the “hottest trend” or most popular name, but rather matching the franchise to your skill sets, financial goals, lifestyle requirements/goals, interests, and comfort level.

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