Startups

Is A Franchise Business Right For Me?

With startups all the rage these days, it’s easy for people to forget about another way of starting a business – franchising. Franchises are still a great way for people to get ahead in business, and there are options in almost every single industry. But, while franchising offers plenty of potential for success, the business model isn’t for everyone. In this guide, we’re going to take you through a few of the pros and cons of becoming a franchisee, and, hopefully, help you find out whether the pathway is a suitable one for your needs. First of all, let’s take a look at some of the advantages of becoming a franchisee.

Table of Contents

Taking advantage of a recognized brand name

When you start a business yourself, there is a lot of work to do to establish your brand name. With franchises, however, it’s a little different. You are, in essence, buying into an already recognized brand name, and that means there are plenty of benefits. There is a lot of security in place right from the start, and you could be profiting from trading under a name known nationally – or even globally. In short, it almost guarantees customers as you already have their trust for quality and reputation.

Buying into an established – and successful – model

It can take a long time for startups to work out how to do things the right way – years in some cases. However, when you assume a franchise, everything is already there for you to take advantage of. The way of working is proven to be a success already, and you are enjoying a tried and tested formula. All the hard work of refining the business model is already done, leaving you to reap the rewards.

Running a business

Running a franchise is, to all intents and purposes, precisely the same as running an independent business. You will be responsible for everything, have the opportunity to explore growth opportunities, and, ultimately, will need to meet the same expectations as you would impose on yourself anyway.

Training opportunities

When you buy into a franchise, the franchisor wants you to succeed. So, you get everything you need to kick things off in the right possible way, right from the very start. First of all, you have excellent training to ensure you have the skills necessary to become a success. Your employees get that training, too, making sure that everyone knows what to do before you open your doors. When you start a business yourself, training employees comes at a vast expense – which you just don’t need to incur with a franchise.

Systems, support, and savings

You will also get the advantage of equipment, software, IT systems and a lot more besides when you get involved with a franchise. Everything you need to succeed is given to you and is refined to the exact standards to ensure you achieve your goals. There is support available when you need help, too, which you just don’t have when starting a business. And, finally, the scale of orders that franchises place with suppliers means that you can take advantage of lower costs of raw materials.

Of course, franchising isn’t always without its problems. And to work out whether the model is the right one for you, it’s important to know the disadvantages, too. Let’s take a look at the other side of the coin of running a franchise business.

The cost

First of all, it’s vital to understand that buying into an already successful brand name is not cheap – some franchises cost millions for the license. Some franchises require less, of course – five-figure sums for buying in are not uncommon. But you should expect to part with a six-figure sum in many cases, and you will also have to pay ‘royalty’ payments of anything between 4 and 7 percent.

The commitment

While starting a business of any kind requires 100 percent commitment to ensure success, it’s even more important for franchisees. When you consider the vast sums of money you have to spend to trade under a strong name, it can take years to pay that back. It means that commitment to your business is nothing short of essential, and you also have to bear in mind that signs of success could take a couple of years to start showing.

The experience

As we mentioned above, your franchisor will give you plenty of training opportunities to develop your skills. But you shouldn’t assume that this will be enough experience to run a well-drilled and productive team. If you have never managed people before, it can be a difficult prospect, due to the type of employees you have to take on. As a rule – although this isn’t always the case – franchises pay low wages, which, in turn, means a low quality of staff. Employee turnover, therefore, tends to be high in many franchises, and enthusiasm and productivity are often significant issues you can’t afford to ignore.

The rules and regulations

When you work under a franchise name, there is little room for creativity with regards to making choices for your business. The franchise rules will run through everything you do, from the decor of your store or offices to the way everyone works. And if you want to make changes, it can be hard to persuade the franchisor to let it happen. Bear in mind that many franchisees have made changes to the way they run their business, and are, more often than not, punished with a contract termination.

Not all franchises are a safe bet

Not all locations in the country are suitable for opening a franchise – even when that franchise isn’t represented in the local area. For example, some parts of major towns and cities are fiercely independent and don’t like the prospect of a massive global chain opening up on their doorstep. It’s vital to explore the market potential of your franchise of choice before making the wrong decision – which could result in an incredibly expensive mistake.

As you can see, running a franchise business is not for everyone. The big question is – is it a good fit for you?