Becoming an entrepreneur can sometimes be considered risky business. But some of the potential pitfalls are usually avoidable if you do thorough research and investigation before taking those first steps toward being your own boss. One of the first decisions you should make on your path to career independence is whether or not you want to start your own company from scratch or select from among the many franchise opportunities available.
Should I Open a Franchise or Start a Business from Scratch?
Creating a business out of thin air based on your ideas for what might be successful can be a great venture, but it is also one that is a literal mine field of possible hazards and potential disasters. Yes, you would have absolute control over every aspect of your company from the name on your business cards to the price of your products or services, and even to what color scheme your storefront will have, but that also means that absolute responsibility and liability would also rest squarely on your shoulders.
Franchising, on the other hand, is much less risky and has a greater potential for profitability. This all depends on various factors such as the type of franchise you choose, how successful their standard business model has been, and where you locate your franchise storefront. To summarize franchising in a nutshell would be to say that you are basically adding the human element to a store-in-a-box. That’s an extremely simplified way of putting it, of course.
Some of the more popular franchise businesses are fast food restaurants like Subway, Dairy Queen, and Cold Stone Creamery, which can be found in every corner of the globe with as much frequency, it seems, as a Wal-Mart Superstore. Franchise opportunities are not limited to food outlets, however. You can explore franchising in several different industries from mailing and packaging services to hotels and motels (Super 8 and Days Inn) to automobile services (Jiffy Lube, Inc.).
How to Choose a Franchise Business?
Deciding which franchise to adopt as your own business is like deciding what flavor of Jelly Belly jelly-beans to sample first. One of the biggest factors to consider when choosing to open a franchise is the initial start-up, licensing, and investment costs and fees. There are many franchise opportunities that require less than $100,000 to get started and several even offer financing options, making them well within the realm of possibility for the average investor.
Starting a Franchise Business
When you invest in a franchise, you are getting a wealth of start-up, marketing, operations, and business modeling information and guidance along with the deal. Some franchises, like Subway, already have aggressive international marketing campaigns in place (“$5 footlongs!!”). Others provide all the physical equipment, initial merchandise inventories, and storefront construction, so you simply need to find the right staff and manage the day-to-day operations. Despite this well-laid foundation for success, however, it is not as simple as paying the investment fees and then sitting back to watch the money come rolling in. You will still need to work hard to make your franchise profitable.
Franchising really is ideal for people with a moderate amount of investment capital who want to have the freedom of owning their own business but are dissuaded by the potential risks involved in blindly starting something from scratch. You get a lot of help along the way and if you select the right opportunity and apply yourself diligently, you can have a successful business that spans your lifetime.
