Should I buy a franchise or start your own business. It’s a big question that people often ask. In a way it is also a little misleading. As a franchisee, you do have your own business. You just also have to follow the rules, format, branding, etc. You also have help in training, site selection, support and sometimes even accounting and customer service. What you really want to know is “Can I follow a system or do I prefer to blaze my own trail?”.
Go it Alone Or With a Franchise
A franchise doesn’t guarantee success and starting your own business doesn’t guarantee failure. However, a franchise does give you a blueprint, a system and lots of support. If you are the kind of person who bucks at advice and doesn’t like handing over any of your money to someone else, then you might be better off starting your own business.
What’s the Difference?
Start up in your franchise business begins before you are even awarded a franchise. If you are becoming part of a reputable franchise, they are more concerned about whether you are the right fit for their business than if you have the money to buy it. Sure you have to be qualified financially, but you also have to have the qualities that they know are important to success.
- Can you manage people?
- Can you stay focused?
- Can you network and sell?
- Are you dedicated?
- Can you follow directions?
- Can you ask for help?
- Can you teach others how to do that?
- Can you face conflict head on?
- Are you a motivator?
- Do you like to have someone to bounce ideas off of?
They do want to make sure that you are financially qualified as well. A good franchisor wants to make sure that you have enough money not just for their fees, but also to cash flow the business while you are getting started. Being able to pay your bills until you are profitable is an important part of the “pro-forma” that you will have to do to make sure you can afford to get into the business.
When you start your own business, you can do what you want. But you also may not have the advice of someone who has done it before. You can blaze new trails, market the way you want, introduce new products at will and have your own processes. There are no royalties to pay, but you do it all. From R & D to keeping up with trends to accounting, customer service, support, site selection, inventory and training. You will be on your own for creating manuals and processes. None of this is a bad thing to the person who wants to “do their own thing”.
Here are some thing to ask yourself to see if you would be better off with a business outside of franchising:
- Do you prefer to do it your way?
- Will you constantly be “bucking” the system?
- Will you want to do the branding?
- Do you think “That’s great but I’ll do it my way when I get in”
- Do you question everything?
Every Franchise is Not For Everyone
Having been on the franchisor side, we turned away people who did not fit our model, which was very sales oriented. It wasn’t for everyone. But for the people who were right, it was a fantastic opportunity. Sometimes when we turned people away, it would have been great to point them to something else. Some would have made great franchisees, others really just needed to go off on their own. Still others needed to get a job and stay there as that was where they were most comfortable.
There are many types of franchises, and one of the things I love about what I do is that I can help people find something that fits their lifestyle, their goals and what they like to do every day. Sometimes it helps to sort it out with a neutral thrid party. A franchise consultant, like me, can help you think about what is important to you and even talk about things that make sense and don’t for your personality, skill sets and desires.
If you would like to have a free consultation (I’m paid like a recruiter for the 300 franchises I represent, so you never pay anything for my services), call or text me for more information at 813.494.1729. Or visit our contact page and drop me an email.I look forward to helping you.