If you’ve already decided that you want to be a business owner, you now have another choice to make. Should you be a traditional entrepreneur, or should you purchase a franchise?
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. The best option for you will depend on many factors, such as resources, personal circumstances, life goals, and your temperament or personality. But keep in mind that franchising comes with a number of built-in advantages to help you succeed in the unpredictable, challenging world of business ownership.
An Established Brand
First and foremost, franchising gives you name recognition. As an entrepreneur, you have to establish your own brand, build awareness, and win business from nothing–on top of all the financial and operational requirements of starting a business. When you become a franchisee, however, you buy into an established brand that is already familiar to an existing customer base. While you should always do your own research to make sure you’re choosing the right franchise for you and your market, joining a franchise means that you don’t have to figure out your audience or brand identity from scratch. And though some franchise brands are more familiar than others (McDonald’s, anyone?), many come with built-in awareness that saves you time and money on your marketing and sales efforts.
Marketing Support
Because franchises generally have an established brand, they also generally have established brand assets. Your franchisor’s corporate office should provide you with a logo, color palette, photos and videos, and other creative elements that you can use in your marketing. These will save you time and money–no need to hire your own designer to create them! Your franchisor may also fund corporate-level marketing (such as national advertising) that builds awareness and drives traffic to your location.
Training and Mentoring
Many franchisors also provide training and mentoring to their franchisees. This may range from basic training on required business or branding practices to ongoing mentoring and enrichment opportunities. You may have access to online courses, in-person mentoring or coaching appointments, or conferences and other onsite educational events. Some of these may come with a price tag, but they can provide tremendous benefit, especially if you are new to business ownership. And remember: if you were following a traditional entrepreneur path, you’d have to find all these resources and cobble something together on your own.
Like-Minded Community
Unless you are the very first to purchase a particular franchise, you’ll be joining an existing community of like-minded individuals. And while there may be some rivalry between you and any nearby owners, many franchisors have distance requirements that help reduce cutthroat competition (after all, it’s not in their best interest to oversaturate an area). You’re more likely to find that other owners in your franchise company are eager to help. They may organize meetups, professional development events, or just make themselves available for a supportive phone call–all to make your journey easier.
Business Systems
One of the biggest challenges for a new business owner is finding or developing the right business systems. Everything runs on software these days, whether you’re ringing up customers at a register, managing food orders from table to kitchen and back again, running an ecommerce site, booking appointments or travel, or billing customers. Franchisors usually provide tested, built-in systems or vetted software recommendations, so you don’t have to go through the expensive and time-consuming process of finding the right option on your own.
Expansion Support
Whether you’re a traditional entrepreneur or a franchise owner, succeeding in business usually means reaching a point where you must decide whether to expand. That may mean keeping one location and moving to a bigger building, taking on more staff, or adding locations to your business. Expansion is tricky and very risky. If done wrong, it can drain a business of resources and lead to failure of the entire enterprise. Owning a franchise mitigates this risk because you’re connected to a company that has already experienced expansion and likely has systems in place for managing it successfully. At minimum, your franchisor will probably have best practices to share. At best, they may provide financial, construction, or other support to grow your business.
Want to learn more about how franchising can boost your odds of success as a business owner? Schedule a free consultation today!
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