The stats are very clear, one of the safest ways to start your own business is via a franchise!
You might still feel the fear though, and this is perfectly normal, after all, it is a big decision, buying a franchise is a ‘considered’ purchase, not an ‘impulse’ buy so let us explore in this short article why franchising has proved to be so popular.
There Is A Franchise For Just About Everything!
Just walk around your local town and city and you will see endless food shops, service providers, showrooms, the list does go on, they might not necessarily promote themselves as a franchise externally, as often as they have the ‘rights granted’ to trade as the franchise name, but you might well find that the owners could just as well be your next-door neighbours.
You might be surprised to read that there are in circulation in the UK, only around 1000 franchised businesses, this means 1000 individual businesses that have diversified their business to offer a franchise entity to individuals just like you, up and down the country, with more accessible routes to business, training and finance, this could be a great option for you to get into the world of franchising in 2022!
There are 1000 Franchisors In The UK
What is holding you back from franchising?
It is fair to say that franchising is not for everyone, after all, a franchised business is a well-played out and proven system, this system needs to be followed by a franchisee in exchange for a sum, also known as ‘franchise fee’ and because of this, sometimes a franchise is not best suited to a true entrepreneur, who by definition, is used to creating and developing their own ways of working, and whilst some franchisors are receptive to ongoing changes, by mutual agreement, this can often frustrate this personality type.
However, when franchising is done correctly, by finding the best ‘fit’ it can certainly be a way to get initial and ongoing traction in business, with the support of a head-office function whilst you can still operate your business at a local level within the parameters of the franchise.
You Can Still Operate A Franchise As ‘Your Business’
If you believe you can do all the things that a franchisor is offering you, yourself, then best to look away, you will probably feel like the initial and ongoing fees do not represent the values that are attached to them, however, if you see the value in getting started straight away, often with initial training required before you go ‘live’ with the likelihood of a library or template of documents, and no need to start from scratch, again, this is what a franchise can do for you, imagine trying to do all of this from scratch, the time and cost to do just one element, where do you think your time is best to spend now?
Do not be fooled into thinking that buying a franchise is the same as buying a job either, you might have heard that expression before, just like in any business, of course, there are many ups and downs, there are guarantees like taxes, complications with staff and customers, however, it is still your business, and by and large, you will often find more reward operating your own business than not.
Remember too, you cannot ‘sell’ a job, you can sell a franchise!
Take A Closer Look At A Franchise Resale
There is an argument here that all the hard work has been done, a franchise resale is one where they have often taken the business from new, spending many years following the system and developing the business and have only now arrived at a time where they need to offload the business, this can be for many reasons, often due to a change in the family circumstances, a franchise resale will come at a higher premium than a start-up, but it might be that the increased cost is worthy of the few year stepping-stone that you could be buying, there is always a balancing act to be had between what someone is willing to sell at and the price the buyer sees the value at, but this is a lengthy topic for another day!
Support With A Franchise
Franchising has seen immense change in recent years, it is fair to say that historically franchising had a poorer reputation for selling lots of franchises, generating plenty of revenue for the franchisors, without any significant process being built in for ongoing support, thankfully this has changed for the better, many franchisors understanding that it is long-term business that everybody wants and support from the outset via initial training and also regular assistance via multiple methods to ensure that all parties become inter-dependent, you should always ask the question as to what support will be offered to you as a franchisee.
You will also be paying for your support via ‘royalties’ this is a contribution of your income as a fixed fee or percentage which helps the franchisor to cover this repeatable and scalable function, again, think about the cost that you would incur to get this assistance yourself, can you see the value again? Franchisors make this work as they will need a team for a head office function anyhow and they can provide a healthy cost split to many franchisees, therefore, spreading the cost for you.
How To Find The Right Franchise For You
You might well be in the right place with this article, there are many franchise directories, such as where you have found this article that list many franchise options, see what matches maybe your investment level or business type, whether you see yourself wanting a part-time or lifestyle franchise or full-time of course, and quite often you can select these fields as a starting point for these portals to select what they think might be a match for you.
From this you will make your enquiry, and just like when you are in a franchise, the process from here is pretty well systemised by the people you are making your enquiry with, follow the process and you will be in good hands!
This post was written by Richard Pakey, Managing Director at Lime Licensing Group. They are an exhibitor on the FranchiseShow247 Business & Professional Services floor and you can visit their FranchiseShow247 exhibition stand here
