There is one silver lining to the economic misery surrounding us — more Americans are likely to start their own businesses this year. While that may seem counter-intuitive, it actually makes sense. After all, the corporations and companies that have laid off millions of people, aren’t going to start hiring anytime soon. So starting a small business becomes an appealing alternative to a frustrating and never-ending job hunt.
Business start-ups grew significantly following the recession of 1990-91. And starting in the 2001 recession, franchising, one segment of small business, underwent a bit of a growth spurt, with the number of franchised units growing nearly 6 percent annually through 2005. While the outlook for this year is not quite so positive (the International Franchise Association says the number of units will fall about 1 percent), there’s good reason to believe thousands of Americans will at least explore the idea of buying a franchise in 2009.
For many, franchising represents a safer choice than building a business from scratch. After all, the failure rate for a franchised business is lower than the overall business failure rate and the franchisor is offering you a system that’s presumably been battle-tested.
That’s not to say it’s easy to buy a franchise. It’s not, which is why you need to arm yourself with as much information as possible before making a buying decision. Luckily, it’s easier than ever to do that. Here are some tips…