Usually, franchisers don’t want to gamble on young entrepreneurs—they prefer seasoned managers who have built up lots of savings to plow into the venture. Now a host of companies are rethinking that logic.
They’re aggressively recruiting twentysomethings through franchise brokers, marketing themselves in youth-friendly venues like Facebook, and in some cases offering financial lures to get young people on board—such as deep discounts on franchise fees, which many beginners can’t afford.
A Foot in the Door
Why the big change? For one thing, many boomer franchisees are retiring, leaving room for newcomers. And many franchisers say that today’s crop of twentysomethings are much better prepared to run a business than earlier generations of youngsters, since more colleges are offering strong training in entrepreneurship.