Be Your Own Boss by Becoming a Franchise Owner

Be Your Own Boss by Becoming a Franchise Owner

You’ve finally decided it’s time to be your own boss. You’ve savored your dream for quite a while, and now you’ve had it up to here with working for someone else. It’s time.

You’ve been scrimping and saving for a while, too, and you have some money set aside that you can use to kick your new business off.

 

But Where Do You Go from Here?

You could start your very own business, you think, and build it from the ground up. That is, you could do that if you had any fresh ideas. The problem is, everything you can think of to do would require years of preparation. And every product you can think of to develop for sale seems to have already been developed by someone else. You don’t have the techie skills to design the newest hottest app, and all the other good ideas seem to have been taken.

But you’re not ready to give up on your dream, are you? And so you give a thought to franchising.

If you were to purchase a franchise, you speculate, you could be your own boss.

 

 

What Are the Advantages of Franchising?

The chief advantages of purchasing a franchise are that you would have the benefit of an established brand and business model as well as training and support from the franchiser. The franchiser will train you, provide you with an established brand, do a good bit of the marketing for you, and support you in lots of other ways as your business develops and grows.

What’s more, franchises have a higher rate of success than most other small businesses. For that reason more than any other, you would have an easier time obtaining financing for a franchise than you would for a business you start on your own.

You would be an independent business owner with the added benefit of plenty of assistance. You would have the opportunity to be in touch with other franchisees, too. Some of them might even be willing to offer encouragement, including emotional support for those days that are certain to come when you don’t know how you’re going to take another step.

While your earnings will depend in large part on your own efforts to attract and retain customers, you’ll have experts guiding you on how to market your franchise business locally.

 

What Are the Disadvantages of Franchising?

The disadvantages include the fact that you would need to enter into a legal agreement and pay the franchiser their required fee before you could begin operating under their flag. Franchisers also have restrictions about the products and services you can offer. And you might not be allowed to open your store in a geographic location that’s convenient for you.

If you don’t like being told what to do, franchising might not be for you. Most franchisers have strict guidelines on how you are be allowed to operate. If you’re a creative type, you might want to think twice before you purchase a franchise for this very reason.

In addition, you would need to kick in on advertising as required by your agreement with your franchiser. You would also need to pay the franchiser royalties, again according to your agreement with them.

Oh, and there’s a good chance that you would be working your fingers to the bone with your franchise—just as you would with any new business. At least that would be true in the early days, until your franchise business gains some traction and builds momentum.

 

What Kinds of Franchises Are There?

Now that you’ve weighed all the pros and cons, let’s say you’re more convinced than ever that you want to go the franchising route. Now you need to decide what kind of franchise you want to operate.

There are the well known franchises like McDonald’s and Jiffy Lube, of course.

But lesser known brands require smaller upfront investments. Depending upon your interests and how much money you have to invest initially, your choices are practically unlimited. You can choose from industries for restaurants, spas, real estate, insurance, travel planning, and a whole host of others.

For instance, one unique and profitable niche is the electronic cigarette industry, where you’ll find multiple franchise opportunities with leading retailers. Since smokers have made the switch from regular cigarettes to electronic cigarettes, this market is wide open. One of the established and trusted brands in that market is VapeStore.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: ENTREPRENEUR MAG TOP 500 FRANCHISE LIST FOR 2017

 

Here Are the Keys to the Kingdom

The secret to running a successful franchise business is choosing the right franchiser. The franchiser’s commitment to quality, support, product variety, and a fair commission structure will definitely influence your earnings. But with careful planning, smart choices, and lots of hard work you really can be your own boss.