Will I be successful as a franchisee? One of the soundest pieces of advice to take when considering becoming a franchisee is to Assess Yourself. Assess whether you can accept direction. Some people cannot. Assess whether you can work within definite systems and structures without feeling trapped. Assess if you are committed to the franchise concept and if you believe in it. If you feel that you can work within these parameters then go for a franchise. If not, then a franchise may not be for you. Also realise that owning your own non-franchised business is nearly 3 times more likely to go broke than a franchised business. In todays cut throat world you should take every edge you can get. And dont forget, you are going to be your own boss, if you would sack yourself it may be wise not to have your own business at all. Are franchises fool-proof? Absolutely not. Franchises rely on you to succeed. Even if you succeed certain things may occur beyond your control that may make your franchise crash. These aspects are potential failures of the franchisor. Regardless, of how well you run your franchise you may be forced to close because of the performance of you franchiser. The main ways your franchiser can crash are: Structure of the franchise If the franchisor decided to start the franchise with no testing, a short track-record, bad advice, the structure of the franchise may be flawed. If this is the case the franchisor may run into financial difficulty. If that happens then the parent company that owns all the franchises may be forced to cease operation. Bad franchisees Most franchises have a means-tested selection process. This is because franchisor want to ensure that the best people, or at the very least, technically competent people, run the franchises. If there is no selection criteria then the franchisor cannot ensure success. If there is set selection criteria then the franchisor has tried to mitigate risk in this way. Entry qualification to starting a franchise should be something to look out for. If it is too easy to be a franchisee then it may be wise to avoid that particular franchise. |
