Why You Should Buy A Franchise OR Independent Business!
You are reading the headline correctly! I bet you did not expect that did you?
One of the common mistakes when individuals are looking to explore something new in the business world, is to compare either a franchise opportunity or stand-alone business, and (in my opinion) this is a very fatal flaw, they are definitely not the same, so please continue to read so that I can explain further.
Don’t Just Take My Word For it. The Facts…
You can research online and find that independent studies prove the successes of franchising as being in the region of in excess of 90% success rates, now compare these statistics to those for independent businesses as a direct comparison, and they are often seen as low as 20%, I’m sure these figures alone will surprise you, but, does that mean that you will buy or start an independent and fail? Absolutely not! But the figures do tell a picture that you are largely starting off on the wrong foot! Having said this, it is important to think about the real direction you want to take, if you want to be fiercely independent (and plenty of people do, and are very successful at it) then, you do have to go down this route as franchising would be totally the wrong fit for you, but if you are say, sat on the fence, franchising does look more appealing, to start with, from a pure economic point of view, doesn’t it?
Is Franchising Actual More Viable For You?
One of the reasons why franchising is a very viable option is because someone before you has taken all of the risks, made good and bad decisions, and laid out a format that they know works for you to pick up from day one, you will not need to reinvent the wheel, which would have time and financial implications, have a think about the value alone in this for a moment.
You will also need to consider the pro’s and con’s of going alone, prepare yourself for having to think about building your business from the ground up as well as it’s strategic direction, testing and measuring, the failures and successes, there are many more areas not mentioned in this briefest of articles! Then there are the admin duties (often done outside the working day when you are on your own) and in time this will affect your ability to scale, you might not want to of course, but it’s yet another matter to think about now, franchising does also offer a community, and whilst you are effectively paying for the privilege in ongoing fees covered in your franchise term, you will not feel like you are spending more for advice and support like you would need to if you were on your own.
When Is The Best Time To Start A Business?
2020 for sure has been the strangest times for most of us in business and personally hasn’t it, and affected virtually everyone across the world, let’s hope it is a ‘once in a generation’ problem, some will tell you never to start a business post economic resets and maybe they are right, but I can tell you that I have a few businesses under my belt that did do exactly this, and largely grew and were a success, but that aside, I would definitely advise doing so when the time is right for you, this then changes the whole outlook, despite the economy!
Starting a business when it best suits you, might mean when you are in the right zone, or if you simply want achieve the right lifestyle, but there is usually a trigger that forces your hand, such as employment uncertainty for example.
Should You Even Be In Business?
Business, whether independent, franchising or other options, is a largely fascinating and rewarding area to been involved in, but at the same time, mistakes can cost you dearly, and in some instances I have known individuals to literally inject all their collateral into their new way of thinking and lose it all, and often more, but when they look back, they can clearly pin-point areas that they could have minimised the risks, this, I guess, is partly the point I am trying to make on this article to try and help you.
Always look to make measured risks, talk, do your research, seek professional advisers, you can do all of this for little or zero expense, they could be some of the best investment decisions you make in your entire business life!
An Objective Final Point…
Please do remember this, you do have options! I have been there myself too and now have the experience of both types of businesses, I now know what I would (and wouldn’t) do again, but you must do what it right for you, sure, go and seek the expert opinion of others (which by the way is rarely served on social media) and then go and make an informed decision on what feels right in your gut, with that, you will probably make the right decision!
Go and do something today, please remember this…the best time to do something was probably years ago, the second best time is now!
If you have an accountant, they should be your first stop for business advice. If you don’t have an accountant or they can’t help, BuBul has a wide range of experts available. For more advice on buying a franchise, why not contact our expert* Richard on LinkedIn?
*We’ve picked experts we know and trust who are good at what they do. All of them will give you at least an extra 30 minutes free advice if you contact them and would then charge their normal prices. They don’t pay to be on BuBul and don’t give us any money from anything they earn as an expert.