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How To Choose A Franchise
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Article 3: Does The Franchise Fit Your Personal Style?
Everyone’s first question tends to be “How much money can I make?”
But your first question should be “Am I compatible?”
“I had a guy tell me about three years ago he was very unhappy in franchising,” recalls Robert L. Purvin, Jr., CEO of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers. “He had spent 25 years in corporate America, decided to buy a business and ended up buying a florist shop.”
Only then, says Purvin, did it dawn on the fellow that: “The thing I forgot is I hate working with people.”
If there’s a universal rule to apply, it’s first conduct a personality assessment.
It’s important to know whether a franchise is a good fit for you. Trying to shove a square peg into a round hole is certain failure.
What are your motives?
Are you most interested in money? Do you seek modest, steady income? Want to build an ever-growing empire? Need to supplement your retirement checks? Marc Kiekenapp, executive vice president of Franchise Buyer consulting service, knows millionaires happy to make $80,000 a year for the change in lifestyle
If financial concerns aren’t most important, what is? If you can’t identify it, how will you find it? Start by identifying your goals.
“I want to be a success,” isn’t good enough. You’ll always fall short of such an ambiguous goal. Define precisely what success means to you, so you can compare your goals with what a franchise promises and demands. If the franchise can’t take you where you want to go, don’t go.
Where are you in your career cycle? Younger people are more likely interested in building multiple, successful units or growing a business. Older folks may seek merely to keep busy.
What conditions must a franchise satisfy?
Some people seek a franchise so a husband and wife can operate together as a team. Others want an intimate business with employees like family. Perhaps you prefer staying arm’s length from employees or the ability to leave work at work at day’s end. There are franchises compatible with each of these, but you must know what you seek before you can search it out.
How much time do you want to work? What schedule?
Some franchises are nearly continuous operations, requiring you to be on call or even on site at all hours, nearly every day. Are you willing to work more than 40 hours a week? Do you want something less taxing? Is a part-time vocation how you envision your franchise? Do you prefer scheduling flexibility or the regimen of regular hours? Unless you specify your desires, you won’t know to ask whether the franchise can meet them.
The bottom line is that you should pick something you’ll enjoy, both the nature of the business and the nature of your work in the business. Don’t be lured by promises of high profits and growth, even if that’s your primary motivation. No profit compensates for hating your work every day. Your chance of success or failure, even of sticking it out, is directly proportional to how much you love or hate what you do.
Secondary objectives can be deciding factors. Are you interested in a business with strong ties to the community? Or do you prefer continual travel?
“Choose a business that meets your interests,” Purvin says. “You shouldn’t go into a profession you hate.”
“The good news,” Purvin says, “is there are 3,500 companies selling franchises. They cross 60 or 70 different industries. Pet hospital, rent-a-judge, soft drink mixtures, hotels to doggie hotels. Almost anything you want … There’s lots of choice.”
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How To Choose A Franchise
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