Top 6 Reasons Why You Should Consider Franchising
The current business climate has been rather generous for a while now, so many visionaries have joined the entrepreneurial ranks, abandoning their nine-to-five careers for good. As a result, we have a staggering number of flourishing small businesses flooding the market, turning it into a highly competitive eco-system. While it’s still highly profitable to start your own business, many have also taken notice of another opportunity for independence: franchising.
Novice business managers, as well as business veterans, know all too well the many struggles of startups: building a brand from scratch, raising capital, and impressing their audience are just some among many. These, however, are far less problematic for franchisees, and those considering this option can benefit from learning more about these perks before taking the leap!
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Brand awareness and recognition
First and foremost, one of those startup struggles we’ve mentioned focuses on branding. Every business needs to have a solid brand foundation in order to penetrate the market and appeal to its customers, let alone form long-term loyalty. These businesses need to conduct thorough research in order to offer a competitive service or product while doing their best to stay afloat.
As a franchisee, you’re given a built, well-established brand that is recognized either in your city, your region or even internationally. Consider food chains such as KFC or the coffee giant Starbucks. Then again, you have smaller, equally successful and recognized brands, such as specialty restaurants, educational centers, and the like. The challenge of expanding a rooted business is far less demanding than the one of starting an entire concept from scratch.
Most franchisees start turning a profit very quickly and their key job is managing their reputation and learning the ropes of established brand practices that will lead to greater success in the industry.
Structural support in your niche
On that note, brand management and relying on the tried-and-tested strategies are both another perk of franchising. Your franchisor will hand you all the business plans, marketing stats, and ideal tactics to win over the hearts of your target customer. This is especially important to hands-on people who’d like to keep working in their field of expertise while getting ample support in other aspects of running your own business.
To put it in perspective, opting for a trusted mechanic business for sale in your region means you will not only be able to be an active member of the franchise, but you’ll also have access to guidance and the knowledge base from the corporate team. You can also always talk to and collect experiences from existing franchisees, and they can point out the most common pitfalls or issues to prevent or avoid on your journey. Someday, you may be able to do the same for a new franchisee joining the ranks.
Training from the parent company
As a part of your support program within your parent company, you will receive training in all the necessary aspects of running the business. It will, of course, depend on the industry you’re in, but from basic management, accounting, human resources, marketing and PR, all the way to communication and client acquisition techniques, you’ll be able to rely on their time-tested methods. It’s in their as well as your best interest for you to be able to not only communicate the brand successfully but also continue to find and select the best candidates as employees who will be able to do the same.
Most companies will give you the opportunity to have classroom-type classes as well as on-site training to complement your work experience. Some corporations may even offer to have someone with you for the earliest part of kick-starting your business so that you can have immediate support and guidance if needed.
Greater profitability
Although startups, especially those in the realm of technology do have potential to lead to fast and significant profit, they still come with high costs of running those day-to-day operations, covering overhead costs, and expenses to deliver their designated service. With all that to think of, very few businesses become truly profitable in the first several years of their existence. On the other hand, franchises are able to bring profit sooner rather than later due to all the support, monitoring, and brand awareness.
Additionally, franchisees also often benefit from other perks that lower the costs of running a business, such as access to fully-equipped branches waiting for you to manage them. They do, however, require a hefty investment from the get-go, but the return on this investment is often higher than in the case of a new business that lacks the recognition or support.
Lower risks
There is no new business that comes with no risk attached to it. There is always a chance your funds will run out, or that you simply might not be a match for your competitors. However, this risk is significantly lower for franchises, as you enter the market with a known brand, ample supervision, and the learning curve is far less steep than with a start-up, as you will not be doing it alone.
With more profit to look forward to, easy access to a predetermined market, a successful business model to back you up, and plenty of experience, you can rest assured that your franchise will flourish, provided that you opt for a business that fits your skill set and preferences.
Opportunity to innovate
While the idea of starting your own business often stems from the need to change something that already exists, such as a solution to a particular problem, knowing it will appeal to a certain percentage of the population, franchises often get a bad rap for not being innovative. That, however, if a misconception for the vast majority of franchised businesses, simply because innovation is precisely what puts them on the map, to begin with.
You will not be able to roam far and wide outside of the scope of the brand, but if you have legitimate suggestions for how to improve, provide a new selection of offers, or change your business model in any way or form, the corporation will likely take it into consideration. After all, they are committed to their own growth, and if you bring something to the table they can benefit from, you have no reason to doubt their support.
These benefits are some among many others you would enjoy on your franchising journey, and they truly do make running a franchise a very appealing option in the modern business arena. Startups will always retain their appeal for many people who wish to start their own professional adventure, but franchising remains a profitable, reliable solution for those who’d like to join a trustworthy brand with a reputation of success.
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