Franchising is one way to start a business for yourself - someone has (usually) done all the hard work and created the opportunity. However, running a franchise brings with it some extra responsibilities over running a normal business. A franchise is useful if you lack business experience, especially in management.
Essentially franchisors are looking for motivated people with good communication skills from different backgrounds. That's one reason why franchisees are statistically more likely to succeed than normal business start-ups. And they provide lots of work: according to the Economic Impact of Franchised Businesses report, in 2005 American franchises operated 909,253 businesses which provided 11 million jobs.
Once you have found a franchise opportunity you will need to understand the mechanics of how it runs.
- A good franchise offers a complete business package which includes training, marketing, helping you start-up, and operational procedures. These procedures, known as the 'operations manual' dictate what you can, and cannot, do with the franchise.
- The franchise generally comes with a mentor - someone who knows how to make your investment a success. Make good use of this opportunity by writing down questions to ask and keeping a record of what is said.
- Recruit staff just as you would in a normal start-up. Check references and have a 90-day probation period. Once recruited they, and you, have to abide by the operations manual.
- Don't lose sight that this is your business - you will have to stay close to the day-to-day operation to ensure it works correctly and maintain customer satisfaction. Depending on the type of franchise you will have to hire specialist help such as an accountant to help you run the business.
You can read more about running a franchise business opportunity at Hubpages.
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