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It goes without saying that if you choose the right franchise business opportunity for you, your chances of success increase substantially. But how do you do it?
Specifically, how do you determine if the franchise you’re focused on is right for you?
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What Makes A Franchise “Right?”
Before I share five things that will help you figure out if the franchise you’re investigating is right for you, let’s talk about the word “right.”
Namely, how do you define the right franchise?
Now, if you’re able to do it quickly, that’s great. But if you’re not quite sure how to define what the right franchise opportunity for you actually is, I have a solution that will help.
The solution I’m referring to is a thesaurus. Why?
Because when you’re focused or stuck on something (in this case, what the “right” franchise to purchase), substituting a similar word may help you see things in a new light.
To show you what I mean, I’d like you to try using one of these words to describe what a franchise would have to look like/feel like to be the right one for you:
- Well-suited
- Moralistic
- Tailor-made
- Relevant
- Perfect
What do you think? Does substituting any of the words above help?
If so, you’re closer to finding the right franchise.
If not, the next section may help.
Criteria For Choosing The Right Franchise
In addition to how a franchise opportunity looks and/or feels to you, there needs to be several things that ring true to you business-wise for a specific franchise opportunity to be the right one. Let’s call them criteria. Some examples:
1. The timing needs to be right.
Ask yourself if this is the right time for you to be considering business ownership.
To be sure, there may never be a “perfect” time to get into business. But there are better times than others.
I’ll leave the timing issue up to you, as it’s a very personal decision. It’s definitely one that should include a consultation with family members who will be directly impacted by your decision.
2. The franchise opportunity needs to be one you can easily visualize owning.
Specifically, when you visit a franchisee to see how the franchise operates, is the business something you can see yourself owning and operating? Experience tells me that either it is or it isn’t. There’s no in-between. In other words, you’ll “know.”
3. The franchise opportunity you’re looking into needs to be affordable.
What I mean by affordable: I’m talking about a franchise business that, after you invest the upfront money required, you’re left with breathing room.
Translation: You have ample funds set aside for ongoing business and personal living expenses for the early days of franchise operation.
4. The expected area for the franchise opportunity needs to have enough potential patrons.
The geographic area you’re thinking about opening your franchise in must have enough potential customers for your business to thrive.
How will know ahead of time? There are a couple of things you can do.
The first thing you can do is to make sure the franchisor has done a thorough market analysis of the area you're considering. Once they’ve done it, ask them to show you the data they compiled.
The second thing you can do is ask existing franchisees about their specific areas. Are they happy with their territory? Are there enough customers? Did headquarters help them determine the best area to open their business in?
5. The franchise opportunity should lend itself to your skill set (within reason).
You need to find out if your skill set is a good match for the business.
In other words, do you possess the specific skills needed to successfully own and operate the franchise you’re thinking of buying?
One easy way to find out is to ask the franchisees you call (as part of your research), about their backgrounds and their skill sets.
Are their backgrounds similar to yours? Do they have the same skills you have?
However, don't be discouraged if you don't have all of the skills to run your desired franchise ahead of time. Franchisors offer training that will help you bridge the gap on skills you need to know.
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To summarize, if you want to increase your chances of success as the owner of a franchise, make sure the franchise opportunity you’re looking at meets both your personal and business criteria.
Because those are the things that will make it the right franchise for you.
The Franchise King®, Joel Libava, is a top franchise expert. He’s written over 2,000 different articles on franchise ownership and personally consults with people who are looking to buy a profitable franchise. Go here to find out how The Franchise King® can help you become your own boss.