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With thousands of different franchise business opportunities available to buy, it’s crucial for you to approach your search in a methodical way.
One reason you need to approach franchise buying in a methodical way is to prevent yourself from feeling overwhelmed by the myriad of choices. Secondly, if you do your franchise search in a methodical way, it will help you stay organized.
Why does staying organized matter? Because an unorganized search is time-consuming, energy-sapping, and frustrating. And it rarely leads to your goal of finding the right franchise, so you can start working for yourself instead of working for someone else.
That said, if you’d like to decrease your chances of feeling overwhelmed and unorganized and increase your chances of finding franchise business opportunities that make sense for you and your goals, here's some advice.
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The ABC’s Of Choosing A Franchise
Use these tips to stay organized and productive as you search for a franchise business to buy.
A. Alignment
Before you get too deep in your franchise business search, you need to set up goals that align with what you want in a franchise business and/or what you want it to do for you. These are some examples:
“I want a business that aligns with my core values.”
“I want to own the type of franchise that will enable me to retire in style when I’m ready to sell it.”
“I want to own a franchise that aligns with my goal of employing my family members in the business.”
“I want to be a multi-unit franchisee, so my business can provide lots of jobs and dominate the area.”
Figure out the goals you have. Is there a way to align them with a franchise business?
B. Budget
Have you taken a financial snapshot? Do you know where you stand, financially?
If so, great.
If not, you need to find out exactly where you stand. And it’s easy to do. Just use the Franchise Direct Net Worth Calculator.
Note: Before you use the calculator, you need to have your financial information in front of you.
This information includes, investment statements, mortgage information, credit card statements, car loan/lease amounts, and any other paperwork that lists your assets and liabilities.
By having all of the needed information previously gathered, all you’ll need to do is input the numbers in the calculator and let the software do its thing.
Finally, with an understanding of your net worth, you’ll be able to determine where you stand, so you can come up with a specific investment amount you’re willing to invest in a franchise.
Important! When you’re looking at specific franchise opportunities, you need to focus on the total upfront investment -- not just the franchise fee.
Also, make a commitment to only explore franchises that fit within your budget. Doing so will help your search stay efficient, as you won’t be spending time looking at franchises that are out of your investment range.
C. Contact
I promise that being methodical in your search for a franchise business will save you a lot of time and aggravation. But there’s something else you need to do. And it’s harder than you think.
You need to contact the franchisors you’re interested in learning more about. Don't just rely on the information you find on the internet.
In my experience, a lot of people look for franchises to buy, but they never get past the looking stage.
I hear things like, “the business didn’t look like it would make any money,” or “there are too many similar franchises around.” It’s unfortunate.
Why? Because the people who do that aren’t getting their information from the source.
For example, how would someone know that they couldn’t make money with a particular franchise? How are they so sure the information they find matches up with their individual situation?
Nevertheless, potential franchise buyers do this a lot.
And what if there is a lot of competition?
Maybe it means that the product or service has a big demand, and there’s plenty of business to go around. Again, if you don’t find out from the franchisor and the franchisees, you’re just guessing!
That’s why you need to contact the franchisors.
They have the information you need.
And it’s easy to do.
Just fill in the “Request Free Info” when you find a franchise business you want to learn more about.
Are you ready to begin your search for a franchise business? Start with the search bar above!
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.