Why start a franchise business?

Just this morning, I was actually asked this question by a potential franchisee considering buying a Families® Magazine.

The lady in question was in a quandary: she’d had a professional career but now wanted to work in a home-based role so she could be around more for her children. Should she take a part time admin job that fitted in with school drop off and pick up and guaranteed a certain monthly income or should she do what really made her heart beat faster: set off on an exciting new journey on which she’d learn new skills and get her creative and entrepreneurial juices flowing.

I told her my answer – if it was a choice between working for someone else in a rather limited administrative role and being in control of my own destiny, I would choose the latter every time.

However, I also explained to her some things that she hadn’t really considered.

Starting a franchise business is not nearly as scary as starting your own business alone. Yes, you have to pay to purchase the franchise but you are buying the power of an established brand and the goodwill of its customers. This is invaluable in ensuring your business is set up correctly, hits the ground running and makes a profit from day one

I always tell potential Families ®magazine franchisees that our brand is 30 years old. It’s one of the first things you should ask a franchisor. The longer they’ve been around, the more tried and tested their model is. They will know exactly what works and what doesn’t; they will ensure you don’t waste money trying initiatives that don’t work and that you prioritise the things that will.

The other key reason to sign up for a franchise business is that your franchisor is working on the bigger picture for your brand. Franchisor and franchisees are inter-dependent and a franchisor is only as successful as its franchisees. This means that a good franchisor will be working very hard behind the scenes to create exactly the working environment and the business model you need to maximise the success of your business. A successful franchise will be run by a franchisor which will be constantly identifying where changes need to be made, offering you new tools and introducing exciting innovations.

So, when you enquire about purchasing a franchise, ask the franchisor lots of questions about its vision for the brand and also make sure you speak to other franchisees in their business. Gauge the levels of passion and engagement of the franchisor’s team and of its existing franchisees. Find out how the franchisor supports franchisees and what projects they have underway to help make their franchisees more successful.

The best franchisors strike a perfect balance between being there when you need them with very personalised support and staying well out of your way to give you the head space and room to breathe. They should not be hovering over your shoulder -unless you want them to, of course; but equally they should be there when you call.

Cast your mind back to when you were a child. Hopefully you had really positive, encouraging parents who stayed in the background while you were off having fun with your friends – but equally were always there to be constructively helpful when you had a problem.

Running a franchise business should give you that same feeling of security. And, being a franchisor (having been a franchisee), having supportive parents and trying to BE a supportive parent, I suppose I’m qualified to know!

Find out more about the Families® Magazine Franchise by clicking below now!