Start Your Own Business: The Benefits of Franchising

Starting your own business will always be a good investment. A good question to start asking is this: should you start your business from scratch, or should you go with franchising?

Just like all things, starting your own from scratch is not easy. But then again, you may be tired from working almost your whole life for someone else. Or maybe you want the freedom that comes with owning your own business. Or maybe, you want to prove something or maybe make a career out of your longtime passion. 

Whatever your reasons are, starting your own business is – and will always be – a good call on your part. 

But when it comes to starting right, which one is for you; a startup or a franchise? 

Making the decision

Making the decision between a startup or a franchise can be tricky. Both have advantages. Both also have their disadvantages. The following will help you make the decision if a startup or a franchise is the best for you.

Risk meter

Are you someone who is a risk-taker? Starting your own business from the ground up might be the best for you. 

There’s also a risk related to franchising another business. However, the risk is minimal thanks to the proven business model and established support systems that franchises have. 

Creativity or system

Some people start a business out of their hobby. There’s nothing wrong with that. For the most part, some people like the idea of putting everything by themselves – the business plan, how the marketing should go, and all the rest of the business details. If this is you, starting your own business from scratch would be more appealing. 

BUT. 

Franchising follows a more secure system. Since you’re not really starting from scratch, you don’t have to worry about all the stress and intricacies that comes with planning all the details yourself. Most of the legwork is done for you. You can piggyback on the franchisor’s logo, marketing and business plan, store layout if there’s one, and even get information on vendors so you can order your stuff if you’re selling products. In short, you get a proven business system that already works. 

The best part? You can be a newbie in starting your own business, but starting a franchise ensure that you hit the ground up and running – even from day one. 

Compliance or doing everything on your own. 

Being your own boss is cool. You call the shots. You make the decisions. You make things happen. 

It’s also the same way with a franchisee. You are your own boss. You call the shots. You make the decisions. You make things happen. 

But here lies the difference: total freedom in running your business.

When you start your business from scratch, every call and decision you make is all yours. You weigh your options. You go with the best possible outcome for you, your business, and your employees if you have them. 

With a franchise, you still have your freedom and independence. BUT, you have to comply with certain systems and models since they worked for your franchisor. Besides, why invent another wheel when it’s already being used by others before you?

Financial preparedness

More than anything else, starting a business or a franchise can be costly. 

Before you get a return on your investments, you first have to invest not only time, but, more importantly money when starting your own business.

When starting a new business, you can spend a few thousand, hundreds of thousands, or maybe a million or more. It all depends on the nature of the business you want to start and how financially ready you are for it. 

Whether you’re out there starting your own business from scratch or franchising, you have to consider the following costs:

• Borrowing costs
• Licenses and permits
• Equipment and supplies
• Employees’ salary and benefits packages
• Advertising and/or promotion
• Research and development of product and/or services
• Rent

When you look at it closely, all these costs are present for both startups and franchisees. 

But this is where franchises become the better choice. Franchisors do charge a fee, but it’s a small price to pay with a promise of success compared to starting everything from scratch and failing the business in your first year. 

What the numbers say

If you crunch the numbers, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that about 20 percent of startups fail during their first two years. After five years, the number go higher to 45 percent and even higher to 65 percent after 10 years. 

Investopedia notes that the following reasons are the cause for why most startups fail:

• Poor or lack of market research
• Inaccurate or poor business plan
• Lack of financing
• Bad location 
• Poor marketing techniques or nothing at all
• Lack of an Internet presence
• Complacency
• Expanding too fast

In comparison, you’d find a much higher success rate for franchise businesses at 90 percent which translates to just a 10 percent fail rate. 

But that’s not the whole picture. 

The benefits of franchising with the right franchisor 

Even with a higher success rate compared to startup businesses, franchising with the right franchisor increases the success rate of your business. 

 According to Jania Bailey, president of franchise brokerage FranNet, there are what you call new franchises and mature franchises. 

New franchises areas they are called. They are new in the market. They are breaking ground, but they still need a few more years to be considered solid and established in the business. 

Mature franchises, on the other hand, are those that work their charm without any sweat. You already know their brand. Their business model is proven. Most importantly, they already have a system in place that you can follow and replicate to become successful.

Franchising has more benefits than a startup.

Without a doubt, starting a franchise has more benefits than starting a business from scratch. 

But there’s also a catch. 

Franchising is not for everyone. You may want to start your business right now, but you have to be in the perfect condition and mindset to see the business through, have the funds to start, and make sure that you have a market that will benefit from the product or services you would offer. 

The whole point? You have to put in the work to make your franchise business a success. 

Here’s a quick rundown once again on why franchising would be an excellent option for you.

No business experience needed.

Since a franchise already follows a system and has a business model in place, it’s alright if you don’t have the experience necessary to run the business. All you have to do is to follow the system you are provided with, and you’ll be good to go. 

Ongoing support and continuous training for improvement

Most franchisors offer their franchisees training or something similar to make sure that you learn the ropes, get the necessary skills, and have everything else you need to run the franchise business. 

What’s more, you get ongoing support to help you get through any problems that you may encounter when your start your franchise business. 

Brand recognition

One of the best things about a franchise business is that most customers are already familiar with them, so you don’t have to do a lot of advertising and promotion to introduce the business. 

Instead, you can take advantage of a ready customer base and offer your product and/or service to a market that already needs them. 

Buying power

Starting a franchise is much more affordable compared to starting a business from scratch, thanks to the buying power of franchisors. When bought in bulk for franchisee distribution, materials, equipment, and similar products are less expensive since franchisors have an established and direct connection with vendors and suppliers.

Low-risk business investment with better ROI

If you wish to start a business and get enough support to get you going for a few years, franchising is the way to go. Aside from the more affordable costs compared to a startup, banks and financing institutions support franchises more. In fact, the U.S. Small Business Administration provides loans that cater to franchise businesses. 

Overall, a franchise is a low-risk business investment with a promise of a better profit and ROI.

The bottom line

Franchises are a good start if you want to have your own business. But just like any other kind of business, franchisees are not foolproof. To make your franchise business successful, you have to build the necessary skills, put in the effort to make things work, and be determined to find solutions when problems arise in your business.