What are the initial steps before your franchise search? The lure of franchise ownership can be a heady experience. You imagine the thrill of being your own boss, creating wealth for yourself instead of someone else. But you don’t want to enter the search process unprepared, and susceptible to mistakes.
You have so many questions:
- Will you be happy as a franchisee?
- Can you make the money you need to provide for yourself and your future?
- Where do you even start, with thousands of franchise opportunities available?
The best way to beat the odds, even before you even begin looking at franchises, is to do an introspective self-evaluation of your own strengths and challenges. So, sit down, get out paper and pen, and as objectively as possible answer these questions:
Perform A Self-Evaluation Checklist
1. Skills and Strengths
- What part of your current and past jobs have you liked doing the most?
- How focused will you be on customer service?
- Are you already an active part of your community or will you be actively networking to build your business?
- Describe the work environment that most appeals to you, such as busy mall location, home office or quiet industrial space.
- Do you have a background in sales or marketing? Do you enjoy cold calling or do you prefer that customers come to you?
- Are you status conscious? Does it matter to you what the product or service of the franchise is or does the business potential matter more?
2. Challenges
- What part of your current and past jobs have you liked doing the least?
- List your weakness, those things you’d not want to do or would want to hire someone to do in a business.
3. Management Skills
- Do you have any experience managing employees? Do you enjoy managing people?
- What type of employee would you most enjoy working with (skilled, minimum wage, etc.) and what number of employees would you be comfortable managing?
- How do you feel about recruiting employees?
- Do you have the experience and skill needed to create a work environment that will allow you to retain employees?
4. Financial Considerations
- How much capital do you have to invest?
- Can you afford to do without a regular income during the start up phase of your new business?
- What are your financial goals?
- How do you see your lifestyle changing as a result of meeting your financial goals?
- How do you feel about taking the risk of becoming self-employed?
Are you a Team Player?
Franchising is all about following someone else’s system. Can you picture yourself in this role, executing a system you didn’t create?
Once you have answered these questions, you’ll begin to see a clearer picture of what talents you can bring to the franchise business and what you expect to receive in return. The next step is to start looking at opportunities and evaluating them based on your answers. It may take some effort to find the right franchise but don’t compromise on your goals.
If you need help, find the right franchise consultant who can offer you guidance and suggest businesses that will fit you whatever your goals and desires for business owners may be.
Franchise opportunities come in many shapes and sizes and you never need to settle for one that is just not a great fit. Choosing the franchise opportunity that best matches your needs, interests and style is your greatest assurance of happiness and success.