When I speak to people in my network, I often find the same old myths on franchising come up. The thing about buying a franchise is that offerings such as levels of support, training, marketing vary so massively. Here’s some of the most common general misconceptions I’ve come across.
1. Franchising is easy
Wouldn’t it be great if we could buy a business in a box and get immediate success?! Well buying a franchise isn’t exactly like that. Yes, you’ll be investing in tried and tested systems, a great brand and tonnes of support. But, like any new venture it still requires a great deal of hard work, time and perseverance from yourself. The great news is you’ll be leaping over the hurdles the founder had to navigate all those years ago. You will be continuously provided with well thought out solutions, so your path to success can be quicker and far less expensive than going out there on your own.
2. Franchising requires a high investment
It you’re looking at starting a big brand restaurant, then yes investment can be significant. But there are so many options ranging from £3000 to £20000 that can yield excellent returns on your investment. Banks also favour business loans for franchisees. This is because they see them as the type of business that’s most likely to succeed. Many franchisors will be able to put you in touch with lenders who have helped them or their other franchisees before too, making borrowing a lot more straight forward. The franchisor will have ‘proven’ the model and figures to the bank already, rather than you having to provide a much larger business plan and convince them your predictions for your new idea are correct.
3. Only ‘big brand’ franchises will be successful
Just because a brand isn’t known worldwide, or you’ve not come across it until your franchise search, it doesn’t mean it won’t be a successful business. We now live in a world that relies mostly on the internet for buying confidence. As long as the brand you’re buying in to has a good online presence with solid reviews on sites like Google, TripAdvisor, Facebook and a clear brand message that you could also carry forward, you’ve got a good starter recipe for success!
4. You should pick a franchise that serves the general market
Starting any business should be about passion. People may tell you the best franchises are in oven cleaning or coffee trucks… after all everyone needs those don’t they?! But if you’re not passionate about either, you may not last long. You see, being in business is challenging. We don’t have set working hours, no boss to keep us on track and our salaries… we create them ourselves. So the key ingredient to wanting to leap out of bed and get on with running your business is a passion for what you do. I love vintage and I love event management. That’s how I started Le Keux… I didn’t know what the business would look like in ten years time, but I knew I was excited to find out. This keeps us going every day and I can’t recommend enough thinking about what makes your heart skip a beat… that’s your calling.
5. You can’t be creative in a franchise business
Many people believe a franchise will be too rigid to allow them to grow their business how they want. This couldn’t be further from the truth for some opportunities. The franchisor will provide you with standards to keep to (such as how you get back to customers and the quality of the services and products you offer). But they should also be getting your creative ideas on local marketing, new services/products, customer service and retention techniques and so much more. After all you’re at the front of the business. You listen every day to what our customers want. Your ideas and creative input will be valuable to the founders of the company in keeping up with demand and flexing their business to remain competitive and relevant in today’s markets.
If this was useful and you’d like to chat more about franchising, email lynsey@lekeuxevents.co.uk or find out more here. I love helping people find business opportunities and take the leap into their dream jobs!