Best Business Expert

If you are thinking about starting a business, you’ll probably be in the midst of weighing the pros and cons of business types.

 

On the one hand, you could just start your own small business from scratch. You’d own it outright and you’d have full control over the message. And, all the profit would be yours.

 

On the other hand, you could start a franchise. You’d own just a small region of business, you’d share the deployment of the marketing message. And, you’d pay some of the profits to the franchise owner.

 

Franchising can be a good way to start a business because it gives you a bit of a head start. While a brand spanking new business needs to establish its brand and link itself to an audience, a franchise already has many of those elements mostly completed already. There are other benefits, too: Franchising is like a "business in a box" with the systems and best practices already developed. This makes it great for people who want to start a recognized business without having to figure all of that stuff out.

 

However, because franchises are (usually) sold by area and the buyer needs to share some of the profit with the franchise owner, there could be a potential ceiling on earnings. (Note: this ceiling could be quite high, we’re not suggesting that it won’t be).

 

So, a franchise might be good for someone who:

So, where do you find franchises to buy? Franchise.com, BizBuySell, BizQuest, and FranchiseSales.com are four of the biggest.

 

Look for franchises that have an established name and a robust marketing plan. (After all, if they don’t have these, then you might as well start your own brand). Do some research for some of the best franchises. Entrepreneur.com has a good article about it here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500/index.html.

 

Be aware, though, that the "better" a franchise is considered, the more likely you will pay a lot of money for it. So, if a budget is an issue for you, but you still want to franchise, consider finding a franchise that is small and just starting out but has a good plan in place that can grow with you. If you get in on the ground floor with them, you might even be able to negotiate a long term deal that will help you to advance higher in the company at a lower cost than future franchisees might be able to buy in for. And, getting in on the ground floor early in a budding franchise system can also help you to gain a large area of franchises that you can sell off to others.

 

You can also find great information about successful franchising here: