A Sea Of Franchise Opportunities
QUESTION: I live in NYC and would like to buy a franchise. Do you have a few franchises you can recommend that are fairly safe bets to succeed and do not require expertise?
1. Safety & Support In A Franchise Opportunity
First, franchise opportunities are generally designed for people without business experience. At least, good franchises are. Training people in the use of their franchising system is the hallmark of every ‘good’ franchise. We say ‘good’ because many are simple bad investments and nothing should be taken for granted when buying a franchise. If a franchisor doesn’t have a program to help a buyer both learn and grow in the concept, they’re not selling a substantial opportunity. Does that make sense? Numbers don’t lie and the numbers on franchise failure are daunting despite what the industry has to say about franchise success rates. Do your homework. Don’t just listen to a sales pitch. Invest heavily in your own franchise due diligence.
2. Location And Business Options
Second, when you consider location, or better yet, demographics, of course you’re smart to investigate what might be popular, unpopular and/or saturated. For example, if your neighborhood is primarily Hispanic, you’d naturally want to know if it’s filled to capacity with related food concepts. But aside from the obvious, there’s a much more important factor to consider and that’s YOU.
3. The Most Important Fact In A Franchise Opportunity
Third, but most importantly. With regard to what might work in your area, bear in mind it’s not just the business or the franchise, but the person that makes the difference. There must be a fit between the individual and what they choose to pursue as a franchise opportunity. Consider it the same concept as the fit between a person and their chosen career. You’ve got to like what you’re doing or it will be nothing but grind at best.
If finding a good fit is of concern to you in terms of choosing the right opportunity, consider our Focus Program for Emerging Entrepreneurs. The Focus Program helps prospective entrepreneurs define themselves relative to the world of self-employment. You may also benefit from reading our series of articles covering a range of issues faced by every prospective franchisee.