Franchise vs. Start-up
Some people may be thinking, what’s the difference? Well, although it seems like taking lead of a franchise is starting your own business, it really is not. I see nothing wrong with doing one; however, I feel a franchise is the safe way of starting a business. You really aren’t even starting it.
Running your own franchise store is really just following a set of guideline set by the “head commanders.” Essentially, how is that any different from working in an office and doing what a boss tells you? In fact, as a franchise you pay them an annual fee for allowing you to use their name and resources. For people who have never really looked into operating a store, you first sign up for the franchise you want to run. You usually have to give some income estimates, previous jobs, blah, blah, blah. Anywhere from the next day till 20 years down the road you might be asked some follow up questions. If everything checks out, then you may get lucky and get a wonderful store located in a prime spot… or not.
I like to make it clear here that I don’t have a problem with running a franchise. I even recommend it, but I dislike it when people clump it in with starting you own business. As a franchise you are given most all the tools and resources that you will need to succeed (after you fork over you life savings first). You can almost compare running a franchise to a regional store manager. Many times your creativity is stifled because you are usually forbidden to sway from the guidelines. As a true start-up, you must come up will all the tools to success on your own. You must raise and find capital; furthermore, I believe that there is more room to grow as a start-up.
Moreover, there are clear advantages to choosing a franchise. You get to use a trusted and established name (for a small fee of course), sometimes the location you receive has already been around for a while so you attain the existing clientele, and you already have a set of guidelines and resources to follow that has already proven to be successful. Unlike the start-up I feel there is a cap on the amount of growth that can be had. It is true that you can always buy more and more franchises. I knew one guy who owned around 20 Dunkin’ Doughnuts or something like that, but I don’t consider that the same growth as running a start-up.
These are just some things to consider when pondering over starting your own business or acquiring a franchise store. Either choice can turn out to be beneficial. It is really just a matter of deciding which one is personally best for you to choose. Sometimes you may not be able to take that risk of starting you own business from scratch, and other times it might be good to gain experience from running a proven brand, then later branching off into your own world. I know one franchise opportunity I would love to jump at… either an NBA or NFL team, so if you know someone or are (well I don’t know why you are reading this) a ridiculously rich person, get at me!<!–kw=franchise venture entrepreneur start–>
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