Professionals who have spent numerous years working in the corporate world sometimes will find that they’re ready for a new challenge. After researching their options, many of these career shifters are choosing franchising. Why? Well, usually it boils down to people simply wanting to be their own boss, and being able to more capably utilize their unique skill-set to build wealth. They also realize that starting a business from the ground up is hard! Investing in something that has most the kinks already worked out is a real advantage. And even though running a franchise business offers many advantages over simply starting a business on your own, there’s still some unique challenges that potential franchisees might want to consider. Following is a list of some of those challenges an individual might want to think about before making the leap to owning their very own franchise business!
1. The Comfort of Corporate Structure: Many professionals who have worked in the corporate world are used to the structure the company provided. For the most part, they know when they are supposed to be at work in the morning, and when they’ll be heading home in the evening. They also know who their boss is, what’s expected of them, and who to talk to in order to appropriately delegate certain tasks. However, when an individual becomes the owner of their own franchise business, work schedules, decisions and responsibilities are pretty much up to them. Some might like this challenge, but for others it might be a little overwhelming. However, working within a proven franchise system helps significantly in this area, as the new franchise business owner won’t be going at it alone.
2. Colleagues and Mentors: There’s a lot to be said for having colleagues and mentors who can relate to the challenges of work. And sometimes, a new business owner might feel like the support network they might have had in the corporate world just isn’t quite as strong now that they are out on their own. Because a business owner is responsible to the success of their business, it can be easy to feel insecure or get a little down-in-the-dumps when things may not go as well as hoped. But again, with franchising, fellow franchisees within the system are available to provide help and possible recommendations. The franchisor also knows that this is very common with franchisees - most will walk the new owner through all of this with confidence built on years of experience.
3. Risk: Risk in business is always a factor, regardless if an individual works for themselves or for a company. However, the risk associated with running a business can be quite a bit different than the risks involved with working for someone else. For example, individuals who work for a company know who they have to keep happy in order to maintain a job. However, when one is working for themselves, risk can entail the failure of their business. Because of this, franchising can be a good way to lessen some of the risks associated with running your own business.
4. Working in Marketing: Some people might think that getting into running their own business means that they’ll spend a lot of time working on whatever product their business offers. However, the truth is that many small business owners spend a lot of time working on marketing the business itself. For the small business to succeed, customers will first need to discover what it is the business offers, where it is located, and value it enough to come back. Of course this requires having a great looking store with an outstanding product. But it also requires marketing what the business does in order to encourage customers to come in and purchase what is being offered. With a franchise business, often times graphics and marketing services (ads, e-blasts, social media support, etc.) will be provided, so the business owner will certainly have a big advantage over trying to do it ALL on their own. But they will still need to figure out the best ways to market to their immediate community.
5. Professional Reinvention: Switching from working in the corporate world to working for yourself will naturally involve some change. And as detailed above, there’s certainly some unique challenges involved with this change. However, owning a franchise business means that the franchisor will have a tried-and-true system in place, with many resources available to help educate and anticipate changes that might affect the future of your business. Sure, change is a part of life, but through franchising you can rest a little easier in knowing you won’t have to go through changes alone!
Here at Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids Franchising (a salon franchise for kids), we work hard to share our many great resources for small businesses, marketing strategies and business experiences so that our franchisees will have the tools to succeed! If you've ever asked yourself, "What is franchising?" or would like to know more about how to own a franchise, please click below!
