Evaluate Yourself Before Evaluating a Franchise

When I began searching for a business of my own several years ago, I assumed my options would be limited to the obvious franchise choices, such as fast food or high-profile retail. Much to my delight, I discovered along the way that the available choices actually went far beyond the obvious. Today there are more than 2,500 franchise concepts available in over 80 industries! This opens up a new universe of possibilities for the prospective investor, and affords them the opportunity to make a selection based on their own personal vision and criteria, instead of being pigeon-holed into limited offerings.

One thing I tell people beginning the search process is “prepare to be nervous”. Fear is a perfectly natural occurrence anytime a big decision is being contemplated. Those that really want to move ahead with their entrepreneurial dream will need to manage the fear, and a great way to start that process is by doing a self-evaluation. What are the reasons that are driving you to consider going into to business for yourself, or getting into a new business if you already have one? Are those reasons compelling enough to warrant the investment of time to even start researching franchises, let alone operate one? If you answer no to this question, stop here and don’t waste your time proceeding any further. If, however, you’re pretty certain that there IS a compelling reason to start a business, continue probing yourself with self-evaluation questions, such as: What are my short and long-term lifestyle goals? What prior job or business experiences do I want to avoid repeating? How many hours am I able or willing to devote to my new business? How do I feel about managing employees; how many; what type? What transferable skills do I bring from my past education and experience that can be leveraged in my new business? Am I comfortable with taking a product or service to my customer/client, or do I need a business where the customer comes to me? How aggressive am I able or willing to be with outbound sales, marketing and networking? Will I be satisfied with a single unit or territory, or do I want lots of future growth potential? What geographic areas am I willing to consider? How much of my own capital am I able and willing to invest, while still being able to cover my personal living expenses during the start-up phase? Continue Reading This Article

Mark Cory

http://www.michiganfranchiseforum.com/

About FranNet

Franchise Network (FranNet) is the nation's oldest (since 1987) and most respected franchise consulting firm. With offices in over fifty North American and international cities, FranNet offers consulting services on a NO FEE basis to individuals committed to starting their own businesses. We work with over 100 franchise companies in a variety of industries. Our approach is to profile our client utilizing our proprietary online Franchise Assessment Tool, and then conduct a face-to-face consultation in order to establish a Business Model based on individual preferences, personality, transferable skills, business and personal goals, and budget. We then recommend appropriate franchise concepts for them to investigate, and coach them through the research and decision process. We are independent of the franchisors, and are solely focused on getting the client what they desire, with affordability and safety. FranNet is the ONLY group of franchise consultants who operate exclusively in their own protected territories, uniquely qualifying us to serve the people of our communities.

Since its inception in 1987, FranNet has enjoyed an ongoing relationship with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In fact, the SBA and FranNet recently created and co-sponsored an online franchising training course, making FranNet the first and only franchise consulting group to partner with the SBA in franchise education initiatives. The brief introduction to franchising course, Franchising Basics, is a free online seminar which provides three key sections that examine more than 10 essential areas relating to franchising, including category options, strategies for growth, and pitfalls to avoid. Go to Franchising Basics.

At FranNet, we know that investing in a business can be a fearful decision, so we’ve designed educational seminars and a personalized consulting service to help people like you determine if franchising is the right path, and if so, to safely research viable choices in order to select the RIGHT one. We’re here to help you learn the pros and cons of franchising, the range of costs and types of franchises, and successful techniques for doing effective research. We’ll guide you through a strategic process for finding the franchise business opportunity that is right for YOU – and our services are FREE. Contact us today to get started!

Mark Cory
www.MichiganFranchiseForum.com

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