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/