Before one makes the “jump” to buy a franchise, you should consider the following:
*Get a good understanding of where you are financially, timeline-wise and from an interest standpoint. You need to assess not only yourself, but your financial position, what kind of cash you have in place, what is your liquidity, what is your net worth?
*Know who YOU are. Before selecting a franchise brand or concept you need to fully understand your own interests, background and business abilities. are your hobbies and interests outside of work or professional life? What are your strengths and weaknesses from a business or personal standpoint?
*Research the market and as many franchise opportunities as you can.
Unless you have a specific company in mind or are using a franchise broker or consultant who is helping you through the process and researching, this could be a lengthy, frustrating process. There are dozens of franchise websites and thousands of franchise opportunities out there, which provide a wide variety of information on franchises.
*Research your financing options. Once you have made your selection, you may need financing, in fact, even if you don’t need financing, it’s good to understand what your options are and what capital/cash is available for you should you need working capital or resources to launch your franchised business. There are numerous options, including conventional bank loans; SBA guaranteed loans; 401k rollovers; alternative financing channels; and home equity loans.
With over a decade of experience in building and developing franchise brands, Franchise Marketing Systems (FMS) continues to pride itself on structuring and modeling various organizations appropriately for replication into new markets.
Christopher Conner is the president of Franchise Marketing Systems, which has become one of the primary organizations for providing full-service marketing and sales support consulting to clients in all industries.