- Tips/Guides-Tips/Guides
Dreaming of owning your own business but not sure where and how to begin? Starting a business requires a lot of research, analysing, brainstorming, and planning beforehand. If some of these aspects are not in your arsenal of skill sets, franchising can give you a kickstart if you’re itching to get off the ground sooner rather than later.
There are a plethora of reasons why you should consider owning a franchise.
Get a head start with a recognisable brand
Customers are more comfortable doing business with a brand they know. With a franchise, you can benefit from an established brand name from day one.
A recognised and well-loved brand has already built up a good reputation in the marketplace, so you’ll be getting off from a good base from the start. There will already be a strong customer base who are familiar with your product and services. You benefit from the expertise and experience of an established brand – a tried and tested formula means there’s less guesswork – and you can focus on building and growing your business. Marketing, site selection, suppliers, and products are all already approved and all that’s needed is for you to take the ball and run with it.
With a proven formula, it’s less risky
When you invest in a franchise, you’re investing in a proven concept and being part of a support network. A franchisor would have worked out foreseeable problems and pitfalls and created a process for ironing these out. This provides you with more security and certainty than if you were to take your own idea into the unknown.
Training programmes and on-the-job-training
To set you up for the best possible chance of success, you’ll be inducted into training programmes that include everything to bring you up to speed as quickly as possible. This ensures you run the business efficiently from the get go and to help you avoid the common mistakes that many new business owners face.
Ongoing training and refresher courses are also a key offering of a good franchisor, which may encompass such areas like marketing and business operations.
Built-in corporate and local support
With a franchise you already have an experienced team of people backing you up. Your success is as important to the franchise as it is to you, and a good franchise will have a good support system that you can tap into whenever you need assistance or advice.
So whether you need someone to bounce ideas off on how to improve sales, ask for cost-cutting tips, understand more about payrolls or general business operations, often it just means picking up the phone. This day-to-day support system means you should never have to feel intimidated or overwhelmed.
Mass purchasing power
There is strength in numbers and franchises can leverage this to negotiate deals. Everything you need to buy to set up your business as well as for ongoing maintenance and consumables can come in at lower prices than what an independent business would have to pay.
From advertising and marketing, furniture and equipment, to uniforms and inventory, you can take advantage of existing suppliers who have most likely negotiated discounted prices with the franchisor. Taking advantage of this can save you a lot of time, not to mention money.
Assistance with real estate, construction, and set up
Franchisors have contacts with real estate agencies who can help you find the right location for your particular business, and negotiate the best deal.
You can also benefit from having your site layout designed and having access to building contractors who are familiar with the franchise. A franchisor may also offer assistance with the on-site set up of your business to help you get started.
Technology tools and resources
You’ll have access to the business systems, computer programmes, and contacts with technology solutions providers, saving you time spent on having to set up from scratch.
Conclusion
Not every business owner is suitable as a franchisee and not all franchises are made equal.
First assess yourself – do you have a passion and some knowledge of the industry, do you prefer to make decisions and implement them without having to go through channels?
Do your due diligence. Evaluate the business, read the terms and conditions, ask lots of questions, and research, research, research! Doing all this from the onset will go a long way to owning a successful franchise you can be proud of.
Interested in opening up a Supa Quick business? Submit an online franchise application form and we’ll call you right back to discuss setting up an interview.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational, educational, or entertainment purposes only. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of the content.
