After the success of foreign brands like McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza across many nations, the concept of franchising has become the talk of the town. For business owners, franchising is perhaps the best way to expand their presence across different geographical locations while for the franchisees it is one of the best ways to plunge into the entrepreneurial world.
There are many aspiring entrepreneurs who might be interested to buy a franchise business, and why not, it is such a great business model. But among a variety of businesses and brands in franchising, how to look for the best business opportunity! Read on to discover five ways you can find the best business opportunities in franchising.
1. Decide Where Your Interest Lies-
The first step of choosing a franchise business should always be the decision of the product or service you will be providing to the customers. And for that, one should definitely rely on their interests and not on any other external factor.
These external factors could be anything. Let me explain by giving you an example. Suppose you want to take up a franchise and you search on the internet ‘the best ten franchises that are selling’, you will get a long list of successful brands for sure. So, there’s a probability that you might be influenced by the profits they are generating and the recognition they have build, but one must also not forget to consider their own interests. If you are interested in the shoe business, then opt for the best shoe franchise, not for a pizza franchise just because it is selling.
One must also conform to their interests and not from someone else’s opinion. Although it is perfectly fine to experiment or take someone else’s opinions for a better entrepreneurial venture one must be true to their own opinions. In a nutshell, start with establishing your own criteria for a franchise, do understand where your interests lie, and then go ahead with the best franchise idea that you feel most aligned with.
2. Decide a Criterion for Selecting Franchises-
After deciding your franchise business idea, it is time to create your own criterion for selecting a franchise. Deciding on a criterion means you must create a list of characteristics for your ideal franchise. As your ultimate goal should be to generate as much profit as possible, you must create a list that you think is important for your bright entrepreneurial future.
The criterion could include the following steps:
3. Shortlist the Brands-
When you’ve made a criterion and have got a clear idea of what you’re looking for, then comes the time for some actual action. Prepare a list of brands that fit under your criterion and research further about each brand.
While short-listing, you must know to gather some real franchising details about the brands that are the most crucial for you to know. For instance, you must know the industry, the start-up cost, the risk levels, support provided, expected ROI, expected breakeven, the area required, franchisee fee, etc so that you know what you have to have while buying the franchise.
By short-listing the brands, you might get a comparative analysis of all the brands and you can easily decide which one is more feasible for you. A minimum of 10 franchise brands should be on your list and it’s up to you if you wish to extend it further. After shortlisting, you just need to investigate the brands even more with the help of some essential resources.
4. Use Various Resources to Understand the Brands-
Now that you have created the list, it is time for you to research further, and this time the research should be primary. Primary research is basically research that can provide you the information which is first-hand. One can extract first-hand information from the brand themselves or by meeting with the existing franchisees. Many brands have the ‘franchisee’ section in their websites where many aspirants file inquiries about their concerns or many also share the contact details of their franchise managers. These brands could explain the business model easily and you can also ask any doubts.
The other way to understand the brand is by contacting the existing franchisees themselves. This might be a time-taking way, but could be a very good way to know about the brand and the support they provide to the franchisees. For instance, you might contact Domino’s Pizza’s Greater Kailash franchisee and can ask them about the model and how Domino’s Pizza extends help to the franchisee. This is something more authentic. You can do this for multiple outlets and understand the model clearer.
5. Compare and Refine
Once you have done your homework about the short-listed brands, it is time to compare and refine the best franchise opportunity for you. Review everything that you have gathered, and try to understand which brand works the best for you.
Compare the primary data about the brands with the criteria you had developed for selecting the brands and try to understand which of the brands fulfill the criteria the most. And you would be left with the best franchise opportunity for yourself!
