Cherish the dream to be an entrepreneur

Franchising offers a wise option to get started with your own business under an established and profitable system feels the successful franchisees. One most significant decision that can make or break a franchisee successful is the right selection of franchise business. No doubt it is a tough decision but when taken with utmost care it proves to be the saving grace for franchisee’s better future. In order to offer substantial details of how important it is to evaluate a franchise opportunity, the franchisees’ opinion is very significant.

Stepping stones to franchise success

Zeroing on a particular brand and its franchise offerings is one of the most important decisions that an aspirant has to make. Do not rush into it out of sheer excitement!! Before getting into the company’s profile, it is always better to fetch ample amount of time for introspection. Franchisee need to know the answers of four basic questions that will plunge him to the next level.

• Which industry interests franchisee, the most?

This is the most important question to ask, as it will decide the fate of your franchise business. As TK Rithal, Regional Franchisee, ClubLaptop says, “It is always advisable to take up a franchise business that interests you or the industry you always want to get into. It helps you in long run and in operating the business successfully.”

• In which industry, franchisee has experience?

Knowledge and experience in the similar industry is something that will always be helpful. As Sanjay Purohit, CEO, iProf India says, “Experience is not at all the criteria for the selection of the franchisees; however, experience in the education sector can be added advantage for the entrepreneur.” However, when taking up a franchise business, a franchisee gets all the help he requires in establishing the franchise business during the initial phase.

• If the franchisee is ready to invest in a particular franchise?

It is utmost important to take into account the money involved in taking up a franchise business. A franchise business usually requires a franchise fee, rentals of the franchised outlet, hidden costs, ongoing expenses and so on. Also, to check that you do have enough money to invest in before the franchise business becomes profitable.

• Knowing about the best players in that particular industry?

The best way to get the list of the key players of any particular industry is to search on the internet. As Rithal says, “I searched the web, studied the information I got about the various companies on it and then moved on with my decision of talking up a franchise business.”  Once an aspirant gets the list, pick the brands that fulfill requisites and criteria and then move on to explore the other important parameters of evaluating a franchise opportunity.

Study the brand
There are a number of factors that an aspiring entrepreneur must consider while selecting a franchise business or brand, which includes:

• Brand name: It is the primary reason of taking up a franchise business. This is due to the fact that wider the recognition of the brand name, more the number of customers it will draw to your franchised outlet. “Additionally, an aspiring franchisee is also need to look at the past history of the company and its growth graph in order to reduce the risk of failure and loss,” says Rithal.
• Demand for products or services: An entrepreneur needs to carefully study the market to know the demand for the franchisor’s products and services. Being an aspirant, you need to study the pattern of demand whether it is seasonal or remains the same throughout the year. For instance, laundry and dry cleaning business is seasonal whereas F&B, apparels, footwear and so on. Besides this, you also need to find out whether the product and services of the brand have the potential to generate repeat business in the future in your area of operations or not.
• Competition: Carefully examine the number of players competing with that particular brand in your area? What is the level of competition and what are the offerings of the competitors in your area?
• Number of existing franchisees and their performances: As a new entrant of the franchise network, you should investigate about the existing franchisees and how good or bad are they doing in their respective areas of business operations.
• Franchise offerings and support system: You can consult the company directly about the franchise offerings and supports that it would be providing to its franchisee. You can also cross check these offerings by talking to the existing franchisees.

Keeping all these points in mind during the perusal of the franchise opportunity can help you to achieve new heights of entrepreneurial success. So, what are you waiting for? This is the right time to enter the sector of interest by joining hands with an established brand to start a business and get benefited.