Becoming a franchisee is the starting point for many successful careers in the UK, but does this mean it’s the right route for you? The answer to this question depends on who your asking the question to. Franchises are a tried and tested business model that works, but it’s not a guaranteed success for every franchisee.

To find out if you are ready to be a franchisee, we recommend you look at the points below and be as honest as possible when reviewing yourself and the market. Becoming a franchisee can be the best career decision you ever make but doing it wrong can lead you to failure.

Franchisee Personality Traits

There is no one size fits all in terms of traits for becoming a successful franchisee as it depends on a lot more factors. Remember running a franchise is very similar to running a business, in the sense that you will manage the running of your franchise unit. You need to be able to make important decisions regularly, hire & fire staff, negotiate contracts and manage finance. Each of these elements are difficult and you need the ability to do all of it, which not only requires a certain amount of intelligence, but also the determination to keep on top of it all.

The other large aspect to consider, which is unique to franchising, is that even though you manage your business, you ultimately still have a boss (franchisor). This means a certain amount of decisions will be out of your control and even if you don’t agree, you must implement them for your franchise unit. Depending on your personality trait, this is either a good or bad thing. Having assistance in terms of business decisions will be a positive view for some, whereas others will dislike the fact that they don’t have complete control and not everything can be there way. Understanding this fact from the very beginning is important as if you are someone that needs complete decision-making power, then franchising isn’t for you.

Understanding if you have the personality traits required and if franchising is even an option that you should consider is a very important step, which is why we created this article to assist you – Choosing a Franchise: Understanding Yourself

Franchise Research

If you’ve taken the first step in deciding that you are the right fit for the franchise model, you then have to find out if there is a suitable franchise for you, this involves several steps.

Market Research

Each market will have unique features which will suit different characteristics for franchisees. First you need to understand will this market interest you, then you need to understand how strong the market is. Both need to be considered as even if you are perfectly suited to a particular market you shouldn’t join it if it doesn’t have a positive outlook.

Location Research

You have the perfect market or markets, now you need to find the perfect location for that market. You will want to find something that is both: suitable for you in terms of travelling to work each day and somewhere that has the target market for your desired industries.

The Franchise of Choice

As you know the industries/markets and locations you are interested in, then you need to identify what franchise opportunities exists within these limitations. Unless you are going for a very specific area or in a market where few franchises exist, chances are there’s going to be a few franchises on your potential list.

To identify what franchise is perfect for you, you need to evaluate two main areas:

• Do you fit in with the culture of the franchise?
• Does this franchise have a positive outlook?

Again, both need to be considered as if either one is a “no” then chances are if you join their franchise you will fail. Finding the right franchise is incredibly important and we suggest that when you evaluate each one you look at the following areas:

• Reviews from their existing franchisees
• Their track record
• Financial performance
• Their willingness to provide information and their professionalism

Franchisee Support

Support is essential at the beginning of a franchise opportunity and were not just talking about one type of support. You need to ensure that you have the financial support, so you can meet the financial obligations of investing and running the franchise whilst still being able to provide cover for your own financial obligations.

As it’s a new business, you will need to set up a lot of the procedures like your supply chain, marketing, operations and sales. Each of these are areas you can receive support from your franchisor but be sure to talk through each one with them first to understand the level you will receive.

The last and often overlooked type of support is personal support. Running your own business is mentally challenging and you will have your highs but there will also be lows and you need to be sure you can handle this. Having some kind of personal support, whether that be your family’s, your friends or professional, it will help when you go through rough patches.

If you are still looking for that perfect franchise, then why not take a look at what we have to offer – Franchise Opportunities in the UK