Selecting a franchise may be one of the biggest choices you make in your lifetime and for that reason aspiring franchisees undertake a lot of research - rightly so - but they often forget to do the most important part of researching - understanding themselves. You should sit down and take as much time as needed to completely understand yourself before you start to even look at any franchises in particular.

Is Franchising for you?

Franchising isn’t for everybody, in fact, it’s a very challenging occupation that will become stressful and time consuming but it’s also very rewarding. Every franchise will offer different areas to make franchising work for a variety of people but the franchise model won’t alter in certain areas. So, the first thing you should ask yourself; is franchising for me? If all your answers, to the fundamental following questions, is yes then perhaps you have what it takes to consider franchising as your occupation:

• Can you accept that the franchisor will always have the authority on the franchises model?
• Can you work with an established system where you will have little or no input for trying to change/improve the franchise as a whole?
• Can you promote a franchise with pride, knowing that it will have never been your idea or original business?

If you answered no to any of the above questions, then I would suggest that perhaps franchising isn’t for you as these rules apply to all franchises.

Your Personal Interest

If you look at all the franchise industries available, you will find the variety of franchises out there which means there is something that will interest you on a personal level. What we suggest is that you make a note of what you enjoy doing, whether this be an avid vehicle driver, animal lover or a computer geek. Once you understand an area that genuinely interests you, then you need to understand if this area will challenge you to the level you will require to drive your commitment.

Skills/Strengths/Experience/Personality

Answer the following questions for yourself to highlight what franchises might suit you:

• Do you prefer doing physical or mental tasks?
• What experience do you have that can be applied at work?
• Are you an introvert or extravert?
• Are you a good communicator and can you spend all day speaking to others?
• Are you well organised?
• What skills do you have that can be applied at work?
• Do you prefer to be mobile or stationary?
• Do you enjoy travelling?
• Do you prefer wearing business attire or would you rather wear comfortable clothes?
• What are your personal strengths?

Commitments of Franchising

When you start off as a franchisee it will involve a lot of hands on work that will be time consuming, often with unsociable hours, but for some franchises this can change to be more relax after the initial set up. So, it’s important to understand what commitments you can make in the ongoing years, following the initial set up time.

• Do you want a full time, part time, or unsociable hours franchise?
• Are you flexible with the time you can work or would it have to follow a strict routine?
• Are you physically able to stand for hours on end or travel constantly or would a more sedentary job/working from home franchise suit you better?
• Do you need a strict business life and personal life separation or can they intertwin?
• Do you have any family commitments e.g. childcare?

Finance

It may seem unusual to discuss finance when the topic is understanding yourself but the finance that you have or can get is a major role in understanding yourself as it limits you at the offset.

• How much can you risk e.g. how much can you realistically put in?
• Can your family help with the investment and if so, can you handle the stress attached to owing your family money?
• Can you cope if you are hit on hard times with unexpected losses?
• Are you likely going to have large personal financial commitments in the near future?
• Can you raise finance through funding e.g. what is your credit rating?
• Overall do you have the resource to survive the time it takes to set up a franchise before you start receiving any profits?

Operating the Business

Finding a franchise that works for you and that you can commit to is great but this is a ongoing business model so you need to ensure that you can commit for a long period of time.

• How much commute time can you commit to, knowing this could be your work journey for the next 20 years?
• What methods of transport would you be willing to take?
• What type of people do you enjoy working with and who wouldn’t you want to spend a large amount of time with or communicating to?
• What customers are you likely to face and can you handle facing these customers for 20 years?

Ambitions

After you have answered all these questions, you should have a clearer understanding as to what franchise industries will suit you but you have one more area to cover before you understand yourself. Do these franchise opportunities have the potential to fulfil you ambitions on a personal level?

If you have answered all the questions in this blog then you have a clear understanding of what might work for you in terms of franchise opportunities so we would then recommend you following the next guide in choosing a franchise opportunity