There is always that little voice in your head that says ‘Should I just start up my own business rather than spending the money on a franchise?’
I want to talk to you about that. I may be a little biased towards franchising (obviously) but I have also had a start-up business, so I also have perspective on the matter.
Many moons ago, when I was much younger (like only 20 years old!) I started my own plumbing business. Pretty simple business right? Was it easy? Not by a long shot!
I had to do it all, well, Anne of course helped me, probably more than most people would know. I had to find my clients, do the quotes, do the jobs, invoice them, follow them up, make all the decisions and find my own way through the maze called business. This doesn’t even include all the mental chatter you have going on in business and I can tell you straight, when things get tough, when the road gets bumpy, being on your own in business is no fun at all.
I think the biggest error in that above sentence of that voice in your head is the world ‘spending’ because if that is how you think about it, then it simply is the wrong way.
In business, you never spend money… you only ever invest it. You don’t spend money on a marketing campaign, you invest money on your marketing campaign because when you invest that money, you want the marketing campaign to give you back more money than it cost to do the campaign.
Same with a franchise.
You want to invest in a franchise, not spend money on it. Look at what you get for your initial investment – not only the training and the equipment, but you are also getting years of experience from day one. You are going to have a team to help and support your every step of the way. Basically, you will speed up your business journey.
I kind of think of it like this.
Start-up is like taking a machete and hacking your way through the bush. Or maybe driving down a gravel road. Whilst franchising is like jumping on board a highway or motorway and being able to have a smoother and faster journey.
You still have to drive the miles, you still have to go the distance, but I can tell you this, four wheel driving on an outback road is great to get to a ‘unknown’ fishing spot, but not so much fun in business.
In the end it is up to you. If you want to go start-up your own business, then go for it. I’ve done it and it has turned out pretty great for me. But if you are at all nervous about going into business, never been in business before or not had the best experience in your previous businesses, then maybe Franchising is for you.
Remember too, you also get to be part of a bigger group of people (the other franchisees) that are all there to help and support you. They are not your competition, they are your team who want you to succeed and every day are doing what you are going to be doing in business and that is probably the best part of a franchise, that peer to peer support.
So, are you going to invest or spend money?
Recent Comments