In this article I want to be totally honest with you: Whenever you encounter such offer, not only in franchising but in any business opportunities, my only suggestion for you would be to stay away, even run away from them.
Franchises are mistakenly touted to be businesses that are easy to run – thanks to the proven franchise system in place. This is misleading and could lose franchisees money eventually.
Here’s the cold, hard truth: Despite the proven system in place, new franchise units are essentially business startups – meaning, you need to take time to learn the system, ‘feel’ the competition, and get everything to run in order before you make something out of the system.
Never think that buying a franchise will allow you to profit from the first day; you will face what all business startups face: Months of losing money before you reach the break even point (typically, this will last for about 6 months or so, despite some promising franchise units can break even in less than 3 months of business operation.) On some franchise opportunities, you even have to wait for over 12 months just to break even, depending on the size and the industry in which the franchise operates.
That being said, you DO NEED experience to navigate your franchise unit through the losing period. You must find ways to break even the fastest you can, and yes – this is YOUR job, not your franchisor’s. Your franchisor gives you tools, and how you use the tools is entirely up to you (and up to your experience.)
You could enter franchising with no experience, but you must expect a longer phase of trials and errors, no matter how helpful your franchisor is. Again, running your franchise unit is your job not your franchisor’s.
Now, what if you really want to buy a franchise but you don’t have any experience under your belt? Well, you actually can, but such franchise opportunity is typically not easy on your pocket. There are franchises offering money back guarantee and allowing 100% absentee ownership, but I’m not sure whether you will get healthy return on your investment (any comments on this?)
My suggestion would be for you to seek ‘realistic’ franchise opportunities. “Easy to run” or “no experience required” could very well be marketing gimmicks with an intention to better chances to secure your business (a.k.a. your money.) You’ve been warned. Beware.
Ivan Widjaya
I’m into realistic franchise opportunities
