With literally thousands of different concepts to choose from, entrepreneurs can be forgiven if they can’t decide which industry—let alone which franchise—to go with to start a business of their own. Much like reviewing a horse-racing preview guide, they can turn to many sources to narrow down the field. The top-five, Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 and other rankings only add to the chaos. So how can a potential franchisee drown out the noise and make an informed decision?
That’s easy. Every good franchise opportunity has four key factors you should know about.
A True Niche
If there’s always a better mousetrap available, how do you determine the best choice? A good franchise will always have one—and sometimes several—key differentiators. The factors set them apart from the competition and they’re readily visible to the target market of the product or service. Say that most franchises in a delivery category offer Monday-Friday service. The only one that works weekends too has the key differentiator in the category. During your investigative journey, ask about how they niche target their consumers.
Is the Market Hot?
If you’re narrowing down multiple franchising categories, can you find one or two that are operating in a hot market? What franchise categories are the experts indicating have great market potential at the moment? What does the general population crave and will the demand be a lasting one? Your qualified FranNet consultant should be able to steer you to some red-hot opportunities—as well as noting a few to avoid.
Technology
The ways in which a franchise can deliver a product or service is changing rapidly. And the pandemic has done nothing but speed up this rate of change. Is the franchise operation you’re considering keeping up with the times? Did they alter their systems to continue operations under the pandemic without skipping a beat? A good franchise opportunity will always remain technologically sound. And current!
Stability Counts
A good franchise operation needs to have a stable and reliable platform—both for the franchisor and the franchisee. The ability to follow a proven business model is what sets franchises apart from starting a business from scratch—and it can be a real advantage. But it only works if the programs, systems and operations are built on stability. Ask the right questions about training, support and ongoing assistance.
At the beginning of this blog, we talked about how entrepreneurs can become overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices. The best way to cut through the clutter and find a good franchise that has all four of these key factors is to rely on franchise consultancies such as FranNet. And a qualified representative that both lives and works in your area is just a click away.
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“Thriving through Covid” is FranNet’s new series of inspirational articles featuring positive news, business owner profiles, success stories, and educational updates—all of which demonstrate the resilience of the franchising industry. We want you to know that even during this uncertain time, franchising can offer you an alternative path forward—and a new opportunity to achieve success through business ownership.
Check back with FranNet twice weekly for new articles and let us know when you’d like to begin an entrepreneurial journey of your own!