When Should You Invest in a Franchise?
If you’ve been thinking about franchise ownership but are holding back, you may want to rethink your decision to wait. The reality is that many franchise owners wish they would have gotten serious about it sooner.
One example is Steve Johnson, an owner of several College Nannies, Sitters and Tutors franchises. In 2009, he left a corporate job and was actively looking into investing in a franchise, but then decided to jump back into the job market when he received a job offer. He worked at the job until 2014 and finally decided that it was the time to pursue franchise ownership again.
“At that point, I decided that now was the time to work hard for myself and build something that was mine,” says Steve.
After making that decision, Steve went through the FranNet process and College Nannies and Tutors was the franchise that emerged as the best choice for his situation. He bought two franchise territories in San Antonio at that time. Since then, he has added another one in San Antonio and four in Phoenix for a total of seven territories in two markets. He now has 159 employees.
Considering his success, Steve wishes he would have started sooner, “At this point, I am thinking, ‘why didn’t I do this a decade ago? I would be 10 years ahead down the road in the journey.”
The question is, why didn’t Steve start sooner? According to Steve, it was his mindset that a corporate job was something secure to fall back on. He wasn’t totally dedicated to being a business owner yet. However, the second time around, this changed.
“It’s easy to fall back on a job because of the nice paycheck,” says Steve. “But in 2013, when I went back to it, I had a different mindset – that the corporate world was off the table. You’ve got to make a decision to leave the comfort that exists with working for a company and get your head around the idea that the benefits of franchise ownership are what you want – the flexibility, control, and freedom.”
Once you’ve that made that choice, Steve says the key to staying on the course and achieving success is a mental state you have to be in.
“You can’t say ‘Let me try.’ If that’s your attitude, don’t’ do it. You have to get your head around the commitment and what it’s going to take – that’s the single most important thing,” says Steve.
If you’re interested in exploring franchise ownership as the path to increased flexibility, control and freedom, contact a FranNet consultant for a no-cost consultation.