Franchising: An Entrepreneurial Opportunity

Starting a business is serious business. Many don't take it seriously enough. 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) says that 63 percent of new businesses fail within the first six years. Even among the businesses that stay open, only three percent are ever strong enough to reach one million dollars in sales. These statistics are telling. If you're average, the odds are only three in eight that your new business will survive six years. And even among the survivors, reaching the million dollar revenue mark happens only one time in 12. 

Being an entrepreneur can be a gut-wrenching experience. In addition to meeting the emotional demands, entrepreneurial success requires courage, commitment, and a positive, assertive I-can-do-it- in-spite-of attitude. And an idea. 

The idea is only the beginning. Taken by itself, an idea is worthless, as shown by the many people we meet who have a good idea and fail to develop it. Ideas are dormant until teamed with an entrepreneurial mind. 

Enter the franchisor with a business opportunity. Unlike 99 percent of the other ideas, something is being done with this one. The franchisor brings a concept the entrepreneur can bite into and evaluate. 

When someone franchises an idea it indicates the spade work is complete to move an otherwise lifeless, unsponsored concept to the level of opportunity. Is buying a franchised business for you, and you for it? The franchised format provides a vantage point to make an entrepreneurial decision. And make it more accurately. 

The prospective franchisee must ask many questions. How much money will we need? Who will be our customers? What's unique about this product or service that will entice the consumer? Is there a niche? Will it be large enough? What will the margins be? Will they meet our needs and goals? How fast is the market growing? How long will it take to break even, etc.? 

One of the major benefits of franchising is its ability to change an inert, valueless idea into a living opportunity. No longer a mental abstraction, but an assessable opportunity. There's something to act on. Franchising is like a good pair of glasses, allowing quicker and more accurate recognition of entrepreneurial opportunities.