Starting a business for yourself is something that’s becoming more and more appealing to a lot of people. With the cost of living rising and mental health being a real concern, the thought that when you have your own business, and you’re no longer under the control of a boss (although, of course, there will still be clients, so don’t forget that) and can run your time as you want and need to certainly does sound like a positive thing to do. 

However, starting a business takes time, effort, and, of course, money, and that’s not always something that’s in ready supply. Borrowing money to start a business is possible, but trying to convince a lender that your idea is a viable one is a challenge, and it might be you can’t get off the ground at all. 

So what’s the answer? One option could be to buy a franchise. When you buy a franchise, you’re buying something that already exists – a ready-made business – with systems in place to follow, branding already designed, and funding options at the ready (with a known quantity, lenders are more likely to agree to give you the money you’re looking for). With that in mind, here are some things you’ll need to do if you want to buy a franchise. 

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

Research And Due Diligence 

Once you start looking at potential franchises you could buy, you’ll realize there are thousands of them out there, and each one is designed to look as tempting and promising as possible. After all, the franchise owner’s goal is to sell as many franchises as they can, as that’s what brings them an income. This means you’ll need to do a lot of research and due diligence to ensure that the franchise you eventually decide to buy is the right one for you and will bring you a profit (otherwise there’s really no point). 

Think about the industry you want to be in to begin with; that will help you narrow down your options quite a bit. It could be you want to run a cafe or restaurant, perhaps a fast food business, or maybe you want to work on home maintenance or construction after reading through the BuildOps glossary. It could be you like the idea of being a dog groomer or a website designer. Whatever it is – where your skills lie, ideally – you can whittle down the options, so you have only a few to research more thoroughly. 

That thorough research really is important. You’ll need to make sure that the business you’re considering going into is as profitable as possible, that it has a good reputation, and that the franchise owner will do everything they promise in return for your hard-earned cash. This is going to take a while, but don’t rush it; you need to be completely sure you’re making the right choice, as it’s likely you’ll only be able to do this once, considering the cost of a franchise. 

Know Your Budget

There are always going to be costs involved in starting a business, no matter whether you opt to begin from the ground up or buy a franchise and get a head start. The very fact that you do need to buy the franchise in the first place is one thing to bear in mind; you’ll potentially need many thousands, depending on the franchise itself. This is a good place to start when it comes to your budgeting. 

Some franchise owners allow monthly repayments, whereas others will want the money at the start of the process – what’s going to be better for you? Then there are the ongoing costs to think about; generally, a franchise means you’ll be paying a percentage of your profits to the franchise owner every month or year, so that needs to be accounted for in your budget. You’ll also need to factor in costs like energy bills, vehicles, marketing, and so on. Of course, some of those costs will be covered by the franchise itself, but others will be your responsibility. There are no hard and fast rules about this, and it’s going to be different for each franchise. Again, research will tell you what you need to know, and you can use that information to create a budget that helps you understand all the costs involved. 

Market Research

A franchise owner will want to sell their franchise to anyone who has the money and fits other criteria (depending on the franchise), and they probably won’t look into whether or not having a franchise in your area is a viable option – that’s why you need to do it. 

Just like with any business, if there isn’t a market for what you’re selling, either because no one wants the goods or services or because it’s already a crowded marketplace, for example, then you’ll be wasting your money and all that time and effort spent on deciding which franchise to opt for will also be wasted. 

You’ll need to carry out market research to determine whether or not there is a market for what you’re selling or providing. You can outsource this work to professionals if you want to, but you can certainly do it yourself if you prefer. One good way to do it is to set up polls and ask questions on social media, for example – plus, you’ll get to know which platforms your most likely customers spend their time on. 

Once you know how popular your business franchise might be, you can then decide whether it’s going to bring you the money and lifestyle you’re looking for. Remember, you don’t have to discover a franchise that will make you millions; a good income is what you need to pay the bills and then enjoy your free time, so determine what that is, and then you’ll know what type of franchise will work, and which ones need to be avoided. 

In the end, a franchise can be a fantastic way to run your own business with the added support and guidance that a franchise owner will provide. However, it’s still not an easy task, and you need to be sure it’s the right thing for you.