If you’re looking at purchasing your own franchise, then it’s safe to say that you’ve spent many hours dreaming of being your own boss. Joining a franchise system can be amazingly rewarding in a myriad of different ways, but if you choose the wrong franchise it can just as easily be a disaster.
Jumping into the first franchise opportunity that comes along, in an effort to gain freedom from your current workplace, is a recipe for disaster. Much more important than making the decision to head out on your own, is deciding which franchise option is the right fit for your unique circumstances.
Avoid a franchise you will hate by following these 5 steps:
- Follow Your Interests – If you’ve never read a book in your life then opening a bookshop is probably not the best career choice. Finding something that you’re genuinely interested in will help you sustain your business motivation when the novelty of starting your own business invariably wears off.
- Think of Your Lifestyle – If you live for the weekend and fill every Saturday and Sunday with social events and family get-togethers then you need to make sure you choose a franchise that fits with that lifestyle. Restaurant and Café franchises, for example, will be most busy on the weekends and holidays while B2B franchise options are more likely to be Mon-Fri 9-5. Some franchise opportunities require a 7-day a week commitment, while others (like Kwik Kopy!) only require 5.
- Look at the Finances – Often, starting a franchise is motivated by a desire to ‘be your own boss’ but more often than not franchisees have significant financial goals they’d like to achieve as well. Be clear about what those goals are and make sure the projected financials of your franchise choice matches them.
- Know Your Strengths – If you’re not a ‘people person’ and you’d rather spend time working alone in an office, then starting a franchise that’s customer service focused probably isn’t the best career decision for you. The good news is that no-one knows your strengths better than you, so think carefully about your ideal work day and go from there.
- Minimise Your Risk – Choosing a franchise system that isn’t established is more risky than a purchasing a tried and true franchise with lots of successful branches already in place. While it can be tempting to want to ‘get in on the ground floor’, an established business will already have perfected the issues that you’ll face as one of the test drivers of a new system.
Interesting in owning a Kwik Kopy Franchise? We’re one of Australia’s top rated franchises with 100 stores nationwide. Contact the team today to find out why.
