Most people we talk to are either in a job or in transition and they're really just looking for their next. What are the different paths they can take?
Really good question. Glad you asked. So if you're in transition, there's really four options that you have to choose from.
1) you can either stay in the current job you have or look for a new job.2) you can start a business from scratch.3) you can buy a business, an existing business.4) you can acquire a franchise.
Now each of these have pros and cons, which we'd love to go through with you, but it would be far too long for this post. If you're interested, check out our webinar on going from employee to entrepreneur.
Interestingly, we've been down all of these four paths. We have both had a job. We both started a business from scratch. We bought 2 businesses along the way, we sold 2 and we bought a franchise. Now, out of all those four options, we can tell you wholeheartedly that option number four, investing in a franchise is absolutely the best option for aspiring entrepreneurs. We still own and run our franchise today, which we've had for the past 16 years.
What made this franchise such a great fit for us was actually working with someone, who does what we do today, who took the time to ask us really great questions. To understand our why, our skills, our interests, our resources, and our passion. And interestingly enough matched us to a Hawaiian theme, coffee, smoothie business. We never would have known about this concept had we not worked with a franchise placement specialist like us.
Most who are looking or thinking about buying a franchise will probably just wanna go online, start typing in and looking at different franchise concepts. What are your thoughts on that?
We say don't do it.
You will likely just get completely overwhelmed ... and go nowhere. There are over 4,000 franchise concepts out there today to choose from. And number one is you really may not know what you really do want, more importantly you may not know you're why, and you'll search for things just based on what you have seen in your past. Very bad idea as it may or may not be the best fit for you. Most importantly, you'll go online and you'll start filling out all these forms and most of the franchisers won't even get back to you because they get so many online forms submitted from people who aren't qualified, no idea what they want, and definitely don't have a why. The ones that do get back to you, you'll get flooded with questions from multiple of them at the same time. So we highly encourage you to NOT start your search for franchises online. Start by working with a franchise placement specialist like us.
There are really 10 different reasons why someone should consider working with us.
1) We get you ... somebody in career transition, someone looking for their "next", someone who wants to own their own business.2) We're transparent. Look, we're gonna share with you the good, the bad, the ugly on all four paths because we've been there done that.3) We take the time to understand you, but more importantly, your why. If you are gonna put your hard-earned money and invest it into a business, we wanna make sure that we find you a great fit and great business that can help you achieve your why.4) We're not salespeople. We are your coach, your mentor. We are here to educate you and guide you along the journey of learning about franchising.5) We take the time in learning about you. We make sure that we're only matching you to franchises that make sense. That would be a good fit based on your skills, your interests, your resources, and your passion.6) We get a front-of-the-line pass to the franchise concepts that we introduce you to. As we mentioned, if you're gonna go online and just fill out a bunch of forms, those franchises, most of the really good ones don't wanna talk to you. There flooded with unqualified inquiries and have NO idea where you stand. With us, you get a front-of-the-line pass and a personal introduction, and we're gonna stick with you all through your journey.7) When you're in the process of talking to different franchises, we're not just gonna hand you off. We're gonna guide you along the way and let you know what kind of questions that you should be asking as well as help you understand the feedback that you're getting from the franchise concepts. As it gets further down the process finding the right questions get tough and getting the answers gets even tougher.8) So as you're going through this process, you're gonna have questions. You may feel overwhelmed at times, and honestly, you just may wanna stop because there is a four letter word call fear. We're not gonna let you get stuck. We're gonna make sure that you get your questions answered. We're gonna make sure that you understand where you are in the process and how to understand and ensure that the franchise you wanna move forward with will be a good fit for you.9) It doesn't cost you anything to work with us. We ultimately get paid by the franchise concept when we make a great match. Have you ever worked with a realtor? A realtor takes the time to ask you questions about what kind of home you may wanna buy. How many bedrooms? Do you wanna live in the city? The country? The mountains? They're only gonna show you homes that fit your criteria. Will we do the same with franchising. We're only gonna match you to franchise concepts that are ultimately are a good fit. We get paid by the franchise concept when there is a successful match, but ultimately you are driving the car. So to speak, you decide when, where and what franchise concept you wanna move forward with.10) Best of all, we're just really cool and fun to work with. We're a husband-wife team, been married over 31 years, working together for 21+ years, and hey, we get it. Many people who go into franchising are husband/wife teams or some type of partnership.
BONUS 11) We are NOT gonna show you and talk to you only about rainbows and unicorns. We're NOT gonna show you fancy cars and fancy houses. We are gonna be honest with you and give you feedback that may be considered tough love.
So the biggest question that arises at this point is you're probably still wondering how we get paid. We work a lot like realtors and the franchise industry is a heavily regulated industry by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). We follow the strictest guidelines for ethics. We are members of IFPG (International Franchise Professionals Group) and in good standing. As Certified Franchise Consultants, we're constantly updating and maintaining ongoing training so that we can provide you only with the best information to help you make the best decision.
If you have read to this point, you're probably here wondering what the journey might look like working with us and helping you find a great franchise for you, and you want to explore and learn more about franchises.
So imagine we're going to go on a road trip together. Do we just get in your car and drive? Hmmm, you might end up somewhere, but you may not be so happy with the destination. That's why we have created our own proprietary franchise roadmap system. F-R-A-N-C-H-I-S-E is an acronym that describes the journey, the roadmap that we're gonna go along together that we know will get you to exactly where you wanted to go.
So let us share with you what that acronym F-R-A-N-C-H-I-S-E stands for:
F - The F is about FINDING OUT your skills, your interests, your resources, and your passion are, is for then reviewing different franchise concepts that match.R - Next we are going to REVIEW FRANCHISE OPTIONSA - The A is then ACQUANTING YOURSELF with the different franchise concepts.N - The N is for NOTES and taking lots of them because you're gonna be having discussions with different franchise concepts. And we wanna make sure that you don't miss or forget anything.C - The C is for COMPARING the different options. We're gonna help you winnow this down to three different choices. And then we're going to C, compare the options between them.H - Then H we're gonna HUNKER DOWN because at this time you're gonna get a document called the FDD, the Franchise Disclosure Document. So you're gonna wanna hunker down and really understand the 23 different areas of that document (this is where asking the right questions makes all the difference).I - I is for INVESTMENT. We're gonna work with you to make sure you have your funding in place. And we have many great partners that we work within this regard to help you (again think front-of-the-line pass here, we get you one).S - The S is for getting SERIOUS. At this point, you're doing your validation. You're talking to other franchisees who are in the system that you're thinking about moving forward with. And you're about to make a go decision (this is where asking the right questions makes all the difference)E - And finally, E is for the EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW. This is the opportunity for you to really meet, usually with the founder of the franchise. And at that point, you will be asked to make a go or no go decision and sign the franchise agreement.
So that is our roadmap to helping you from where you are now to having your own franchise business so that you can get to your next level.
So, what's your next? If you would like to further discuss franchising and see if it could be a great opportunity to help you get to your next level, then go ahead and grab a day in time on our calendar for a NO COST dream building session.
What's Your Next? - Podcast
 | Author BioI’m Stacey Riska aka “Small Business Stacey”, your franchise placement specialist. I help aspiring business owners find the PERFECT franchise so they can get to the next level in life and business. |
