Franchise as the Model of Business

If you are one of those who is thinking about changing directions in your career you have, as Yogi Berra once said, a choice: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it!" But which one? The one where you stay the course and certainty by continuing to work for someone else, having a real job? The one where you decide to go out on your own and start your own business? Or the one where you partner with success and join a franchise organization? In many respects the road you take depends on the vehicle you drive, the speed you are travelling, and the gas you have in the tank. Well not literally. Choosing your future direction does depend on your motivation, your urge to change, and more than the spare change in your pocket.

Let's talk a little about your motivation. Do you have a positive or negative motivation? Are you really excited about starting your own business, for instance, or do you want to be your own boss because you are tired of being bossed around? How urgent is the need to change? Is it now, 6 months from now, 2 years from now? What drives your need for a change and how soon? Let's look at the gas in your tank. How much can you afford to invest in a business, if that is the fork you take, how quickly do you need to make it back, and how will you get to your destination of success without running out of gas.

Let's be fair. Statistics tell us that if you start our own business there is a 20% chance that you will still be in operation after 5 years. If you start a franchise business there is a 92% chance that you will still be in operation after 5 years. Do you trust the Small Business Administration? This is their data. Starting a business - on your own or with a franchise, has risks. You can lessen that risk if you are realistic about the time and financial commitment to be successful, have prior business management experience, realistically assess your abilities to run a business, and work with proven operating systems in a business.Does this make sense? I have worked with a number of people who have decided that they did not want to buy their next job. And that is perfectly fine with me. I would rather see them happy in a fulltime job where they work for someone else than miserable because the job they bought is filled with too much risk - and they are not happy.

When one thinks of opening a franchise, one immediately thinks of a burger or sandwich joint as the model of business. However, in this day and age, the options of franchise alte
atives have grown more than ever before. Sure, you can still invest in burger joints, but if that's not your cup of soda, there are so many other alte
atives available to the would-be business owner, many at a low cost to start up.

Whatever your personal interests, there are franchise business opportunities that will help you get started. Perhaps you're a parent and children are your life. In that case, there are many tutoring, inflatable jumping arenas and sports photography businesses that offer franchise opportunities to the inquiring business owner.

It could be that you are looking for work from home opportunities that will bring in a substantial income. Franchise alte
atives exist here in the Internet realm whereby you can buy into other peoples working models. They offer you support and instructions on how to get started setting up web pages and driving traffic to them. For many, it's a turnkey type of business whereby you provide the traffic and point the traffic to another website that does the actual work. You make money as the middle man.

Some find that a business offering an opportunity to make money with no employees is the right way for them to go. This eliminates salaries and workers compensation insurances. They want a chance to work independently, get their own customers and do their own work. Opportunities like franchised lawn care companies, DVD kiosks and vending machine companies offer the industrious individual a chance to buy into a successful firm but remain their own boss, setting their own schedules and hours. Carpet cleaning is another area where hard working individuals can make money through a franchise opportunity.