When people talk about franchises, they mean a right granted to an individual or group to market a company’s goods or services within a certain territory or location. There are many different types of franchises.

Franchises work by increasing profits for large companies by having someone else pay for the starting of a business, and in turn offering the franchisee proven systems of success and a name brand. It also takes hard work, dedication and commitment to make a success of it – just as it does with any business idea.

What do you need to know before purchasing a franchise:

• The advantage that you have in franchising is that you are leveraging the brand of a bigger organisation and benefiting from the input that they can give you – in the form of design, advertising, marketing, sales advice and training.
• Find out who else operates this franchise. Has anyone else made it succeed? Are they successful and are the costs and revenues anticipated by the franchisor realistic? You should be able to see the financial records of the franchisor’s business and see how it works.
• Compare the opportunity you’re having with those available elsewhere. Does the product you’re going to be selling compare well with the opposition? How difficult will it be to find customers? Are other franchisees operating successfully?
• Is the business viable? Is it legal and ethical? There are plenty of scam ideas around, with fraudsters offering vast sums of money for ‘work at home’ franchises. These are not proper franchises and, in many cases, are simply a ruse for separating you from your money.
• Does the business appear capable of supporting the marketing, advertising and training that it has promised you? Don’t panic if you don’t have the requisite product skills. What does matter is that the franchisor provides training to get you up to speed.
• Budget carefully. Some franchises make clear what your maximum revenues are likely to be. Check the financial projections carefully because your stage payments to the franchisor will be going out anyway. If your business isn’t making sales targets, you’ll find yourself massively out of pocket if you’re not careful. Get your accountant or lawyer to check the numbers in detail.

When choosing a franchise avoid:

• Purchasing a franchise that does not offer adequate training or support.
• Spending several weeks of your precious time and effort trying to find the perfect franchise, but never finding it.
• Settling for the wrong franchise, when one of their competitors might have been a better investment.

So, before you spend a tremendous amount of time searching endlessly for that perfect franchise, make sure you are right for the business model itself. If not, don’t despair. There are other ways to “own what you do.”

Franchising is not an easy option and it can fail just like any other unsuccessful operation. If you’ve invested your home in it, you could lose it just as if any other business venture was financed by putting your home on the line. You should be prepared for a lot of hard work to make it succeed. Remember also that you won’t be the only person sharing in your success if everything goes to plan.