Changing one’s life, first and foremost professionally, and with powerful impacts on personal and family life, requires a clear understanding of what becoming an entrepreneur entails.
Then you need to determine whether other avenues might be more appropriate (such as creating outside networks), and finally, choose the demanding and codified franchising system only with full knowledge of its advantages and constraints.
Starting a business… or not
Dilemma: more (inner) flame than laziness?
Comfortably settled on your sofa, looking for another future on your computer, the question arises, brutal or salutary, depending on the situation: Will you be willing to take risks on a permanent basis, in order to earn a living with a new financial logic (benefits in kind, capitalization on the business…)?
Or wouldn’t you prefer to make the most of your salaried existence, by returning to a position closer to your preferences? For example, when your management responsibilities have distanced you from your technical desires.
Starting from scratch (comma zero)
This dilemma, sometimes triggered by a redundancy or the realization that your next twenty years of working life will be spent in a golden cupboard, is the first step to take. This can be helped by a skills assessment, or even the support of a coach.
If you’re feeling humble enough to start from scratch, like all business creators, you need to be able to stay for 6 months, or even a year, without having to pay yourself through the business (severance pay or Pôle Emploi…), just long enough to establish your business in the minds of potential consumers.
Family support, even neutrality (to avoid irreparable damage)
The support of the close family environment, or its neutrality, is essential.
Any business start-up involves family sacrifices, which translate into a significantly lower standard of living at the outset, less physical presence and reduced availability for the entrepreneur.
This situation of discomfort must not (imperatively) last for years.
Choose from 4 other modes of entrepreneurship…
with graduated freedom
Solo: Total independence… but from a blank sheet of paper
The company is created on the basis of its own expertise in a particular field – catering, communications, etc. – or by launching a product or service that does not exist (an idea discovered abroad). – or by launching a non-existent product or service (an idea discovered abroad…). In 2021, nearly one million businesses were created in France, including all types of businesses (crafts, etc.).
Everything has to be done to give commercial life to your idea, from finding the right price to sales techniques. Of course, of course. But maximum risk-taking means maximum return on investment.
Crafts: Legally defined status for trades that are sometimes centuries old
The 250 craft trades, divided into 500 specializations, are grouped into four main families: food (butcher, caterer, ice-cream maker, etc.), construction (plumber, electrician, heating engineer, etc.), production (ceramist, printer, jeweler, etc.) and services (cab driver, beautician, photographer, etc.). Half of all craft industry graduates (one million businesses) become their own boss within ten years of entering the workforce.
You need to have a certain intelligence…in your hands. However, these sometimes century-old professions are not subject to the effects of fashion, having adapted to technological and societal evolutions.
Associated trade: accepting “1 man = 1 vote” governance
The 31,300 or so members (for around 50,000 sales outlets / source: Fédération du Commerce Associé) of the hundred or so associated trade networks have grouped together around a central structure, pooling their resources. These groupings, representing 30% of the retail sector by 2020, have gradually moved from a central purchasing role to a central service role (communications, back office, etc.).
However, all decisions are taken according to the “1 man = 1 vote” principle of the cooperative model, since every member has a stake in the network head. With an average of 300 members per network… However, members can participate in the network’s commercial and strategic policy (up to and including becoming a member or even Chairman of the Board of Directors).
Company takeovers: looking to reproduce… in (much) better ways
Taking over a business can be done outside the network, but also in the craft sector, franchising or associated trade. Every year, over 185,000 businesses in France are likely to be transferred, but only 51,000 actually change hands (source: BPCE L’Observatoire).
Taking over a company is more expensive than starting one up, takes 12 to 18 months to find the right business and involves more complex human resources management (and no time to adapt!). Nevertheless, it offers a certain comfort to the manager: existing reputation and know-how, teams already in place, established clientele…
Determining whether to franchise, based on advantages and constraints
3 pillars of helm (to maintain a course of success)
The franchise system, developed in France from the 1970s onwards and now boasting 80,000 franchised outlets, is based on three pillars:
- The brand: Its reputation generates customer traffic at the point of sale, lends credibility to the search for financing for commercial premises, and enables you to benefit from national partnerships forged by the franchisor (chartered accountants, etc.).
It enables a competent entrepreneurial candidate to be considered from the outset as a specialist in his or her sector. - Differentiated business know-how: This has been tested in a configuration identical to the one offered to the franchisee over a significant period of time. This brand-specific body of knowledge is passed on through initial AND ongoing training.
The franchisee must be able to earn a significantly better living than a self-employed person in the same business, and constantly improve through innovations validated in pilot units. - Ongoing technical and commercial support: This package of services includes assistance with the launch of the sales outlet, support from the franchisor’s team via a hotline or on site throughout the contract, and a central purchasing or referencing office to benefit from preferential supply conditions. In particular, it combats three well-known distortions in the perception of the entrepreneurial profession: feelings of isolation, fear of the unknown and the loneliness of the entrepreneur.
The attractiveness of the system is undeniable: while 28% of French people are considering setting up their own business, 43% of them would like to do so under a franchise.
Furthermore, according to the annual Banque Populaire survey, 89% of franchisees would recommend the franchise model to an entrepreneur.
A (good) business idea… neither free nor without obligations
In addition to these advantages, there are two counterparts inherent in any franchise contract:
- The franchisee must strictly apply the concept, identified and codified in operational manuals accessible online. Master of his own risks and investments, the franchisee is in particular :
- Business owner,
- Responsible for prospecting customers and selling the company’s products and services,
- In charge of local communication in the prospecting area assigned to the sales outlet.
- The franchisee pays for these services through a number of fees:
- The initial fee, which corresponds to the franchisor’s investment and costs, in particular for development and assistance,
- The annual fee, intended to remunerate the franchisee’s use of the concept and the franchisor’s services,
- And finally, the communication (or advertising) fee, i.e. advertising campaigns designed to generate customer traffic in all or part of the network’s sales outlets.
>> How to set up a franchise? Step 2: Select a list of signs…corresponding to your project.