Faced with the immensity of the possibilities and the stakes (professional, family, and even personal) for 5 to 7 years, choosing a franchise means first determining the criteria for choice, as in the case of buying real estate.
Some of these criteria are subjective, others objective.
Options in the form of (pleasant) surprises will help you make the right decision.
Other elements, discovered in the course of your research, will help you to understand why the selection of brands is one of the essential stages in the process of setting up a franchise.
How to make a choice
for (professional) life
Parallels with real estate acquisition
There are almost 2,000 franchising concepts in some 80 major sectors.
Faced with the immensity of the possibilities and the stakes (professional, family, and even personal) for 5 to 7 years, you’ll need to determine your choice criteria, just as you would when buying real estate.
When it comes to buying an apartment or a house, certain criteria are subjective: the presence of a balcony, a top-floor apartment (because you don’t want to hear the neighbors upstairs), a garden that’s out of sight, a large main living area, etc.
Others are objective: available budget, home/work commuting time (set time not to be exceeded), desire for 3 bedrooms (including 2 for the children)…
Some options, in the form of (pleasant) surprises, will be favourable elements in the decision-making process.
For example, an extra room for a freelancer’s office, without exceeding the budget.
Finally, as you progress as a first-time buyer, you’ll discover other important elements, depending on your expectations, such as the orientation of the home to maximize sunlight.
Complex at first, then simple when it comes to a crucial decision
In the same way, you’ll have to make choices upstream, opting for a concept… with no certainty of being accepted by the franchisor, who, out of a desire for consistency and performance, chooses his future franchisees.
Some of your criteria will be objective, and inevitably indisputable, such as the amount of personal capital you actually have available.
Others will be subjective, not necessarily stated in a positive way, such as the need to no longer have staff to manage.
Some options, such as the enjoyment of a professional activity, will help you to make the right decision.
Last but not least, you’ll learn about other important factors in your future success as a franchisee, such as solidarity between franchisees.
This preliminary reflection is just as :
- Making it easier for you to find what you’re looking for,
- Avoid setbacks that could delay the start of your new professional life (to be financed by your own limited resources),
- To help you take the step towards entrepreneurship with as little hesitation as possible, without asking yourself too many questions.
If you’re wondering which of the 2,000 existing concepts to choose from… you’ve already made a crucial entrepreneurial decision! (See previous chapter)
Subjective / objective criteria
The imperfect subjective
To determine your selection of networks to contact, let’s start with a few subjective criteria:
- Working alone or as part of a team… i.e., acquiring a high level of technical expertise or recruiting/managing (sometimes remotely).
- Products or services… i.e., stock management or permanent creation.
- Young or experienced network … That means more freedom (and imagination) in the application of the concept, or more certainty (and therefore less latitude) in the success of your project.
These subjective factors may change once the new entrepreneur has settled into the franchise.
For example, rediscovering a taste for development, so as to be able to invest more fully in your catchment area, when you no longer wanted to hear about staff…
Objective (never) Nul, to earn some cash
Then there are a number of objective factors to consider:
- Your personal contribution… actually available: i.e. excluding financial aid, loans from friends or family (to be repaid, one day or another) or the sale of a property.
- The availability of the catchment area, whether immediate or soon to be taken over: Only the franchisor can give you the information you need on this point, as he or she has an up-to-date map of his or her outlets and is familiar with the geographic areas that will become available.
- Correspondence with the typical profile sought by the franchisor: For example, with real management skills in the case of personal services.
These objective factors can be circumvented.
For example, in the case of personal contribution, by teaming up with someone who complements you (manager/salesperson, available money/contacts in the sector, etc.).
AC-DC: alternating currents, continuity currents
These subjective and objective factors are not exhaustive.
They may, for example, be inherent to a particular sector.
Typical: don’t choose the fast-food sector (evening and weekend activity) if your personal life is centered on family time!
To stay in tune with your sensibilities, try the temporary work sector instead: guaranteed weekends in the long run… with the evenings of the early years altered, however!
Surprises and (often) belated discoveries
The boss’s surprise
Some options will help you make the right decision:
- Working as a family, especially with your children, sometimes with the idea of handing over the business to them later,
- Make a lot of money, like some of the burger or chicken majors, but you have to know how to manage a team of young people and accept to come home every night smelling of French fries…
- To be able to develop other outlets (multi-franchise or pluri-franchise), to move from one-man band to one-man band.
- Supplement sales through the company’ s website, for example, by selling swimming pool kits and providing local after-sales service,
- Acquire status in the city, for example by opening a supermarket.
Late harvest
Finally, you’ll discover other important elements, depending on your expectations, as you investigate the network:
- Enjoyment of a professional activity: all work is not a global concept, but a sum of small tasks to be accomplished, no more than 30% of which should be costly for the entrepreneur, the rest having to mobilize his or her natural talents.
- A human quality in exchanges with the franchisor’s team: whether for sales methods, IT support or technical input, the power of these supports is nothing without the human touch to pass on their solutions.
- Franchisee solidarity: whether they’re a geographical neighbor, a companion from initial training, or someone you’ve met for a long time at the National Convention, some franchisees become unfailing supporters, fundamental to your success.
This spirit of complicity is often fostered by the spirit of the network, and even… independently of the franchisor!
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