Choosing a Franchise

Is name recognition important when you're looking for a franchise to buy? Maybe and maybe not. It's kind of an interesting thing…by the time most people have heard of a specific brand, chances are that brand is sold out in the city they live in.?

Personal Experience

When I started my FranNet business, I started in Indianapolis, Indiana. At the time, there was a women’s fitness brand that specialized in circuit training that was coming to town. The focus of the concept was a quick workout that allowed women to move station to station working out different muscle groups on a timer.? It had a low cost of entry and was running a new fitness trend. Maybe you remember it???

My phone used to ring off the hook with calls from women telling me, “I really want to own it. I don't see them anywhere around here, but the franchisor won't take my call.”

In digging deeper in these conversations, I was hearing that they wanted to own the concept, because they wanted to be part of the trend. “There is nothing else like it in the area,” I would hear. Many times they were not thinking about how the business was run–full-time owner operator/manager or how many memberships they would have to sell and keep to make money. Before even those thoughts, no one asked themselves why the franchisor wouldn’t bother returning their calls.?

I finally got tired of the calls from the ladies, and I called the franchisor.? I asked them why they were not returning phone calls and following up on franchise sales leads in Indianapolis. It turns out the answer was simple. They said, “We're completely sold out there”.?

The reason that these ladies couldn't get in and weren't seeing it yet was, simply, because others had bought up the market before it was a name brand. A few people had bought the rights to multiple units, and that was enough to fit the demographics for Indianapolis. It takes time for all the units to be developed, so that’s why the ladies weren’t seeing them everywhere yet. That happens more frequently than most people know.?

Perhaps those ladies wouldn’t have wanted the franchise after they learned about how the business was run and operated, the skill sets they would need, the impact running that business would have had on their family lives and financial sense it would make . But those are thoughts? for another day. Bottom line, it is important to know you have availability before pursuing any franchise.?

Predict the Market

When you look at franchise ownership, you may want to consider businesses that don't necessarily have brand name recognition yet. This way, you can take the piece of the pie that you want. Maybe it's even the whole pie, and you want to own the rights to the entire city and build your empire!?

If you'd like to know more about how to build your empire, or simply just find the right business fit, please scan the QR code that you see here below, and let's talk about it.