Does the Image of the Franchise Matter?

Last week we talked about business preferences and I would like to go a little bit further into that.? There are so many things you need to consider. One is the image of the franchise, and the image of what you're doing for them.?

Let's say you are at a party Saturday night with your spouse, some good friends and neighbors, everyone's having a great time and someone comes up and says, “Hey, what are you doing now?”? You tell them that you own 1-800 Porta Johns and that it’s your new business. How do you feel about that? Maybe you once had a great high powered job at a big pharmaceutical company, how would you feel about cleaning toilets? Would you say that you have a staff of people and that you have a fleet of trucks out there and that you are building an empire?? Or would the image bother you??

Let’s Talk Income

When buying a franchise you will want to talk about income and when you will see it.? You might have some family things you have to take care of. You might need money and wonder how quickly you can take cash out and how much you need to take out.? Is it a hundred thousand or a half a million??

Everybody has different needs and how soon they need to take out money depends on their situation.? If it's quick, you need to look at a home-based business without a lot of rent, without a lot of employees, and where you are going to be keeping most of your money.?

If you are looking at retail, automotive or food and you have a big rent roll, you probably have a lot of employees and they need to get paid before you.? You're not going to see money in your pocket probably for at least a year. So, how soon you take cash out must be part of your evaluation.?

Risk Factors

When looking for a franchise you need to look at the risk factors. We have a lot of different franchises out there, some are new startups and some are well established with thousands of units.?

Let's say we look at franchise A and franchise A is very well established. It's been around a long time, they have a great track record, it is safe and it's predictable. You know what you're going to get.? Then franchise B over here is new. It's going great, it's taking off and it’s the next big winner, but it's new. If you have a $100,000 sitting on the table, which way would you lean??

How much risk are you willing to take? Big risk, big return that can fail or be safe and predictable. Maybe the safe route is not quite the return you want, but it's going to be there for a long time. Everybody thinks differently about risk, it really depends on your financial situation.?

What Image Do You Want to Portray?

As you start to consider your franchise preferences, think about the image you want to portray.? How are people going to see you?? I once had a doctor come in and see me with his wife.? He started saying what he wanted and his wife started crying and I said, “What's going on? What's wrong?”? She said, “I married a doctor, and a doctor he will be.”? I just said to him that I'm sorry, but this meeting is over and that I couldn’t help him.??

Image is important, the income you need to take is important too and how soon you need to take it.? You don't want the people at home complaining about you not making enough.?

We are going to put this all together and we are going to keep on talking about these preferences. What's important to you, the risk factor, the income, the hours and we are going to find out what works for you.?

I’m Jack Armstrong with FranNet.? If you have any concerns or any issues about starting to look for a business, call me. It's a no obligation call and we can set up a Zoom, whatever you're comfortable with. Let's have a 15 minute call and see what's out there.? Let me share my expertise and experience with you as you evaluate whether franchise ownership is the solution for you.