The Franchise Alternative

This article is for you if you have been considering purchasing a franchise business. My aim is to help you make an intelligent comparison of different business options so you can determine what's best for you. 

There are many great advantages and benefits to a franchise business. Some of them are:

• The ability to plug into a proven product with a good company and solid reputation/brand.
• Alignment with a reputable company which reduces uncertainty, doubt and increases confidence.
• In-depth company training and support during all phases of your business/franchise launch.
• Recruiting a team that fully manages your business for you providing you with freedom to pursue other interests such as travel etc.

Given these enormous advantages, you might ask why would someone not want this? Well, despite these many advantages, it turns out that only 20% of those exploring franchises actually wind up purchasing one! So it is natural to inquire why and explore alternatives.

The biggest downside of a franchise purchase is the cost and the associated risk. Many franchises require a sizable investment of $100K or more and, despite all of the positive aspects, there is still a real risk. Not all franchises are successful and not everyone is cut out for this path. You may feel that the available franchise opportunities you've researched don't fulfill your personal needs or aren't compatible with the lifestyle you want.

Franchises are often very systems driven so it may not offer the creative avenue you desire. It usually takes a while for all the moving parts of a franchise to click and get the right staff that works well together. There's always a learning curve regardless how many manuals and training seminars are offered.

Some questions you may want to consider:

• Are you the type of individual who will be committed to taking action consistently and following through with tasks?
• Are you willing to go into areas that are unfamiliar and maybe a bit uncomfortable for you?
• Are you willing to deal with your own self sabotaging patterns that may get in the way of your success? These are all going to be important for your success in a franchise business.
• What if… You like the concept of a franchise and and the potential freedom is appealing but you're just not sure a franchise is right for you. Or, it may simply be too scary making the required financial investment. What alternatives exist?

One very powerful alternative you may want to consider is one where you design and launch a business based on your own personal interests, values, purpose, passion rather than seek to match yourself to some pre-existing company or system. If you're a strong individual with the desire for personal fulfillment and/or you have a desire to make a unique contribution to world with your gifts, this approach may be appealing.

The immediate question that arises here is: how can I make this kind of business profitable? What if… the thing I love the most is not marketable in the "real world"?

The answer lies in understanding the connection between your purpose and creating value in the world for others. Value created and income are linked. The more value you create and the more the value is targeted to a population with a specific problem, the greater your marketability and profitability will be.

If your background is mostly in the corporate world as an employee you probably need to spend some time learning and understanding this connection. The more this sinks in and the more comfortable you become with it, the more appealing this kind of business will likely be for you.

The good news is that the Life Crafting program addresses this and many of the other goals and concerns people have.

Life Crafting offers the opportunity to:

• Clarify what you truly love – your passion and purpose
• Identify your "genius zone" – your greatest avenue for impact and contribution, value
• Craft an ideal business based on the above that is aligned with your soul's desire.
• Express your creativity in your business so it is deeply satisfying and fulfilling to you
• Generate an outstanding income as result of our "leveraged business model".
• Empower you to master core skills like sales and presentation that are important anywhere and everywhere
• Create a business that is location independent so you can you can live or travel anywhere you wish
• Apply a "systems approach" which gives you many of the advantages of a franchise
• Transform personal patterns of feare, doubt, lack of confidence etc.

Cost Comparison

A further benefit of Life Crafting is the cost—a small fraction of the cost of most franchises. There's also no risk because the promise of our program is that you will generate an income at least sufficient to cover your program costs. The promise is in effect as long as you follow the prescribed process and apply the tools we teach you.

While this may sound appealing in many ways, Life Crafting is not for everyone. To qualify for our program, you'll need to make a commitment to the process which includes your own personal growth. Many people are not willing to do this.

Life Crafting is not a slam dunk. It takes 6 months to a year to get your business fully launched and it may not generate much income during the months of business development. You'll need to rely on savings, spouse or a part-time job during this time.

While Life Crafting graduates can generate a $10-15K monthly income, it will probably not match the income of a major franchise like a McDonald's so you'll need to decide what's most important to you. If having a very high income is important to you, Life Crafting may not be a good fit.

We offer a complimentary phone Discovery Session that will help you determine the best business option for you. You need to be a serious minded individual able to make some investment. You can schedule your Discovery Session here.

If you decide to work with us in the Life Crafting program, you'll become part of a dynamic community of like-minded individuals. This is a very uplifting experience. I hope you found this article valuable – please let me know how it is helpful to you!