Franchise FAQ: If I Buy a Franchise, Am I Just Buying Myself a Job?
Question from a reader, Clay B.: Hey Jim, I’ve enjoyed reading your posts over the last few years. I haven’t explored franchising myself, but I’ve heard other people refer to it as buying yourself a job. What does that mean? Is it true?
Hi Clay, thanks for reading! Yeah, that’s a common perception of franchising. First, let me explain where it comes from and then why it’s really not true.
The idea that when you buy a franchise you are really just buying a job is rooted in the fact that franchisees give up some of the operational freedoms that independent business owners have in exchange for a proven business model and corporate support. When you purchase a franchise, you agree to follow the franchisor’s model. That includes things such as branding, store design, operating procedures, and products/services available to sell. Certainly, owning and operating a business following somebody else’s rules could feel like a job if that’s all there was to it.
However, that’s not all there is to it.
Franchisees are completely responsible for the day-to-day operation of their store. They have to make decisions regarding marketing and advertising, community outreach, and staffing. They make choices to sponsor events, create promotions and develop business partnerships with other local business owners that they deem mutually beneficial. Franchisees are in charge of their own schedule as well. They decided when they will be working and when they won’t. They don’t have to request vacation or personal time; they just take it. Franchisees make decisions regarding how many people they need to hire, who they want to employ and what their duties will be.
Many franchisees grow their way out of the day-to-day operation and take more of a CEO level position overseeing their franchise empire. This is particularly popular with semi-absentee franchises that only require their owners to work 10–15 hours per week. Other times, the franchise might be an investment for a family business to grow, as is the case with this franchise owner and his sons.
More than anything, franchisees own their business, meaning they are free to grow it, expand it and, one day, sell it. They have invested their own money for the opportunity to build something that will help them design the lifestyle they desire with an unlimited potential to earn.
With all of this in mind, I’d say franchising is much more like a partnership. Franchisees go through a careful discovery process to make sure they are a good fit for the franchise and their culture. Both parties agree to do business, agree who will handle different responsibilities and both look to profit from the endeavor.
So, while being a franchisee is certainly work, it’s far from just buying a job.
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