If you’ve just decided to try starting a business, it’s unfortunately not as easy as simply running it. Before you get going, you’ll have to decide whether you should start a business from scratch or if you should instead buy a franchise.
If you decide to go the “start a business” route, there are several things you need to keep in mind. The main one is that to start a business that’ll have a chance of success, you have to make sure that you have a profitable idea. Think of Microsoft, Burger King, Foot Locker, or any other business that you’ve encountered in your life. Starting your own business tends to be significantly cheaper than franchising, largely because you can determine your overhead—will your business be part-time? Full time? Run out of your garage? Run out of a warehouse? Additionally, if you start your own business, you’re your own boss. However, keep in mind that there will be a steep learning curve to chasing success, and if you fail, there’s no one to blame it on except for yourself. The failure rate for starting a business is also quite high, but if you manage to succeed, you’re golden!
On the other hand, you have the option to franchise. When franchising is done right, you’ll be able to buy into a successful business model that is already thriving. The business will already have a proven set of methods, a streamlined supply chain, support, and a proven record of victory. When you decide to franchise, everything is pretty much all set up for you! All you’ll have to do is follow directions and understand the business’s already-established systems.
You’ll have to choose between starting at a location that is fully operational or if you’ll want to start from the ground up. To be more detailed, when you franchise, you are basically buying a retail location. For example, if you’ve ever wanted to be a business owner of a Walmart… now you can! (You will not own all of Walmart, of course, but you will own a new property under the Walmart umbrella.) However, keep in mind that you will have to pay significantly more in costs to franchise than you would to start your own business (such as $500,000 to $1,000,000).