Business Franchise Opportunities | 5 Key Things to Know About Franchise Buying

The five basic key things to know about buying a business franchise opportunity.

When someone new to business franchise opportunities is ready to get started and they begin their research, one thing they do is look for books. One such book might be something with a title like Franchise Buying - What You Need to Know.

There's a lot to know when starting a franchise, and a lot to keep in mind. So many people go into a franchise business with huge expectations for success in terms of sales, revenue, growth and so on. In the end, many of these same people end up pretty disappointed.

So, if you make the decision to invest in a franchise business, you need to know the truth about franchising prior to investing your money, time, and effort into it. The following items are key to remember and are often the very things people forget when getting into franchising.

First, do away with a "get rich quick" mentality and expectation if you have it. Simply buying and owning a franchise today will not make you suddenly rich tomorrow.

Indeed, you'll probably make money in your franchise (no guarantees though), but you must be prepared to put in a lot of time and hard work before you see profits. This is where a good business plan for your business franchise comes into play. The plan will help you project and see on paper your projections for revenue, profit and loss, and other key financial measures.

Next, realize that with franchise ownership, you are working for yourself - you are your own boss. But, you do in fact have others you need to report to: The franchisor from whom you bought your franchise. They will require regular reports, for example monthly, to see how your business is performing. Thus, you will answer to the franchisor, in a sense, in the same way you would answer to your boss in a traditional job.

Next, do not underestimate the amount of capital you will need to purchase your franchise opportunity and get started. Plan on paper: Figure out exactly what's required from the franchisor. Put together a clear investment plan to determine the amount of initial seed capital you'll need, and what you'll need to raise, or borrow.

As for selecting a franchise, don't just go off and choose the first franchise you think of! Do plenty of research and think about what your strengths, weaknesses, desire, and goals are. Think about your likes and dislikes and list all the jobs you've had in your career along with the positive and negative aspects of each. This exercise will help you narrow down the huge array of choices you have when looking at business franchise opportunities.

Finally, you need to realize that franchising isn't for everyone; it may not be for you. All the more reason to do a lot of research about business ownership, franchising, and your own personal profile. There are a ton of things to consider when thinking about becoming a franchisee.

Do your homework, attend trade shows, talk in depth to other franchise owners, investigate franchising companies, record all your notes, do a preliminary business plan, and then sit back and critically analyze all your data. You'll then have a solid information base from which to make a good decision as to whether getting started with business franchise opportunities is really for you.