Which UK franchises opportunity should you choose?
So, you’re considering opening your own franchise? It’s an incredible opportunity to become your own boss, but with the immense support of a large company that already has the secret to success. You might have started doing research with Franchise-uk.co.uk and found yourself a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of UK franchises that are out there.
Here is a quick look into the things you should be thinking about when trying to narrow down your search for the perfect franchise.
Go with what you know: Entrepreneur’s article on how franchises are like picking shoes makes the excellent point that, “You must know what you are looking for in a franchise before writing that check.” It’s much easier to try on a pair of shoes, but you do need to “try” out the franchise you are interested in, or at least go with one you know will be comfortable.
The best way to ensure that this happens is by picking a franchise in an industry where you have a lot of familiarity. Even if it is a franchise, you should still consider it to be your business, and why would you start a business in a field where you have little or no experience? It’s best to pick something you are already familiar and comfortable with.
Consider others’ experience: If you already know the industry and know how you feel about the brand as a consumer, the next thing you need to try and figure out is the experience as a franchisee. Don’t be afraid to find current and former owners to ask them about their experience with the brand. Sometimes it might come down to finding management styles that will work best with how you want your business to be run. And you’ll never know if you don’t ask.
Consider undervalued franchises: You might find yourself gravitating to the big brands straight away, but as Investopedia advises in their fascinating article about undervalued franchises, “Don’t make the mistake of disregarding the slow and steady competitors in the franchise race.”
Oftentimes reliability can be much more valuable than something that is exploding with popularity at the moment. Consider Starbucks and how many are appearing in every city all over the world, this might have you seeing dollar signs, but the truth is that slow steady performance over many years means a steady income that isn’t dependent on fads or businesses that are in style today and might be gone tomorrow.