Franchise Ownership -”Do I have to be an entrepreneur?”
If you are telling yourself, “I need to be a full on entrepreneur to successfully own a franchise”? My answer is no you don’t and it is better if you are not.
Franchise Ownership -”Do I have to be an entrepreneur?”
If you are telling yourself, “I need to be a full on entrepreneur to successfully own a franchise”? My answer is no you don’t and it is better if you are not.
People are using the word “entrepreneur” with “business owner” interchangeably, and I argue that is wrong. The internet is a blaze with this person or that person saying “Be an entrepreneur to really get ahead in America”. What they should be saying is “Become a business owner to get ahead in America”. The true entrepreneur is not in most of us but a desire to control our destiny is. The entrepreneur is someone that needs to own every aspect of their creation; the branding, the marketing, all the design layouts, and so on. Think of Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, Mark Zuckerberg they would have walked out the door if a Franchisor said “here is the playbook to follow for your business”. The bulk of us want to own a business and control our livelihood but don’t not have a unique idea or time to create something from scratch. That is why, I think franchise ownership is a perfect fit for someone that wants to own a business and not the entrepreneur. Franchise ownership allows you to be a business owner that creates jobs, take control of your financial future, and gives you the benefits of being self-employed without the struggle of having to create something or go it alone.
The reality is most franchisors want a less entrepreneurial franchisee because they want someone who will follow the model or the playbook they created. They want someone that wants to own a business and have the advantages of being a business owner but not someone that will battle them day-in and day-out on the vision of the brand. The franchisor who created the model, the marketing, and the branding and sometimes the widget is the entrepreneur. And you as the franchisee, get to tap into that entrepreneurial spirit of the founder and take advantage of that creation. Don’t you think that if Apple had franchise opportunities there wouldn't be a line out the door of people wanting to join them. Or if Starbucks was a franchise you wouldn’t want to be able to tap into that brand and into their marketing. Thankfully franchising is an option and allows business ownership for the majority of us who want to own our livelihood, to create jobs in our local communities, but don't have the idea or the risk tolerance to create it from scratch.
Instead of asking are you an entrepreneur, you need to ask if you have the willingness to bet on yourself and the systems of the franchisor. Do you have the desire to control your daily existence and what you have to do everyday. From my experience franchise ownership of the right concept for your individual needs, can provide that and much more.
If you would like to learn more about investigating a franchise or take a free franchise compatibility assessment to help find the right model for you, please reach out to me at 310-773-7662 or stephen@thefranchiseconsultingcompany.com
