There is one comment that we often hear when we first talk to candidates: “I don’t want a franchise because I don’t want a business where I’m flipping burgers all day.”
Is that what franchises are all about? Most people are surprised to learn the answer is “Absolutely not”.
People do usually think of franchises as being in one of three segments: Retail (think 7-Eleven), Automotive (Meineke Muffler), or food ( of course, McDonalds). Although these are very well known segments, most of our candidates tend to look at more executive-level franchises.
Most people coming out of corporate America at a senior or mid-executive level do not want to own a business built around flipping burgers. They are much more interested in businesses where they can, once again, serve in an executive role. The best way to accomplish this is to find a business in a strong, growing, service market. Find a business that operates with an executive model.
Some of the types of businesses that interest people are Senior Care, Workplace Drug Testing, Academic Tutoring, or IT Services. These are all great businesses with low entry costs, strong growth histories, and robust performance even during a recession. More – none of them require the owner to ask “Do you want fries with that?”
How do you find the right non-restaurant business for yourself? It starts with an honest assessment of your skills. For example, if you’re good at managing professional, educated employees, you would be smart to start by looking at businesses where the owner is involved in managing this type of worker.
If you don’t want the headaches or the grease of a burger joint, then don’t look into a burger business.
If you want a business where you’ll feel comfortable in your role, a business where you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back into an executive level job, then look for a business that requires executive level skills to run.
You will quickly see that there is much more in the world of franchising than burgers and fries.
Dan Citrenbaum
Dan Citrenbaum is a Franchise Coach and Entrepreneurial Consultant, and is a franchisee himself. He has spent over 25 years helping small business owners start and grow their businesses, in order to achieve their dreams. He offers a free service to help people find an existing business to buy, or a successful franchise to start. View his company’s web site at www.EntrepreneurOption.com. Dan can be reached at DCitrenbaum@gmail.com or at 215-367-5349.
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