Franchising Allows You to

Franchising Allows You to...

Live Your Life with Passion!

We know you’ve been thinking about opening a business for a long time, right? Whether it has been your lifelong dream, or you’ve recently decided to start your own business, a franchise is a very viable option for an aspiring entrepreneur.

The choice of franchise categories is vast. You can indeed find one that suits you, your passions, and your experience. If your present career is not satisfying, it may be time to branch out – time to get serious and fully embrace owning your own business and fulfill your dreams.

Leaning on a franchisor and their team for support is one of the best ways to start up a small business. No matter what your goals are, how big you would like to grow or how much revenue you would like to drive through your business on an annual basis.

Franchising is a wide-open field where you can find many brands in the industries you are considering – having someone who has been there before, who has proven out the day-to-day operations is important. Someone determined. Someone who knows what works best in marketing and customer-centric programs is a benefit to you as you start your new business. All of this is what franchising does best.

My recommendation for choosing a brand is to start with an industry that stirs your passion.

Whether it is senior care (like this issue is all about), food-centric, retail, child-care or service-based.

Do you want to work from your home office and go to clients, acting more as a solo-preneur? Maybe you don’t know how to market your experience, let alone create a website?

A franchise brand, in this case, is a definite win for you! Right out of the gate, you can launch with a reliable brand, have access to the materials you need and an online presence that could take years to establish on your own.

Maybe you want to open your own shop, hang a shingle in your hometown, and be able to serve your local community with amazing products. A franchise brand will not only be able to help do that, it will also help you design and fit-out the entire store from soup to nuts (so to speak). They will also allow you to leverage their buying power, and open quickly, which will more than offset the ongoing royalties you pay. They will have already chosen the right POS system, help you review the right reports, and set goals to pay back your loan or recoup your investment. They do this in addition to guiding you on the products that sell and providing the advertising materials to make it happen.

Joining a franchise brand lets you stand on the shoulders of someone who has already navigated the path you set your feet on. They also give you a mentor to turn to when you need advice from someone who is actively invested in your business growth.

Here’s my advice on the first step to franchising. Look for a franchise founder who thinks like you, while sharing your vision, professional and personal values. Research their website, talk to them, and make sure that it sounds like a match for you. Then, be sure to review the FDD in detail and learn as much as you can.

Visit them and get to know the franchisor and their team. Feel if it’s a good fit.

This is a long-term commitment, but one that can really pay off in the end when you are part of a much bigger brand than you could create on your own.

I wish you the best in your research and the ultimate decision. I’ve done it, and I am happy about having owned a franchise in the past. Now, I spend time helping franchisors create opportunities for people ready to start while looking for training, ongoing support, guidance, and a proven brand.

– Dawn Abbamondi

Dawn Abbamondi, Director of Brand Development & Marketing at SMB Franchise Advisors, has over 20 years of extensive franchising experience in the coffee, food, convenience, gift and floral industries. Dawn leads the areas of marketing, social media, public relations, web development and lead generation.

Contact Dawn at 215-370-7998 or Dawn@SMBFranchising.com. Visit www.SMBFranchising.com.

September 2019