FINANCE
If He Can Own His Own Business,
Why Can’t You?
I
by Amanda Tokos, Consultant, The Franchise Consulting Company remember sitting at my desk as a U.S. Probation Officer listening to a recently released felon tell me how he was going to be a business owner. I admittedly thought to myself that it was an unrealistic goal. Almost impossible…because he had been in prison for almost 5 years, had no education, and no prior experience owning a business. Unless you counted his career as a drug dealer. Despite my reservations, I put him to the test by asking him various questions. He had no idea that I had a degree in business management, nor that I was planning to open a business of my own in the near future. Here I was thinking that I might be able to help him, but was quite flabbergasted as he explained to me in elaborate detail how he was going to open an upscale clothing store for African American men in his community. While
16
FEBRUARY 2020 | WWW.FRANCHISEJOURNAL.COM
in prison, he had read many books on business ownership, put together a business plan, and worked with friends and family to find an investor, retail space, and vendors. This man did in fact open up his own business despite so many people telling him it was impossible, all while I sat back in awe of his vision, passion, and determination. Fast forward 12 years, after I left my career to open a franchise, followed by two more buildouts and an acquisition, then a partner buy-out, an old acquaintance of mine reached out to discuss franchise opportunities. I asked him why he thought he wanted to be a franchise owner and he said because he felt he would do a good job and just needed a chance. I didn’t quite understand what he meant so I asked that he elaborate. He said he just needed someone to
