Top 5 Reasons Why Why People Are Becoming Self Employed

by Ken Boyce, Consultant, The Franchise Consulting Company

2021 was another crazy year! The pandemic is still hanging around and affecting all of us. Businesses being forced to close, being forced to work from home, travel restrictions. Do I need to go on? You would think that we are living in a Hollywood horror movie and the whole world is collapsing!

In all fairness, there are people suffering but the world has not turned into a zombie apocalypse. We have all adapted. Would you be surprised to hear that in 2020 there was a record amount of people opening their own business? How could this be? During a pandemic? The answer is Yes!

The IRS reported over 1.5 million applications for new employer identification numbers (EINs). These applications are for individuals that are looking to form a new business. This is amazing! You can read more on the actual statistics from an article by Eric Sherman of Forbes. Here is the link to his article. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ eriksherman/2021/04/17/theranks-of-the-self-employed-areexploding/?sh=6ebab1631515

Many of us, in the franchise industry, guessed that during the pandemic franchise openings would decrease. This is not the case. I have had my franchise consulting business for 6 years. In 2021, I have worked with a record number of clients. It was a pleasant surprise!

MANY OF US, IN THE FRANCHISE INDUSTRY, GUESSED THAT DURING THE PANDEMIC FRANCHISE OPENINGS WOULD DECREASE. THIS IS NOT THE CASE.

You would think that the trend would be the opposite. Here are the top 5 reasons that I heard from my clients:

1. Industry Shutdowns. One of my clients was in the car rental business. His income was 90% commission and it fell off the cliff. He had no choice to do something else. He will tell you now that it was the best thing that happened to him. He now owns a franchise that is producing results to allow him to live the lifestyle he always wanted.

2. Forced To Work At Home. Many of us have never worked from home. Many of my clients shared with me that they never thought it would ever work. They ended up loving it! The main reason? More freedom and control of their lives. They now don’t want to go back to the traditional workplace. That spilled over to why can’t I run my own business? People woke up and decided to take their future into their own hands. 3. Tired Of Bad Bosses. A client of mine is a Human resources manager. Here direct boss was giving her bad advice. Telling her that there is a shortage of workers and it her fault. She told me there is NOT a shortage of people to hire. The issue is they want more pay, more benefits, and a better lifestyle. Her industry has no lack of demand for sales but the company is not willing to pay more to their workers. She finally said enough! I know how to hire people and make sure they are paid what they are worth. She decided to open a recruiting franchise and is now flourishing! My clients understand that this challenge presents great opportunities.

4. Age Discrimination. This has been an issue for 30 years. Corporate America has always discriminated against age. It is getting worse or should I say, getting younger. The majority of my clients are in their 40’s and 50’s and they share with me that companies want to hire younger people that they can pay less. The shelf life of a corporate resource is getting shorter. 50% of my clients have purchased a franchise business due to this issue.

5. Unhappy and Lost with their career. This is probably the number one reason, I hear, why people open a franchise business. They fell they are stuck and have no options. I show them that franchise companies are NOT looking for people with experience in their industry. They are looking for people that are willing to follow a system that is proven. There are unlimited opportunities for you. Don’t feel like you are stuck.

MANY OF MY CLIENTS SHARED WITH ME THAT THEY NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD EVER WORK. THEY ENDED UP LOVING IT! THE MAIN REASON? MORE FREEDOM AND CONTROL OF THEIR LIVES.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ken Boyce has 25 years of experience in franchising and 20 years of business ownership. He focuses on working with C-Level professionals helping them with franchise ownership and creating wealth with The Wealth Builder Strategy. Contact Ken at ken@thewealthbuilderstrategy. com or visit his website at www. thewealthbuiderstrategy.com