It is very common for those interested in buying a franchise to be advised on what to ask the franchisor, and/or what to focus on within the company’s business model. But, what isn’t often stressed is learning and analyzing your own personal qualities before your sign on as a franchisee. Certain personality traits and mindsets often attribute to a business owner’s success. Furthermore, the traits that make one a successful entrepreneur, may differ from the traits that attribute to successful franchisees. See our article Why Entrepreneurs Don’t Make The Best Franchisees.
Here are some things to evaluate and ask yourself before making the leap into business ownership or buying a franchise:
Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker?- Are you a self-starter?
- Are you a big picture thinker?
- Your risk tolerance
- Your finances
- The Rule Breaker VS. The Rule Follower:
One of the benefits of joining a franchise system is that there are already business systems, models, and guidelines put into place. This allows for brand recognition, quicker ramp up to success, and the ability to become a business owner without reinventing the wheel. But, this also means that you must be willing to follow the systems. If you have a personality more suited for “doing things your own way,” franchising may not be the best fit for you.
- Would you classify yourself as a self-starter?
If you are not given a daily task list, do you find that you are capable of being productive and being able to manage your time effectively on your own? If you find yourself to be most productive when someone is continually telling you what tasks need to be complete and/or checking up on the progress of these tasks, a management role may not be your ideal fit. When it comes to franchising, what you get out of your business is very dependent on what you put into it. Additionally, at the beginning stages of your business you, as the owner, will be wearing a lot of hats. Because of this, time management, organization, and being able to motivate yourself to be productive can be directly correlated to your success and growth as a business.
- Big Picture Thinker VS. “The Right Now” Thinker:
As a business owner, being a visionary is an extremely important quality. Being able to see the big picture helps you to put in motion a plan for how to get to your end goals. Visionaries also often think about potential future problems, which helps create more effective practices. Since you can see the potential for problems and see an action through to the end before it happens, this allows you the opportunity to come up with a solution for a problem before it happens. As a business owner, you set goals and establish things you want to be able to achieve in the future, and how to get there. If you find yourself saying things like “I can’t plan for the future” or “let’s just try it and see what happens” or you have trouble setting and thinking about future goals, you may be more of a “right now” thinker. This type of thinking isn’t a bad thing, but the most successful franchise owners are often big thinkers.
- What is your tolerance for risk?
It is no secret that investing in and/or starting any sort of business comes with risk. When purchasing a franchise, the risk is much less than starting your own company from the ground up because of the system, brand recognition, and support, but there are still risks involved. It’s your ability to deal with the risk that is the more important area to focus on. Research, preparation and extensive personal financial analysis will help in handling risks effectively.
- Your personal finance situation:
To go along with number 4, being realistic about your finances is a necessity before making such a big investment. Of course, the ideal situation for a large investment is having a “nest egg” of cash or savings to use for the purchase and/or business expenses, but for most, this just isn’t possible. However, being financially organized and fully understanding the maximum risks you can take before making any investment will help in understanding how to plan for handling these risks. A great option when buying a franchise is acquiring a business loan. This allows for you to pursue your business ownership dreams without needing a wad of saved up cash. Did you know The Brothers that just do Gutters business model is SBA approved? This means acquiring a business loan to purchase a Brothers Gutters franchise is easier!
If you feel like you are fit and ready for business ownership after doing some self-evaluating, then the next step is researching! If you are interested in purchasing a franchise, The Brothers that just do Gutters have many available opportunities! Get more information on our opportunities HERE.