Joel Libava
In Part 2 of this franchise series, I wrote that “freedom” was one of the popular reasons for buying a franchise. I received a couple of great comments, and they reminded me that freedom doesn’t come without a sacrifice. You have to earn the right to be able to have some freedom to come and go as a franchise owner, or whatever else it is that you define freedom with.
In case you missed it, here’s Part 2.
So, what is another popular reason people that people decide to move away from a “job,” and move towards small business ownership?
It’s actually a close cousin to “freedom.” It’s
Control
You certainly don’t have much control when you’re working for someone else.
(Of course, that depends on what type of job you have, and how cool your boss is.)
I know you want more.
In a typical job, there are several things that you can’t control;
- Your hours
- Days of the week that you work
- Your salary/bonus
- Your boss
- Your work environment/location
Plus, many many, other things.
This always angered me
I’m not sure if you ever ran across this in a job, but I couldn’t stand the fact that I couldn’t just pick my vacation week. (Or weeks) I always had to wait for a couple of other folks to choose their weeks, and then I got to choose mine.
The example above may seem like a little thing, but for me it wasn’t. What really bothers you, as an employee? (Just leave a comment after the end of this post.)
Franchise control
A very common question that’s asked of me during one of my presentations on franchising, has to do with the amount of control, or lack of, that one has as a franchise owner. It’s a great question.
It’s an important thing to think about, before you embark on your franchise search. Especially, if you’re thinking of becoming a franchise owner, because you absolutely hate your job.
The franchisor has more control than you. They have to.
If every franchisee in a franchise system was left to do his or her own thing, it wouldn’t be a franchise. It would be a nightmare.
Here’s what the franchisor controls;
- Your cost of entry (Franchise Fee)
- Royalties (How much you’ll pay the franchisor every month)
- Marketing/advertising strategy
- Product/service offerings
- Software/technology
- Hours of operation/days open for business
- Who else becomes a franchisee
So, you see, you don’t have that much control.
Or do you?
You’re the boss
Of course you have things that you control. You’re the boss. You’re the owner. You’re the one who wrote the check. you’re the franchisee.
You control who you hire, your inventory, the way your store looks, (cleanliness) your business checking account, your payroll, your time spent working, (and playing) and your growth.
It’s true
When you decide to buy a franchise business, you just made a controlled decision. Of course it’s true that you’re actually buying someone else’s idea, someone else’s model. But, they’re not opening up the door to your business every day. You are. You’re in charge.
In summation, don’t let anyone tell you that when you buy a franchise, you’re not in control.
You’re just not in control of everything.
I think that you have a lot more control when you’re a franchise owner, than when you were an employee. Do you agree? Did I miss anything?
In Part 4, we’ll discuss yet another popular reason for buying a franchise.
Or not. Here’s Part 4!
