The Perks and Pitfalls Associated With Owning a Franchise
Franchises comprise a huge volume of the total business conducted in this country, accounting for more than $70 billion in revenue, and employing an enormous workforce in the neighborhood of one million people. But owning a franchise isn’t all wine and roses, and although there are some definite benefits which accrue to an owner, there are also some headaches to offset those advantages.
Benefits of owning a franchise
There are a tremendous number of business choices for franchise operations, and they are available in all shapes and sizes. You can choose from any number of franchise businesses such as hair salons, spas, fast food restaurants, cleaning companies, fitness centers, dry cleaners, pet supply stores, pet grooming and lodging, cellphone stores, clothing stores, automobile stores, and – the list goes on an on, but you get the idea. Whatever you might be interested in, there’s probably a franchise available for you to purchase and operate.
Planning for growth with a franchise may be easier than with any other kind of business operation. In fact, in some cases growth strategies are incorporated right into the contract language when you first sign on board. You may have the option to open a second, third, or fourth franchise within a specified time after opening up your first franchise store.
It’s also very easy to incorporate family members in your franchise business, and that can make the whole enterprise seem much more rewarding to an owner. You could even marry these last two advantages, and have family members operating your second or third franchise store.
Disadvantages of franchise ownership
For some franchises, the operating expenses can be very high, and if you own several franchises, those costs can be enormous. To offset that, you’ll need to have some efficient and strict management policies in place. In some specific businesses, franchise operation has been hurt by the ubiquity of online stores, and their convenience can be a tough advantage to overcome for your brick-and-mortar franchise store. Then too, franchise businesses can experience serious setbacks when customer bases undergo a change of purchasing habits – if you happen to own multiple franchises, you can literally be left holding the bag when that happens.
Muth Capital has put together a franchise financing program friendly enough for first-time operators. Contact us today at 914-999-2855.
