Written by When recently looking at the possibility of a franchise for sale I found, after some initial research that the majority of franchises for sale are in the service industry. A lot, for example are in fast food, from chip shop and pizza takeaways to Chinese and Thai offerings, all ready to be snapped up. Others still within the service industry are opportunities in lawn treatment, plumbing, and cleaning services.
What is also common to most of these Low Cost Franchise opportunities is that their appeal is massive. Not counting the plumbing opportunity, most of the others can be carried out by a large amount of people with different working backgrounds and they need very few detailed skills in order to do well. The specific skills that are important are usually covered in the training provided by the franchisor and so anyone with no catering background at all could find themselves with a well run Thai take away by sticking to a set of rules and instructions and by exposure to a relatively small amount of training. Clearly an interest in the category of franchise is important, as a lot of effort is required from the franchisee in order to make the organisation a success. A large amount of commitment from the franchisee is needed too, so it is crucial that you are in a position you get pleasure from . And, if all these are apparent, the chances of a profitable business for the individual and franchisor are decent.
Franchises offer the franchisee the capacity to get into business using a tried and tested business model. As a lot of the opportunities are in service industries they are much more likely to appeal to many different kinds of individuals as they can see themselves in the role without too much problem or effort. As the business model is a copy of an already profitable business the individual can give attention to the new role without having to be worried about the paperwork, accounting or the marketing as this will all be taken care of. Instead they can become comfortable with their new service role and develop any new skills needed.
So these opportunities represent a real possibility for a lot of people, whatever their work experience. However as they are so straightforward to step into, requiring only the minimum amount of training that can speedily be provided, they also represent the most overpopulated sectors. Most people opt for the easiest path and these roles are certainly that.
For a little less competition both in terms of other franchisees and other franchisors selling a similar deal, it may be better to go for a Franchise Opportunity that has a reasonable amount of training at the beginning, say for example the one mentioned earlier, a plumber. Clearly there is a significant amount of training to go through but, once done you will without doubt be in a much more exclusive position. A decent quantity of dedication is necessary to go through the process but with the Franchise For Sale at the end of it at least the individual is definiate that there will be less competition for him and that, as with the more universal franchises, the ideal business model will support him.
Franchises are selling rather well in this climate but there is of course the risk of saturation, looking at some of the more challenging ones might just be the answer.
Great post! Its true that franchises lends itself well to the service blue collar industry. However I’ve noticed you can also find an increasing number of franchises in the management, white collar sector with everything from business cost management to coaching and recruitment.
Joe