Ten reasons not to buy a franchise
October 4, 2006
If you’re considering buying a franchise, you should know that many of the franchise advice sites on the Internet are set up to make you believe that investing in a franchise is the best thing since sliced bread.
Check out the list of ten reasons not to buy a franchise on forbes.com before making a decision. Forbes cites high start up costs, lack of legal recourse and limited independence as some of the reasons for thinking twice before starting a franchise.
If you still want to go it alone, but think you would feel more secure having a franchise, then setting up on your own, because you don’t have any business experience, consider taking a business course instead. Sure, some of them are expensive, but they’re usually a whole lot cheaper than paying a franchise licence fee.
If you think it sounds as though I have a downer on franchising - you’re right. I have been a franchise owner, and I would not invest in a franchise again - ever. Not because I didn’t make any money - I made quite a lot. But, for me, the cons - many of which are highlighted in the forbes article, outweighed the pros.
So before you go tying yourself into a restrictive franchise agreement, consider whether your chosen business is something you could set up on your own - if you had the necessary training, and consider taking a business course instead.
If you want to be a billionaire, get down to the gym
October 2, 2006
We all know that exercise is good for your health, but it seems it is also essential to your wealth. Forbes magazine interviewed 14 billionaires, and all but one, eats a healthy breakfast everyday, and every single one of those interviewed takes regular exercise.
Before you make a beeline for the gym, try out this Forbes quiz, to see if you have what it takes to become a billionaire.
Don’t Buy a Franchise Without Asking This Question
October 1, 2006
Thinking of buying a franchise? Don’t part with a penny of your hard earned cash until you’ve asked the franchisor this question:
“Do you still own and run a prototype operation?” And, if the answer is no - run a mile.
Any successful franchisor will have at least one managed operation, which is running smoothly and successfully, before they even think about franchising their business. Then the business of all new franchisees can be modelled on that prototype.
Unfortunately, to raise a bit of cash, some franchisors will sell off their prototype. And this is a foolish move, as all businesses need to constantly improve their system, to be successful, and if the franchisor changes their system radically, and they no longer have a prototype, they are in trouble, and so are the franchisees, as there is no longer a clear system to follow.
Don’t buy into any excuses. If the prospective franchisor says they no longer needed their prototype, they need to take their blinkers off. And you need to start looking for a better business opportunity.
