Franchises

I imagine this is the place if you are asking about the general concepts.

tim

Strangely there doesn't appear to be any UK group dedicated to business. uk.business.accountancy's charter forbids such discussion so this is probably the nearest.

Daytona

What do you want to know, ask the questions and see the result.

I have never had a franchise, but have had been in business 10 years and looked at franchises now and again to see what it was all about.

Some really unqualified thoughts in no particular order:

If the idea is that good , why pay to get into it - just do it. If you are a business novice, you pay for someone to hold your hand. Beware of con artists, if it was easy everyone would do it. Have you got the balls to work for yourself?

It comes down to an example picked from a business I saw today:

Wheelie bin cleaning

Concept Wash people's wheelie bins

Who will be you customers Suprisingly, some people do seem to want their bins washed!

What would a franchise give you Acess to the tools of the trade - they tell you where to buy the van Some sort of advertising package - they advertise nationally and pass leads to you. Advice on pricing.

So , if you have the money - a franchise may give you the backbone of a business on a plate, but you still need the work ethos to succeed. And with savvy of your own, the money might be better spent in the business you want to start

You're right - it is cheaper to buy the assets yourself than to buy a franchise. On the other hand, evidence suggests that, as a group, franchises fair better than most other businesses - so it can be a safer route.

Probably one of the major problems is the preponderence of con artists. I suspect that there is a lot of absolute crap on offer. Weeding out the wheat from the chaff would be za major exercise.

And like you said, franchises can't replace personal ethos.

From a purely personal point of view, I don't think I'm cut out to run my own business, either as a self-starter or a franchisee. So none of it would be for me, anyway. That's just the way I am.

Yes, I have actually. Have you the brains? I've been doing it for nigh on seven years, but had heard of a couple of franchises in my field and was just wondering. Oh, and I was operating my business(es) part-time while still fully employed for a good number of years before I went full-time.