(above logos are respective properties of the companies they represent)
As we head into 2009, opportunities will continue to surround us. One opportunity many individuals may consider is taking on ownership of a franchise. It's been said many times that buying into an established company with your own startup investment money and hard work can lead to prosperity. What a franchise seems to require most is finding quite a bit of startup money to invest in it, finding a profitable location, using a lot of your own elbow grease, marketing, promotion, human resources, accounting and many other skills. As you can see it's a risky idea as you're putting your money and time/effort on the line in the hopes of the company you buy into turning profitable. But it can also become an asset you can cash in with down the road, possibly bringing in a good source of passive income along the way.
The January 2009 issue of Entrepreneur magazine lists out the Top 10 Franchises as of right now. Without further ado...
1. Subway
2. McDonald's
3. Liberty Tax Service
4. Sonic Drive In
5. Intercontinental Hotels Group
6. Ace Hardware
7. Pizza Hut
8. The UPS Store/Mail Boxes Etc.
9. Circle K
10. Papa John's
As you can see people always love to eat as half of the Top 10 and 3 of the Top 4 franchises are fast food joints. Even in troubling economic times people will be patrons at these cheaper restaurants too. Subway continues to be one of the top choices for people to buy into, and you'd have to believe it's because it's such a profitable franchise and noble cause. The icon Jared devoted himself to losing weight by eating a certain type of sub sandwich daily. Others look to follow in his footsteps and "the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise" gives them a healthy way to eat out for lunch during their jobs. Subways promote "healthy fast food" and many people will buy into the notion of helping others to be healthy, especially with the way the US continues to label its children as becoming more and more obese. My cousin owns a Subway franchise currently and seems to enjoy the idea of owning his own business.
You can check out the Subway franchise process here.
So is a franchise for you? If you've got the die-hard work ethic to give your all to another brand, the ability to keep at it in the face of failure, and the desire to make that franchise branch into a profitable business somewhere, why not? Franchises take many of the skills you'll use in building, promoting and maintaining a profitable online business too. Just remember that the online business usually takes a lot less investment or startup money to get going. Weigh the pros and cons, and also consider the idea of combining your brick and mortar franchise with a blog or website to help drive new customers to both your online and real world businesses.
