As a franchisee myself, I’ve come to realise that franchising is an under-rated and probably lesser-known way to start a business, and yet it can be one of the most rewarding ways to start up. We will look at three of the ways franchising beats starting up on your own in today’s blog.
1. Franchises are an easy sell to the bank manager
One of the biggest barriers to starting a business is that you have no upfront capital with which to start your business. Without a doubt, starting a business takes a good amount of investment in all aspects of a business start-up, from marketing and promotion to resources and equipment. If you don’t have the cash to begin with, a bank loan is probably your first port of call to obtain that money. Franchises are well-known in the UK as a solid business investment. You are following a proven business model that has done well enough using its own methods, to consider franchising, which makes it an attractive proposition. Therefore, banks see this as investing in a very viable business opportunity for the customer, and are more likely to give you credit for this reason.
2. Franchising Support makes self-employment less lonely
If you have ever worked for yourself or by yourself, you’ll know that self-employment can be a lonely proposition! Starting up by yourself, making decisions on a business that is totally new to you may be a daunting prospect for new entrepreneurs. One of the main features of a franchise is often the support that comes from the head office and even peers. For example at LCF, we have a support team available by email and live chat and we also have the head office at the end of a phone line too.
We then have added peer support with the help of a private Facebook group This means any questions can be answered quickly, taking lots of experienced opinions into account. Unless you have mentoring support from Chambers of Commerce, funded coaching/training or similar, you may not find this level of support starting off by yourself. This article, by the Guardian in 2017 explains how difficult it can be “working in a box” by yourself. So, the support of workshops, peer support and direct support from head office is a really important part of the franchise package.
3. Brand Power is Strong in Franchising!
Having an idea is great, but having a reputation is strong! If you are joining an established brand, you can instantly jump in and claim some reputation points by being a part of that brand. Franchisees have ready-made logos, sometimes even marketing and promotional materials ready to go and you just need to adapt them for yourself and your territory. What do you think the cost of doing this yourself and building your own brand reputation would be? How long would this take? Take LCF Clubs as an example, the brand has been built over 35+ years of consistent service to children and schools.
Have you thought about teaching languages in primary schools? If so, consider the LCF franchisee programme and you can earn £50+ per hour part-time with a low-cost investment. Find out more by submitting your information on our Franchise page.
