Franchising explained through a video game

Owning any business can be challenging and risky. Why then is franchising a better bet? Allow me to introduce you to Osmos. Osmos is a unique, fun, video game but when I looked at it I always felt that it also explains the benefits of buying a franchise. Think of the bubble organism you control in the game as your franchise.

Summary

The aim of the game Osmos is to propel the single-celled organism called a mote into other smaller motes. Each mote that joins makes the original single-celled organism bigger and stronger. However like business the game has it's ups and downs so beware of colliding with a mote larger than your own. This will result in you being absorbed. That's game over.

The Osmos Effect in business

Osmos gives you a good feel for a phenomenon that occurs when you’re growing a business, but in business it takes several years to experience what it takes just a few minutes to experience in Osmos:

1. At first, challenges seem impossibly big
2. Sooner than you think those challenges become within your grasp
3. Then you look back and the old challenges now seem small.

And on and on and on......

The Osmos Effect in franchising

I’ve seen the Osmos Effect happen many times in franchising both as a franchisee and as a franchisor. As franchisees and franchisor grow, the Osmos Effect” can be experienced in 4 ways:

1. Sales targets that once seemed unachievable, later feel almost too small
2. Business opportunities that felt too much, later we feel guilty because we never followed up
3. Competitors that once seemed like giants, later become insignificant
4. An office that was large, now seems really small.

Each franchisee that joins makes the franchise network bigger and stronger and builds strength in each individual business.  

In fact, the Osmos Effect applies to almost every aspect of a growing franchise so it's important for you to gain an appreciation for this phenomenon as early in the process as you can. If you don't you’ll never have the confidence to create your bigger picture visions and growth goals in the first place.

Bill Gates referred to this when he said that “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

Unfortunately in business this phenomenon can take years to experience but if you want to feel the effect fast I recommend you play Osmos. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/osmos/id408054320?mt=12