Businesses for Sale: Should You Choose a Franchise?

If you're at a point in your life where it makes sense to become a business owner, you have a lot of options. The first option is to start a business on your own. What's most appealing about this option is the potential satisfaction of knowing that you built something from the ground up. While that makes for a great story, there's an important caveat to this point.

                                               

Although the media loves to run stories about people who have built successful businesses from scratch, those stories overlook the fact that for every person who's successful, there are hundreds or even thousands of people who weren't able to build the business they wanted. The reason that building a successful business is so hard is because there's so much that has to get done.

From making sure there's a large enough market for the business to properly marketing it to dealing with training new employees, business owners are constantly juggling a dozen different things at the same time. And while there are plenty of people who are willing to put in that type of work, the big challenge with starting from scratch is you're basically trying to navigate down a path with nothing more than a map that's fuzzy and hard to read.

Businesses for Sale Offer a Better Way to Get Started

The second option for becoming a business owner is to buy an established business. The advantage of this approach is you eliminate many of the obstacles that come with starting a business from scratch. Since you'll have an opportunity to carefully evaluate the current financials, you will be able to confirm that there is adequate demand for the business. You'll also benefit from already having an infrastructure in place.

While buying a business can be an attractive proposition, it's still not perfect. The main challenge that comes with this option is the lack of ongoing support. Once the deal closes and you become the owner, there's still a lot that you're going to have to figure out on your own.

The major benefit of having ongoing support is why the third option for becoming a business owner is so appealing. That option is to buy a franchise. By opting for a business that's not only for sale, but also has a franchise system in place, you will gain access to everything you need in order to launch and grow your business.

From marketing systems to training support, buying into a franchise gives you the opportunity to become part of a proven team. And because you'll be able to exchange ideas with other franchise owners who are in the same position as you but not competing against you, any obstacle you come across will be far easier to resolve than if you were trying to do everything on your own.

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What Benefits and Responsibilities Go Along with Franchise Ownership?

Investing in a franchise gives you the opportunity to become a business owner. While investing in a franchise isn’t the only way to become a business owner, there are several key advantages to taking this approach. The first major advantage is you get to use the name of an established brand. Since plenty of businesses have spent millions of dollars trying to build a strong brand and failed to reach their goals, being able to legally use an established brand’s name and other assets is significant.

The second big advantage that a franchise provides is a proven model to follow. A common misconception among new entrepreneurs is in order to be successful, you need to blaze a new path. While there are famous examples like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs who have succeed with that approach, the majority of people who try to do something completely new end up failing.

The best way to minimize the risk associated with a new business is to follow a proven model. By becoming part of a franchise, you will get access to every detail of the organization’s model. This makes it possible to avoid many of the pitfalls that commonly derail or even destroy new businesses.

Another crucial advantage provided by the franchise model is ongoing access to support. When someone starts a business on their own, it’s up to them to figure out what to do when they encounter a challenge. But with the franchise model, you’ll have access to other owners who have gone through the same process as you and know exactly what needs to be done in order to succeed.

Understanding the Realities of Franchise Ownership

Because a franchise is a business, it’s not a magical solution to build a lucrative income stream. However, for owners with the right financial resources and skills, it’s the perfect way to maximize the ROI of everything they invest into their business.

When you’re evaluating a potential franchise opportunity, you need to find out the initial investment that’s required. It’s also important to find out what other expenses you will be responsible for in order to get started. On top of that, you need to know if there are any continuing royalty payments, as well as if you will need to make financial contributions to a franchise-wide advertising fund.

In addition to being aware of your upfront and ongoing costs, it’s also important to know what kind of controls will be in place for your franchise. Site approval, design and appearance standards, sale restrictions, operational requirements, and territory limitations are all issues you need to find out about during your evaluation of a potential franchise. While these limitations can actually be beneficial to your business, what’s important is knowing if they will apply to your daily experience running the business.

If you want to see if becoming a House Doctors franchise owner is the right fit for you, call us today at 1-888-598-5297 for more information or click this button:

Proven Tips to Succeed in the Franchise Business

If you're at a point in your life where you're ready to become a business owner, choosing to buy a franchise is a great step towards ensuring success for yourself. Although there will always be risk involved in starting a business, a franchise gives you the advantage of getting to start with a proven model and system.

From marketing to training to branding, a franchise takes care of a lot of the things that you would otherwise have to figure out from scratch if you were starting a different kind of business. Since what different franchise opportunities have to offer varies greatly, here are some proven tips for finding success with this kind of business:

Choose a Franchise That Fits Your Skills

For most people, the right time to become a franchise owner comes later in their career. Not only does starting a franchise after already being established as a professional provide more financial stability, but it also means that you're going to bring the skills you've developed over your career to the table.

Since different franchises require different sets of skills, it's important to focus on finding one that's complementary to the skills you've acquired over the course of your career. Doing this will allow you to really thrive in your role as a franchise owner.

Don't Hesitate to Ask for Help

Being a franchise owner means you get to enjoy a level of independence that's simply not possible as an employee. However, that doesn't mean you want to operate as a lone wolf. Since support is a big selling point for becoming part of a franchise, don't hesitate to take advantage of that benefit whenever you need it.

Opt for an Industry You Find Appealing

Unlike matching a franchise opportunity to your skill set, being successful with this type of business doesn't necessarily require having a background in the same industry. The big caveat to that is you don't want to enter an industry you don't enjoy at all. Since you will be involved in the operations on a daily basis, be sure to choose an industry where you're going to be excited to operate.

Stay on Top of Your Numbers

If you consider accounting one of your strengths, don't allow yourself to get lazy in terms of staying on top of your numbers. And if you consider this area one of your weaknesses, you need to find someone who can help you be sure that you know exactly how well your franchise is doing.

Build an Active Network with Other Franchisees

What's great about being part of a franchise operation is there are other owners in the exact same position as you. Since these owners aren't competing with you, make a point of communicating with them on a regular basis. This will allow you to gain some truly valuable insights.

By choosing a franchise that fits your skills, asking for help whenever you need it, opting for an industry you find appealing, staying on top of your numbers and regularly communicating with other franchisees, you will fully optimize the experience you have as a franchise owner.

Contact us about a House Doctors Franchise! Either by calling 1-888-598-5297 or clicking this Request Information button:

 

Can You Use Your 401(k) to Buy a Franchise?

If you're thinking about buying a franchise, one of the key considerations you have to make is how you're going to finance it. For some potential franchisees, the answer to that question is to use cash they earn from a liquidity event like selling a piece of property. For others, the option they choose is to get a loan.

Since each financing option comes with its own set of pros and cons, the most important thing is to explore all of the options that are available. And during the course of that research, one of the options you'll discover is using your 401(k). Because it is possible to use this source of financing to purchase a franchise, you may be wondering if it's a smart option.

To help answer that question, let's take a look at some of the benefits of utilizing this financing option:

Don't Have to Take on Debt

While a loan secured at a favorable rate can be appealing, it still requires you to pay back what you borrow. When you use your 401(k) to finance your franchise purchase, you won't have to worry about owing money to a lender.

Avoid Risking Personal Assets

With many loans, people put up assets like their homes as collateral. Even with a solid plan, this can still create a risky situation. By using your 401(k) instead, you'll be able to eliminate that source of risk.

Increase What Can Be Reinvested

Whether it's a franchise or a business someone starts on their own, any business that's started with the help of a loan is going to have to make repayments on a monthly or quarterly basis. Since those payments can take up a significant amount of the money that a business is generating, it can reduce how much an owner is able to put back in the business. So by utilizing a source of financing that doesn't require any repayments, more of the money generated by the business can be put back into it.

How Can You Use Your 401(k) to Start a Franchise?

Now that we've covered the reasons that a 401(k) can work well as a source of funding for a franchise, you may be wondering what steps you need to follow in order to actually utilize it. Thanks to legislation that was passed in 1974, this process is actually easier than most people expect. The first step is for a new C corporation to be formed. Next, the newly formed company can sponsor the 401(k) plan. After that, the new 401(k) plan will be able to purchase stock in the corporation, which can then purchase a franchise. Finally, any existing retirement funds can be rolled into the new 401(k).

Since purchasing a franchise, as well as using any percentage of your 401(k), are significant decisions, be sure to speak with a trusted financial advisor before finalizing anything.

If you think you are ready to learn more about starting a franchise, and want to look into a House Doctors franchise, click here: