With so many different franchise opportunities to choose from these days, choosing which franchise presents the best opportunity for you is not always the easiest task. Before deciding which franchise is best for any particular candidate, it’s important to decide if going the franchise route period is the best option. Just like any business, a franchise is not always the best option for some people, but for most the advantages of franchise ownership are clear and present a far greater chance for success than an independent business.

Why Franchising might be for you:

1. You are in business for yourself, but not by yourself. A good franchisor takes a very vested interest in the success of its franchisees.

2. If franchisees are not succeeding, rarely is the franchisor succeeding.

3. A franchise offers a proven business model. Follow it’s guidelines, offer your products and services to the right demographic, work hard and you have the same opportunity for success as any other franchisee.

4. A well established brand. Even if a franchise is not a household name, choose a franchise that is a brand leader in its market space and you have a huge advantage over most competitors.

5. Training and support. With most franchises, previous industry experience is not a requirement. A good franchise will train you on running your business from start to finish.

6. Critical start-up assistance. The start-up phases are always the most challenging for any business. A good franchisor knows this and will offer extra assistance during your start-up phases.

7. Pre-negotiated vendor contracts. Franchisors have great leverage over their suppliers and can typically negotiate better than average rates, terms and levels of service from their suppliers.

8. Franchises are usually preferred in most retail locations. If your franchise is a location based business, having the right location can make or break your business. A franchise will win almost every time when it comes to securing the premium locations in a market place.

9. Ongoing Support. Franchisors are behind the scenes constantly looking for ways to make their franchisees more competitive and successful.

Franchise Stats:

1. One in every 12 businesses in the US is a franchise.

2. Franchises account for about 50% of all retail and food sales in the US.

3. Over 90% of franchises are still in business after 7 years, while less than 20% of independent businesses are in business after 7 years.

4. Franchise investments range from less than $25,000 to over $1 million, with the national average being about $225,000.

5. Franchising currently represents over 75 different industries.

6. Each year the International Franchise Association polls thousands of franchisees and over 90% asked answer “Yes” to the question, “do you consider your business a success”.