Think you know everything about franchising?

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If you’re considering getting involved with franchising, you’ll make a much better go of things if you have the right information at your fingertips. Yet, knowing what’s what isn’t always easy, especially when there’s a lot of misinformation around. Here are some of the most common myths associated with a franchise agreement.

Only big brand names can operate a franchise

While some of the big brand names might be most associated with franchising, this doesn’t mean to say that franchises to buy are exclusively for corporate giants. In fact, lots of small businesses, who aren’t as famous, manage to successfully operate as a franchise.

Therefore, when deciding on a franchise, you shouldn’t just choose one based on how well-known it is. Instead, focus on areas that fit around your interests, goals and lifestyle, so that you’re picking something that suits you the best.

Running a franchise is expensive

Easily one of the biggest myths going around is that franchising costs a lot of money to invest in and operate, which could potentially put would-be franchisees off. The reality is a little different. Indeed, one of the oft-touted benefits of franchising is that you don’t need a huge amount of funding to get one off the ground, making them a much more affordable option than if you were setting up your own business from scratch.

Plus, if you opt for home based franchises uk, these have even lower start-up costs, as you don’t need to invest in premises.

It’s also important for anyone considering franchising to regard the money they put into the business as an investment so that further down the line they can reap the rewards from their efforts.

However, it’s worth noting that just because you’ve got the cash to invest in a franchise, this doesn’t automatically mean that a franchisor will take you on board. A respectable franchise operator will want to protect their brand image and reputation, so they’ll be keen to only recruit those franchisees who are committed and interested in the success of the business.

Opportunities are limited

A lot of people make the mistake of believing that franchising opportunities are limited because they’re only thinking about the franchising brands they’ve heard of, such as restaurants or hairdressers. Yet, there are lots of different areas that franchisees can get involved with, ranging from management franchises to pet franchises, plumbing franchises, education franchises, computer franchises, fitness franchises and everything else in between. In fact, the world is your oyster when it comes to franchise opportunities, whether you want to work from home or in a physical location.

You need experience

If you want to run a franchise, it stands to reason that you might assume you’ll need prior experience of running a business, or knowledge of the sector you want to work in, but this isn’t necessarily the case. The beauty of franchising is that you will receive full training and ongoing support from the franchising business, enabling you to quickly learn the tricks of the trade while taking advantage of the franchisor’s accumulated wisdom.

Essentially, a franchise business will be interested in a potential franchisee’s soft skills, such as communication, work ethic and leadership, rather than their specific capabilities.

Operating a franchise is a full-time commitment

Because you’ll be managing a franchise business, you might assume that you’ll need to put all the hours and overtime in to make it a success. While it’s true that you’ll need to be motivated and committed, it’s not correct to assume that you’ll need to run yourself into the ground to achieve success. In fact, many people decide to operate a franchise business as they want to be able to choose their own hours of working and be their own boss. They like the idea of having control of when they work so that they can fit their hours around any other commitments they might have.

You’re buying a share of the brand

Franchising can be confusing to understand at first, and many people wrongly think that it involves buying a share of the brand you’re investing in. However, it’s worth pointing out that the franchisor is still the owner of the brand, and the franchisee is not involved in any ownership aspects. Essentially, the franchisee buys the right to use the company name and brand, while taking on board its business model and trademarks.

You’ll be told what to do

You might be put off the idea of operating a franchise as you’ve heard that you’ll have no creative control of how the business is run, and you’ll be told what to do by the franchisor. This isn’t quite the case.

While you will be expected to operate according to specific guidelines associated with the franchising brand and adhere to the principles and ethos of the particular business, you will still have the freedom to be your own boss and run the business in a way that suits you. You’ll also have the freedom to deal with aspects such as marketing, recruitment and management.