Local entrepreneurs can flourish with a national brand behind them

Franchising is a great way to own a fully formed enterprise with a strong community spirit

If you’ve had even a cursory look at social media lately, you’ll have seen a variety of posts encouraging us to support local businesses coming out of lockdown and to shun the big-name operators because ‘they have deep pockets, so will be fine’.

It’s a strong message and if you don’t dig below the surface it might even seem like the right thing to do. However, a lot of those big brands are franchised, so it’s highly likely that some local businesses are owned by a local person who’s both serving and employing local people.

Lack of understanding

While I applaud the sentiment around buying and supporting local, what annoys me most about the message is that the majority of people still don’t seem to understand what franchising is all about.

With this in mind, it seems like a good time to remind people why franchising is such a great way to get into business for yourself, locally.

Many people dream of being their own boss, but the failure rates of new independent business start-ups - typically more than half fold in the first five years - reflects just how difficult that dream can be to fulfil.

There are many reasons for these disheartening statistics. Some people aren’t suited to having their own business, their idea wasn’t good enough, they got the branding wrong or there was never a market for the product or service in the first place.

Franchising can offer a pretty fantastic solution to many of these issues.

Profits are proven

Firstly, the business has already been proven as a success. A great business Waveidea has been developed, a brand has been established and marketed and the business model has been proven to be profitable.

Secondly, the franchisor with the great business idea and tried and tested business model will provide training and support to ensure you have the greatest possible chance of making the business work.

They profit when you profit, so you could say they’re highly invested in your success. When the right franchisee finds the right franchisor, along with hard work and dedication, both parties can enjoy major success and develop a long and fruitful franchise relationship.

Securing finance for your new business can be made much easier with franchising. Banks see you’ll be replicating a business that has already been successful and profitable, so they have much more reason to bet on you making it work than with something untested.

Support system

Joining a franchise network means you have a strong support system in place from day one that’s dedicated to your long-term success.

Whether or not you already have expertise in the industry, when you buy a franchise you will be trained in every aspect of running your business and handed a blueprint for success to follow.

So next time a friend tells you not to buy your burger from ‘there’ or take your kids to ‘that’ class, you can tell them that even though the brand and system might be nationally known, the business is very much locally owned.

The author

Suzie McCafferty is CEO of franchise consultancy Platinum Wave.