The top five reasons people become a franchisee

Becoming a franchisee provides easy access to an alternative career path, without the time and expense of learning a new profession from scratch

Becoming a franchisee can be a life-changing experience. Franchising not only allows you to join an established business model, but it also affords individuals ongoing support and training from people who have been there and done that. Dugan Aylen, head of franchisee recruitment and one of the owners at The Franchising Centre, has nearly two decades of franchise recruitment experience. He explains the top five reasons why people look to become a franchisee.

With the world having to adapt to a new normal and businesses across the UK facing unprecedented times, becoming a franchisee with an established business has never been such an attractive proposition. So, here are my top five reasons why people choose to become a franchisee.

1. Not feeling valued in their current job
A common driver for people wanting to become a franchisee is that they don’t feel valued in their current position. The number of people unsatisfied in their job is emphasised by a 2020 survey by Investors In People, showing a rise of 10 per cent in unhappiness since the prior survey. People could be unhappy in their current role for several reasons. It could be that they don’t like their boss, they could feel bored and unmotivated, or they might feel they should be doing something more meaningful.

Becoming a franchisee gives people the chance to own a business in which they are invested and passionate. Although franchisees do have to follow the franchisor’s systems, it’s their business to drive forward.

2. Being forced into redundancy
According to the Office for National Statistics, despite the government’s furlough scheme, 1.69 million people were unemployed between August and October last year, highlighting the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the solution to this for many people has been to look into becoming a franchisee.

Franchising is a sound investment for that redundancy payout which not only offers a new and exciting career path but one that could provide financial security. Becoming a franchisee is appealing to those who have been made redundant because it essentially allows individuals to take back control of the direction that their life is heading in. It provides an opportunity to be your own boss, with your rewards being directly linked to the effort you put in.

Someone who’s been made redundant often has years of business experience, making them the perfect candidate to become a franchisee. In fact, franchisees that have faced redundancy tend to be the most driven and compliant franchisees because they understand the importance of making their business work.

3. Owning a struggling independent business
It’s not uncommon or people who own struggling independent businesses to look at the possibility of becoming a franchisee. A self-employed individual could have the best product or service, but their business could still fail for several reasons. For example, they could be struggling to market themselves, use out-of-date systems or just can’t figure out how to get clients and customers.

Franchising provides franchisees solutions to these problems by delivering a proven business model, including sales and marketing systems when they join the franchise. Franchisees are also given support with certain aspects of running a business, such as managing accounts and recruiting staff, all of which help the franchisee operate their businesses successfully. For a struggling self-employed individual, an established business model, support from the franchisor and advice from a network of like-minded franchisees is very appealing.

4. Wanting a change in their career
Many people are simply looking for a new challenge having reached the peak of their career. Becoming a franchisee allows you to make a career switch to a sector where you lack qualifications or experience.

An example? If an accountant wanted to switch careers and become a business coach, they wouldn’t have the wide-ranging experience of other business disciplines to do so quickly enough that they can create an income. However, this isn’t a problem if the accountant became a franchisee with a business coaching franchise. Why? Because, when working with a reputable franchise brand, franchisees receive extensive training and the resources to tackle most business challenges that clients present. Becoming a franchisee provides easy access to an alternative career path, without the time and expense of learning a new profession from scratch.

Improving your work-life-balance could also be a factor in wanting to change your career. The work-life flexibility franchisees can experience once their business is established offers a freedom rarely experienced in employment. Franchisees that I’ve helped into franchising regularly name this as the most rewarding result of choosing to invest in a franchise and would put it top of their list if they had truly believed it was possible from the start of their franchising journey.

5. Moving to a new area
Whether it’s the need to be closer to family, a partner getting a new job, or just wanting a change of scenery, relocating is something pretty much everyone experiences in their lifetime. It’s also one of the main reasons why people start to investigate franchise opportunities.

With the job market highly saturated, and finding new jobs getting progressively harder, franchising gives individuals the opportunity to open an already established brand in a new location. As long as the franchise has an available territory, becoming a franchisee can be the solution to a lot of people’s problems when looking for a career opportunity after relocating. Joining a franchise is also a lot cheaper, less risky and less time consuming than starting a business from scratch in an area you’re unfamiliar with.

After working almost two decades in franchise recruitment, it’s become clear to me that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all reason people look at becoming a franchisee. However, one certainty is that investing in your own business, but having the innovative training and support from a franchisor can bring impressive benefits for franchisees.

The author

Dugan Aylen is the head of franchisee recruitment and one of the owners at The Franchising Centre. He has been part of The Franchising Centre for the past seven years and is tasked with looking at new clients and services for the group, as well as leading the marketing team.