You’re ready to leave the corporate life and be your own boss. You want to have control over your own schedule and your future and decide that opening your own business is the route that will get you there. As you begin researching ideas you realize that you have two good choices–either joining a franchise or starting your own small business from scratch. Before you make a hasty decision, it’s important to take a really close look at the differences between franchising and opening your own business so you can make an educated choice that will help you achieve the success you want.
Starting your own business entails a lot. First, you need to decide what kind of business you want to open and make sure you have the money to get your business off the ground. You’ll also have to spend time getting your marketing materials together, getting the word out about your business, and turning prospects into customers. In the beginning, you may likely have invested a lot of time, energy, and money into your business with not much to show for it since it may take a while to build your customer base. You must also consider that you’ll be doing a lot of the work by yourself, which can be exhausting on you and your family.
It’s also important to know the statistics regarding failure rates. Entrepreneur reports that 25% of start-up businesses fail within the first year of operation, while half of the remaining new start-ups fail within five years of opening. About 30% of the businesses left reach the ten year mark.
Franchising, on the other hand, offers a number of benefits that opening your own business from scratch can’t provide. For example, franchises offer proven business models owners can follow to help them get their business off on the right foot, whether they have previous business experience or not. Other great benefits you’ll find with franchising that you won’t experience when starting a business from scratch include:
- Group advertising resources
- Established brand recognition
- Ongoing support and training from the franchisor in all aspects of the business, marketing, and more
- A peer network with your fellow franchisees who can offer support, ideas, and advice.
The ultimate benefit of choosing franchising over opening your own business is that you’re never alone in the journey. Pigtails & Crewcuts offers our franchisees thorough support from the moment the franchise agreement is signed. We’ve built a culture of support and are ready to make sure our franchisees are equipped with the resources they need to succeed.
Are you ready to learn more about the benefits of owning a franchise? Contact us. We’d love to share more about the Pigtails & Crewcuts concept with you.
