What's the Best Franchise?
People will ask us, “What’s the best franchise?” pretty regularly. We absolutely have our favorites out there and we’re more than happy to tell you all about them. You just want to make sure they are a good fit for you today, tomorrow and when you exit. Think about it in another context…
If you asked your real estate agent, “what’s the best property to buy?” She’d probably ask you, “well is this for you and your family or just an investment?” and, immediately, you’re off to the races answering questions. She’ll ask you about what part of town you want to be in, what maintenance responsibilities do you want to have, is this for you to live in or a vacation home, what’s the budget, do you have a down payment or need to finance? And on and on and on. She could absolutely tell you about this AMAZING studio apartment in a high rise that’s going to see EPIC returns on investment, but your family of four with a dog isn’t going to work in that space at all (the building doesn’t even allow dogs — I know, we were upset to hear that too). That’s why knowing what your going to do with the property is so important in the recommendations she makes to you and your family. Choosing a business is quite similar.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to get started:
What part of the city/state/country do I want to open a business? - Where you live matters when choosing a location! We’re not going to look at vacation management companies if you’re going to live in the middle of nowhere.
What kind of owner do I want to be? - Do you want to be the kind of owner that is putting in that “sweat equity” every day to keep your costs down and your margins high as an Owner Operator? Or do you want to put General Managers and staff in place that runs the business for you so you collect your check each month even though the startup costs were higher and the margins slimmer? - Owner Operator, Passive Ownership or Executive models aren’t available in every franchise out there for any stage of your growth. You’ll need to choose one that grows with you appropriately and fits your style.
Do you want to work from Home? Office? Retail location? - They each have pros and cons to consider. Cost wise Home is typically the least expensive while Retail comes in higher because of rent, utilities, etc.
Do you want to employ people? - Your employee count can be zero, 1-2 or dozens (or more!) so you need to decide if that’s a headache you want to take on when choosing your franchise.
How much am I willing to invest in this venture? - Remember almost EVERYONE finances their business to some degree. You typically wouldn’t go out and buy your very first home with cash (if you did then kudos!). You put a downpayment down and then finance the rest — businesses are in that same wheelhouse.
How fast do I need to be cashflow positive? - If you need to “replace” an income right away, you’ll need to search for businesses that get cash flow positive REAL quick. Or if you have more time/working capital you can look at longer investment strategies depending on the yields they produce over time.
When you ask yourself those questions honestly you are then able to condense down your search from 5,000+ options to the best options for you. An OpenDoor Agent works like your Real Estate Agent from our earlier example:
Ok so I see you want to make an investment of ~$50,000, you’d like to work from home and start the business with 1 or 2 employees to save on labor cost, you don’t want to carry a lot of inventory or need a warehouse space, you’d like to look at financing options out there to keep your cash in hand, and interested in some franchises that are making sales within 90 day instead of waiting 6 months to year. Well, then let me tell you about the best franchises I know of that check all those boxes for you!
That’s when we recommend that beautiful “home” in a business in your town that provides the lifestyle and return on investment that’s right for you and your family. We look forward to doing that evaluation for you!!