How to find your perfect franchise

21st July 2010

There are three ways that people go about choosing a franchise according to Andrew Pendleton, senior franchise consultant with MatchPoint.

Firstly, you may select a franchise from the array of franchise businesses you have already been exposed to in your day-to-day life. You may already frequent a particular franchise restaurant, or use a franchise lawn-cutting service, so you already have some knowledge of how that franchise works. You also already have some insiders information about the franchises customers as youre one of them. Similarly, you may be introduced to a franchise by a friend who has an affiliation with a particular franchise, and you may decide to pursue this opportunity based on their recommendation. This is a popular way of coming into franchise ownership, but according to Andrew, taking this route may limit the choice of options available, and you may miss out on something perfect for you.

Secondly, you can get clicking. According to Andrew, an internet-based search will bring up a large number of potential businesses, which youre going to have to sort through to find out which ones may be right for you and which might not. According to NatWest and the British Franchise Associations latest survey, there were 842 different franchise models in 2009, and the sheer numbers of search results that are bound to come up will make this a time-consuming exercise. That said, there are some franchise directory websites like Franchise Expo that list opportunities by category type, for example, home improvement franchises, web design franchises and part-time franchises, which you might find helpful. You can then enquire through the site for further information and potentially attend a Discovery Day held by the franchisor to ensure that the franchise youre interested in is a good fit.

Thirdly, you can seek some professional advice from a franchise consultant at a company such as MatchPoint, who will help you through the process of selecting a franchise, in a similar way to how someone looking for a job would go to a recruitment consultant, Andrew says.

The benefit of this is that the consultant will assess your particular experience and skills which may range from sales to customer service and introduce you to a selection of franchise opportunities that match your profile.

Everyone has a unique profile, Andrew says. You may be strong in operations but not so much in sales - thats the great thing about franchising, there is tremendous choice.

You dont actually need to be a great salesman to run a food outlet but you do need good customer service skills.

The consultant will also work closely with the potential franchisee to find out exactly what they are looking for in a franchise; perhaps the opportunity to work part-time, from home, or in a role where they get to deal with people. Assessing a potential franchisees financial situation is another major part of the process. Andrew adds: Being under-financed is one of the major mistakes new franchisees can make.

Franchise consultants such as MatchPoint know the franchise opportunities they deal with back-to-front, so they understand exactly what franchisors are looking for in a franchisee.

We want to match you with opportunities that will benefit you and the franchisor, Andrew says.

There is always some risk involved when youre starting a business, but we want to reduce the risk to an absolute minimum.

After receiving all the information, if a potential franchisee wants to pursue a particular opportunity, the consultant can arrange a personal introduction with the franchise representatives from which may bloom the start of a business relationship.

It is an exciting time for franchising. Its a market that will continue to grow and develop, Andrew explains. Statistics show that only about five per cent of newly-registered independent businesses are still trading after five years, while after the same period of time 92 per cent of franchisees doors are still open.

Andrew says there are some particular industry sectors that are proving to be quite profitable in the midst of these difficult economic times. So what are his hot tips?

There are some quite popular franchises that are property related, both in terms of property investment and property maintenance.

In a time when perhaps people arent looking at moving house so regularly theyre looking at improving what it is theyve got, so residential services are doing quite well.

Andrew says another sector that is performing well is the business-to-business (B2B) franchise group. Franchises involving financial services, marketing, business services, training, development, and coaching are also doing very well helping businesses work their way through challenging market conditions.

Some people have turned to franchising for added security in the midst of the financial crisis.

In the current climate through no fault of your own, you may be asked to move on from a job.

However, if you work for yourself, its unlikely youre going to make yourself redundant, thats for sure! Andrew adds with a smile.

Franchising can be a way to help build a more secure future for you and your family.