How to Create Your Franchise Search Criteria – Part One

Transcription:

Leslie Kuban:
Today, we’re going to talk about the best way to get started in your search for the franchise opportunity that’s best for you. Now, the way many people start their search is they go out on the internet, they start flipping through magazines, and they’re looking at all the different lists of different types of franchises that are available. And they’re hoping that something’s just, just going to grab their attention, and jump out at them and say, I’m the one, I’m the right franchise for you. And I liken that a little bit to going to a vending machine, when you’re looking to choose a snack, we kind of gaze over the choices and pick out what looks good to us in the moment. Now, there are some benefits to going out and looking at the different lists of franchises.

Leslie Kuban:
It will give you a sense of the world of choices that are out there, the different categories, and the different industries that are available. But it’s really not productive or a good way to identify the best franchise for you. In fact, that’s a great way to get easily overwhelmed, and even discouraged. Because there’s 4,000 choices out there, and 300 different categories. And I’ve heard people say, it feels like a bottomless pit, that you never fully get your arms around the endless number of choices that are out there, when taking this vending machine type of approach. So let’s talk about a different approach, to starting your search that will lead to a much more successful and satisfying result. The key to success in finding the franchise that’s best for you, is to have a strategy for your search before you even begin your search. And what I mean by that, is you sit down and spend some time thinking about what are your fundamental criteria, that would describe the business that’s right for you.

Leslie Kuban:
What are your needs from a business? What are your goals for a business? Think about of it in those terms, and that’ll help you start to create the list of what would describe the perfect business for you. Now, an analogy to this is kind of like buying a home. When you’re in the market to buy a house, and you start looking at homes for sale, you don’t want to look at every single house for sale on the market. You start to develop some basic criteria. Maybe it needs to be three bedrooms, it’s in a certain school district. And these criteria help you to easily filter in and out options that do and don’t make sense for you. And the same is true for constructing your list for a business to buy. Today, I’m going to spell out three of the easier criteria points you might want to consider for your list. And in future episodes, I’m going to get into some more complex items that you might want to consider.

Leslie Kuban:
So the first one is geography. Sit down and think about what specific state or city or neighborhood, do you want to own your business in. Because, the franchises that are available in one area, may not be available in the next one. The potential in Atlanta is very different than the options with potential in Charlotte or Denver. And many a times people want to own a business that’s close to home. And I understand that nobody wants to commute two hours a day to their business, and that’s perfectly fine. But the problem is, the more picky you are about your geographic opportunities, it does tend to limit your options. So, if you want to have a larger span of options to consider, I would encourage you to be a little bit flexible on the geography that you would consider for your business.

Leslie Kuban:
The second point is to ask yourself, is this a side gig kind of an opportunity, or is it more of a full on career move. Some people are looking to expand their success. They have a job that they love, or they own other businesses, and they just want to increase their revenue streams, but not leave what they’re presently doing. But others want to be a full on entrepreneur, and they want to jump ship from where they are, and get started in a whole new chapter. And both of these types of franchises are available, ones that are more side gigs versus ones that are all-in. And there are excellent choices in both pathways, it’s just that they are different pathways. So it’s important to give some thought to what camp you’re in, because it will start to define in and out options, that would make sense for you.

Leslie Kuban:
And number three, who is the captain of the business. All franchises require some time. It may only be 10 to 20 hours a week, but somebody with ownership interest needs to have some time and involvement, and regularly be involved with consistency in that business. So who is that going to be? Will it be you, your spouse, maybe an adult child. And then you want to consider the talents and skills of that key person, and look for businesses where that key person is confident. They have the skills that are necessary for that business, or they can learn them quickly to set them up for success.

Leslie Kuban:
In a future episode, I’ll spell out more criteria that you might want to consider for your list and your search strategy. But for today, I hope this has been helpful to you. I appreciate you tuning in, and look forward to seeing you next week on Atlanta Franchise Today.