I got out of the Army Band when I was 22 years of age, and that was the last paycheck I ever received. I have been either a commission-only salesperson or a business owner ever since. For most of that time, I have been a business owner. There are three ways of becoming a business owner, one, you can start a business from scratch. Two, you can purchase an existing business, and three, you can invest in a franchise. There are upsides and downsides to each one but with close to forty years of experience, I believe that franchising is the best option for most people. Statistics show that if you start a business from scratch, there is between a 50-85% chance you won't make it even five years. Some of the reasons are when you start a business, you are it. You have to create this business from nothing. You do not have systems or processes, you are the salesperson, technician, HR, Admin, President, and Janitor. Many people are very good at doing a specific craft or job position, but they actually know nothing about being a business owner. You can purchase an existing business. The challenge of this is knowing exactly what you are purchasing, and you can never really know until after the sale is complete and the previous owner is gone. It is only then that you can identify if the customers were only staying because of the relationship with the past owner. You will find out all about the issues and drama taking place with the employees, and many times when a company sells, there is a turnover of the employees. When you invest in a franchise, you are getting a successful company that already has all of the systems and processes in place. They have decided to grow their company by offering other people ownership of their brand. They keep a very small part of the profit called a royalty and have an upfront franchise fee which covers upfront costs of training, setup, and several other costs that the franchise incurred initially. The franchise and franchisee have an interdependent relationship. The franchise has a vested interest in the franchisee. They provide training and ongoing support. Franchisees are able to talk to each other and ask questions and get advice from other franchisees because there is no competition. Because of the plug and play features of franchising, the chances of success are much higher. I have seen decades of proven success with over ninety percent success rates.
Listed skills include Sales Management, Marketing Strategy, Strategic Consulting, Strategic Planning, and 24 others.
