If you read Inc. Magazine’s June edition, they share the idea that Health and Beauty Concept franchises succeed in a down economy because of their necessity in the market. While I completely agree that there are industries that maintain their growth out of necessity, I also have to say that in my opinion, these franchises and opportunities grow because of other key factors as well.
People will usually turn to a franchise or an opportunity because they are looking to either free themselves from a world that owns their every moment, or they just lost the security of that world and are looking to replace the comfort that it provided, but not necessarily the lifestyle.
When people begin to make this step, they will often migrate to what they know, what they are familiar with, and where they inherently feel they can succeed. This then naturally gives them a leg up on the success factor. When you combine that with the training and turnkey solutions offered by an opportunity or franchise, they stand a very high chance of succeeding.
Franchises and Opportunities are often a very smart way to begin the venture out on your own, simply because… you are not alone. You are more or less opening an extension of a business that has often been functioning well for many years. While franchises often collect royalties, and people tend to frown on those royalties, you have to take a step back and realize what they are offering you. It is in their best interest that you succeed. There are many reasons for this, but the most obvious two are that you are a reflection on their business as a whole, and they will not be able to collect royalties if you are not profitable.
Although it may sound cheesy, I also believe that passion plays a role. When they talk about franchises and opportunities scaling upwards, they are usually speaking about their expansion, not the extreme success of an individual store. Although I believe they would find that success as each of these new stores maintain a passion that may not be present in older locations.
When something is new, we tend to put everything we have into it. I have a friend that works in the insurance industry. I asked about his early days and he proceeded to tell me about the endless list of cold calls that he dreaded to make each and every day. However, those calls provided him with a clientele that now support his family and lifestyle sufficiently. So why do the cold calls end? Why not continue that pain at least a little longer to enjoy a more lucrative lifestyle?
There are more reasons than we simply want to relax and enjoy those rewards earlier. Maybe we simply do not have time now that our existing clientele consumes it. But I do suggest that there is a level of passion in our business that we no longer possess when time has been our most enduring companion.
One thing we like to point out at StartOpp.com about franchises and opportunities is the fact that businesses always get better when more people are involved. It is one thing to take the basic structure of a franchise which allows someone to stand on the shoulders of another in their very beginnings, and quite another when the culture of those newbies begin to slightly take on an identity of their own and help shape the future entity of the franchise itself. This structure helps to create an immunity for almost any economy.