What Franchises Look for in Franchisees

 When you buy a franchise business you are effectively going into partnership with the franchisor and becoming one of its franchisees. The franchisor gives you the right to operate their business model, distribute their products and services in return for an initial franchise fee and ongoing royalty payments. You will have to sign a franchise agreement and this is usually for a period of between 3 and 5 years. However, be prepared to pay a hefty price if you decide before the period has ended to terminate the contract.

The franchisor is looking for certain people that possess relevant qualities it deems necessary to manage their business model. For example, McDonald's is searching for people that are hard working and have a significant amount of money to invest. If you have some retail experience this might also work in your favour. Internet franchises like CityLocal are looking for people that already possess very basic computer skills, love spending time on the Web and enjoy meeting new people.

However, all franchisors are also seeking people that are healthy, competent, reliable, willing to take instructions and are compatible with their business model and plans for the future. The ability to handle pressure whilst working long hours, managing their own business is a requirement of mostly all of them as it is a very competitive world out there.

Often, some franchisors will deliberately not choose candidates that already have some experience running a similar business model. Although this might sound strange initially, the reason for this is that they do not want to have a franchisee that has already picked up bad habits in the industry. They would rather train a competent newbie into their way of working than somebody who might think that they already know better!

Some franchisors even prefer people that do not have too much of an entrepreneurial instinct. The last thing they want is to spend a lot of time and money training somebody only to find that the franchisee wishes to break their agreement and start a business in competition with them. Although they want you to be independent, some do not like it if you are totally independent!

The best way to find the right franchise for you is to start your search on the internet. There are many websites that focus purely on showcasing franchise businesses and other opportunities. You can spend your time reading one page intros of each business model before deciding to request further information from a selected few.

Once you have narrowed your list down to a handful, it is then worth going to visit them at one of the larger franchise exhibitions that are held throughout the country. This way, you can meet all of them in one day. Who knows, you might end up with a different business model altogether when you see all the different franchises being exhibited.

In the end, your success will mostly be based on your ability to cope with stress, learn new skills, adapt quickly and be healthy at the same time so that you can manage the business properly. Although you are more likely to be successful than if you start a business on your own, buying and operating a franchise is hard work, so think carefully before you sign on the dotted line.

Nazir Daud - UK Business Directory
http://www.citylocal.co.uk/
http://www.citylocal.co.uk/businessfranchise/
http://www.citylocal.ie/

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