If you want to leave your current job to start a on your own, then starting a franchise could be one option. Your decision should take into consideration various advantages and disadvantage that a franchise offers before taking steps further.
You should know whether you would like to run the franchise or not? It is possible that you want to start on your own because you do not want do your current job or any job but it does not guarantee that your liking for your own business.
Advantages of starting on your own include:
- Greater freedom over you decisions at work. Decide your own working hours, conditions and arrangements.
- Opportunity to run your own business.
- Working in your own area of interest. Doing something you enjoy, like you can open a retail chain if you like selling something.
Disadvantages of starting on your own include:
- Since you have the complete responsibility of running the business, you would sometimes have to forego the freedom that you have in a job and give priority to your business.
- Your income is not fixed (there is uncertainty) and you only get the money that you have earned for the business. And you might have to live by cutting costs as you might not get enough money at the end of the month to cover your costs.
- If you work from home, you might have family members asking you to commit time to them, instead of work.
- You might have to do some work which you do not like. You might like selling but you would also have to maintain your accounts, work on the legal aspects of the business, sign some contracts etc. As you are the only person doing it, you can not neglect your responsibility towards it.
- In a franchise business you are working independently but still working for/under someone else’s brand name. You would be bound by the rules of the franchise agreement and thus sometimes they might like you to do things that you might not agree with. So if you prefer complete autonomy, you would need to go for starting your own business and not a franchise.
Overall, buying a franchise will give you a brand name to start with, but there maybe higher set up expenses and the business rules are given to you for implementation. Some people have made big success in such a model, and some people have found it limiting. So decide your options of working for buying a franchise keeping the above points in mind.