Should You Run Your Own Business or a Franchise?

When you’re a natural-born entrepreneur, you know that a simple desk job won’t be able to hold you down forever. That’s why, when the opportunity to go into business for yourself finally arrives, you’ll be all too ready to jump on it. However, you need to figure out which type you want to do. Should you run your own business or a franchise? Well, that’s the big question we’ll be helping you answer today, because it all comes down to what you want.

Running Your Own Business

The most popular option that entrepreneurs go with is starting their own businesses. Usually, these businesses stem from a brand-new idea or the desire to improve upon something that already exists. Regardless of how great the concept is, though, a good amount of risk always comes with this choice. Even if you have a perfect idea, poor execution can cause your company to fail before it even gets off the ground.

On top of that, all the pressure is entirely on you. You have to make all the crucial decisions and tough calls. However, that means you also have total control over the good parts. These could include how your business presents itself, which markets it moves into, and, of course, how you’ll distribute the money.

Starting a Franchise

Now let’s compare that to starting a franchise. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions about franchising that need debunked, but we hope to clear some things up for you with this overview. With a franchise, only some of the decisions will rest on your shoulders, which might come as a relief to you. Your franchisor will cover most of the big-picture ideas. There’s a good amount of wiggle room on how you can run your division of the brand, but they ultimately have the final say, and they might not allow certain things.

Also, there’s a much higher upfront cost for future franchisees, especially if the brand is well-known. However, once you get past that expense, franchising becomes a lot cheaper than running an independent business. This is because the parent company will take care of a good amount of the costs. Plus, it will give you all the training you could ever need to run a business—something that you’d have to pay for yourself for your own company.

As a final upside for franchises, the risk is significantly less than if you started from scratch. Your company is a recognized brand that people already trust, giving you a head-start over any new business you could create.

Picking the Best One for You

We’re not sure if you personally should run your own business or a franchise, but we would suggest you seriously consider starting with a franchise. The rate of failure for startups is significantly higher than for new franchises. Plus, there’s no rule that says you have to stay with the franchise you choose. If you start with franchising, you can gain a lot of knowledge and experience that will help you run your very own independent business someday.