How to decide on a franchise which suits you

In these times of financial difficulty people are considering their future. Often we are driven by the impulses of ambition, redundancy or even retirement preparation and considering self employment through franchising as a potential way forward. Obviously the self employed franchise route is not right for everyone.

The hints following are a guide to help you decide on the right franchise for you. The tips will help you decide if in fact franchising will work for you.

1. Determine what it is you enjoy doing and what your strengths are. Making a significant lifestyle change will always work the best if your work activity is focused around doing what you enjoy and do best.

2. Talk to your partner or spouse and tell them about wanting to build your own business. Make sure that the people that could be most affected by any move in your employment are clear on your reasoning. Make sure that your family will support you financially if necessary but more importantly, emotionally.

3. Understand that business is hard work and can have its ups and downs. Replicating a proven system is what franchise business is all about so this helps to reduce the downs and maximises the ups. It is vital therefore that you want to follow a proven system.

4. Visit information rich sources online such as franchise directory sites and franchise exhibitions where you can look at information about franchising and genuine franchise businesses that are of interest to you.

5. Make an appointment to visit the franchise systems that are of most interest to you. Meet the key people that would support and provide training to you. Do you like them? Can you see yourself working with them? Do you come away from your visit feeling confident?

6. Ask for contact details of their franchisees. Chat with them and ask about their experiences. You could ask questions like, are you happy with the franchise? Do you make a profit? What support do you get? Has the recession affected your business sales or profits? Would you buy this franchise if you were me?

7. Having completed your research, identify which franchise opportunities are of genuine interest to you. Make a short list.

8. The next step is to speak to a lender. Ask the bank for their opinion of the franchise systems you are interested in. Lenders tend to keep records about franchises they know about. With this information you can get insight into the bank's view of your short listed options.

9. Often you will need to borrow money to start a proven franchise and for this banks may lend up to 70%. This is because over 90% of UK franchisees run their businesses at a profit according to the British Franchise Association National Franchise Survey which gives the banks a lot of confidence to provide lending to franchise start up owners.

10. Finally you will need to look carefully at the franchise contract for the franchise you have decided upon. The franchise contract governs the agreement to trade between the franchisor and yourself. Consulting a British Franchise Association accredited lawyer is highly recommended.

After completing the above steps you will be in a position to decide which franchise suits you best. It will then fall to you and the franchisor to sign contracts, pay fees, book in for training and agree on your franchise business launch programme.

Take your time, find the right franchise to suit you and then work with the franchisor and your customers to build your own successful business.