If you read the news, you’ll know that there are always plenty of things to be concerned about, from climate crisis, cost of living pressures, conflicts across the globe and more. The news headlines are always focused on ‘doom and gloom’.
So, this can’t possibly be the right time to start thinking about starting your own business, whether that is through buying a franchise or going it alone, can it?
Only you will be able to decide that, but maybe spending some time considering your options and thinking about your attitude to risk, as well as working out whether you would be happy to continue in your present role for another 5, 10, 20 years, would help to focus your plans.
Depending on what research you read, not many workers in the UK are happy in their jobs, with percentages of unhappy workers ranging from 33% up to 90%!
If that resonates with you, then now could well be the right time to start making plans for change.
Here are three big questions you should be thinking about before you go any further:
What do I want to do?
Sounds obvious but sometimes people can rush into making choices when some time reflecting and planning would help. Take time to think about your ambitions, your skills and experience, what you actually enjoy doing.
Has starting your own business been a long-held ambition or is this the first time that you have seriously given it any thought? Have you got plans for your future? Are you someone who likes to take the initiative and keep busy or someone who prefers to be told what to do? How resilient are you, do you have the energy needed to throw yourself into something new? What stage of life are you at – young children to support, starting out in a career, reaching the stage when you have more freedom to take a chance?
If you are going to work for yourself, you will need support from your family and friends so that you can focus on your business. Even though they may not be actively involved, they can help with encouragement and support – there is nothing like having your own cheerleaders to keep your motivation high.
Running your own business won’t be the easy option by any means but it could bring you some much needed autonomy and freedom.
Where and how do I want to work?
What industry sector are you working in now, would you prefer to stay in that sector or move to something completely different? What experience do you have, do you have useful contacts which might be helpful if you were to stay in a related sector?
Would you prefer to be ‘hands-on’ in any business, working alone or with a team of staff you would employ? What about premises, high footfall area or trading estate, or would you prefer to work from home? Or maybe out and about in a mobile business?
Do you want to work with children or maybe in a caring role? Or big brand coffee and food or possibly using your previous experience to provide services or advice?
Is there something you are passionate about, could that be an option, what opportunities are available in that field?
Franchising has such a huge range of opportunities, with different types of business available, so you can really start to explore what possibilities are open to you and what you’d prefer to be involved in.
Can I afford to buy a franchise?
Once you’ve narrowed down the type of business you have an interest in running, you can start to look at what you can afford to do. You will need to have a stake available to put into the business, typically that would be at least 30% of the total start-up costs, including working capital. Finance companies are used to lending to new franchisees if the franchise has a good history and track record, so the necessary funding needed should be available.
This will help you to narrow down options a bit further, as you need to be able to finance any new venture. If you don’t have enough funding, you may not be able to take on a premises based, big brand option, for instance.
So those are big questions to answer but they should give you a great framework to move to the next piece of the puzzle: finding out more about franchising.
A great place to start is the British Franchise Association (bfa). They offer a free online course for prospective franchisees as well as other useful resources on their website https://www.thebfa.org/
And of course, you should also take a look at the Elite Franchise Top 100 Franchise list: https://elitefranchisemagazine.co.uk/ef100-winners
There will always be external influences and challenges to get in the way when you want to make a change and do something new. Only you can decide whether the time is right for you now – but ask yourself the big questions and start to make some plans to change your life in 2024.
