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Basic, but Key Things To Consider in the Final Stages of Buying a Franchise

Small Business

Now that you have gone through the stages of learning about your chosen franchise, discovering everything about the financials from the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), talking to franchisees, meeting the franchise owners, and lining up your funding, it’s time to make the decision to sign the franchise agreement, write a check, and move on to owning your business. As you contemplate this, consider the following points below.

Be confident in yourself. Second guessing yourself and your skills can kill an entrepreneurial dream. If you have talent, then you can learn the business from the franchise. Franchisors are very good at teaching you their system, and talented people learn and implement these proven systems all of the time. I recently read an article where someone described their approach to hiring, which was to look for talent first and then job second. This is a very similar philosophy that is suggested by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great, where he describes getting the right person on the bus. With the right person, just about anything is possible.

Fear and uncertainty always slide in along the path, but especially as you get closer to signing an agreement and writing a check. This is simply your instinct telling you to ensure that you have done your due diligence. Once you feel like you have done your research are comfortable with it, then you have your answer. Sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper to find it. In other words, fear is natural, but don't let it paralyze you.

Carefully weigh out advice from those who do not understand you and your desire for independence and owning your own business. For example, if someone has been a lifelong employee at the same company, they may tell you that business ownership is too risky and may look at you very strangely when you describe what you are trying to do. Conversely, if you speak to someone who has been a lifelong entrepreneur, they may encourage you to move too quickly because it’s not that big of a deal to them to go into business. Many of of us desperately want to get affirmation at this stage, but we have to strip out the emotion and base our decision on facts (which we get from proper due diligence). Get advice, but weigh it out with a balanced and objective view and always consider the source.

Write a list of pros and cons or do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. This is a very basic step that you have likely been doing along the way, but if you have not taken the time to do this, you should--especially when your decision involves an investment of your hard earned dollar. I like both approaches, but personally prefer SWOT. Regardless of which one you choose, make sure you have weighed out all of the options carefully.

Visualize what things will look like in 5 years if you stay where you are. Can you picture yourself still working for the same boss and doing the same thing over the next 5 years? Can you imagine what it would be like if you were able to successfully climb the corporate ladder? It may not look too bad or it could look terrible!

Visualize what things will look like if you have a successful business in 5 years. Can you picture yourself leading a team of employees who you were responsible for hiring, leading, training, and coaching? Because you are such a good leader, you have great employees who enjoy working for you and love your company. You influenced this!

In the end, by this stage, you have invested quite a bit of time, energy, and now you are getting ready to write a check. This is when everything that you have been working towards becomes 'more real' than ever, and fear and emotion can take over. Do not let fear and doubt negatively influence your decision making if you have performed the proper due diligence and research that could reward you greatly in the end.

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