Buying a Franchise: Do You Have What it Takes?

You know this story: Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

The moral: It doesn't matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running.

Do you ever think of yourself as either the lion or the gazelle? We often hear comments from our candidates who tell us stories of waking up every day of their employed life feeling like both… wondering, “Am I running fast enough to avoid being next?” “Will I be the next one laid off?” “Is today my last day at my job?”

Does any of this sound familiar?

If you’re beginning to tire of the constant wondering, or worrying, and are beginning to wonder if franchise ownership might be an option for you, here is a simple exercise to use as a starting point. Remember the skills you’ve worked so hard to perfect over the years? Write them down in list form – don’t focus on your experience, but rather the skills you developed as you were gaining all the experience you now have.

Next, compare your skills to these most highly desired traits as expressed by many top performing franchises:

*High energy level and strong desire to do something meaningful with the remainder of your career

*Ability to manage multiple priorities at one time

*Flexibility

*Strong people skills

*Great attitude

*Creative problem solving skills

Do you see some similarities?

Many people talk themselves out of even exploring franchise ownership because they assume it takes some sort of magical skill to be successful. As you can see, top performing franchise companies don’t have “out of reach” requirements, they want normal, successful people who have, more than anything, a great attitude and are willing to work hard to make their businesses successful.

A good franchise system will teach you what you need to know about its industry, and when you pair up your skills with their systems and procedures, you have a potentially winning combination. So, keep running, but make sure you’re running towards a goal with the type of payout that keeps you ahead of the pack!