Given the economic chaos the world has recently undergone, you might be wondering what sort of franchises are still profitable and wise to invest in. You might be wondering if there are things you should be doing right now to protect yourself financially given everything that is happening across world markets. Or if there are options available to you that previously you would not have been able to pull off. Maybe you’ve gone into full prepper mode and are thinking about buying gold.
It’s no secret that many of the world’s wealthiest have made their financial moves in the midst of political turmoil or economic crisis. Consistently history has shown us that times of recession can be used to financial advantage. Recessions can be excellent for making investments or for starting businesses or for combining both of these things into the investment in a franchise.
What Is Franchise Investment?
Franchising is when you get permission to use another company’s business model. It involves you paying a fee to that franchisor in exchange for using the brand’s name, and receiving training and supplies from the company.
This could be advantageous as there is less risk involved than starting your own business from scratch. This is because the company is giving you a business model that has already proven to be successful in other locations. There is also an increased chance that the brand is already well-known within your target demographic, saving you that long period of time needed to build trust with potential customers or clients.
When people think of franchises they tend to immediately focus on recognizable fast-food brands and coffee shops and retail stores. Beyond the more obvious franchises, there are countless options within this broader model, including single-operated franchises, retail franchises, business to business franchises, investment franchises, and management franchises.
Which Franchise Is Worth The Investment?
As you might imagine, how wise it is to invest in a particular franchise, depends on many factors specific to you. There is no one size fits all when it comes to franchise investment (otherwise everyone would be doing it all the time). Experts at https://approvedfranchises.co.uk/ emphasize that the first step to choosing a good franchise investment is to get really specific about your needs, desires, and skills. Once you have that established, you’re going to want to research the brands available for franchising that work with what you’ve already figured out you want.
You need to have an idea of what sort of working environment you are interested in spending your days in. Recent studies have found that the average person is going to spend about 90,000 hours, or one-third of their entire life, at work. It is important to think about what this third of your life is going to look like and feel like. Some questions to ask include:
- Do you want to be interacting with customers directly?
- Are you comfortable and confident with managing large groups of people?
- How do you feel about working late evenings or weekends?
These sorts of questions will help you narrow down, which sector you want to be looking for a franchise in. Once you’ve found the industry you’re interested in you can begin to look for a franchise.
Research, Research, Research
One of the many things 2020 has taught us is that people can have a big impact on the world if they feel strongly enough about something. In today’s world of waking social media, cancel-culture, and activism, you might want to do research on the public’s opinion on the franchise you’re looking into. Whether you want it to or not, the public perception of a business franchise will have a direct impact on how financially successful this business is. The first place to start is by searching all the news that has come out about the potential franchise you’re looking into. Not the news as posted on their own websites and social media accounts, but the news as reported by third-party organizations and bloggers with a fair-sized audience.
Beyond news stories and polls related to the business, you should be willing to do some deeper investigation into the sourcing of the materials used by the company and the potential public reaction to your discoveries. Are the raw materials sourced from a foreign country? How are the workers there paid and treated as the work is done? Are there weaker environmental protection laws in this country? Does the product or information pass through additional countries before it arrives where you are considering opening the franchise? Put the brand on trial in your mind, and look for dirty secrets swept under the rug.
In addition to researching the sources of all the materials or information used, you need to look up scientific, peer-reviewed articles on the long-term effects of using the products a brand represents. Many people think this only applies to food, but this applies to everything. If the franchise is tech-based, look up the latest research on the effects of using this technology on the human mind and emotional state. You should be aware of the effects on a specific customer or client, but also on the world as a whole. Is there environmental damage? Political or economic effects?
Beyond that, keep an eye on the bills lined up in parliament or congress (depending on which country you live in) and figure out if any of these bills would drastically impact the success of your business. For example, right now many governments are considering enacting privacy laws regarding the use of people’s digital data. If the franchise you’re looking into relies heavily on data about the public to function, these laws will have an impact on how worthwhile investing in that franchise will be.
Also, keep an eye on any hearings or legal proceedings that could have an impact on your business. For example, if the CEO of the corporation was on Epstein’s jet, the legal proceedings involving that whole confusing mess might have an impact on the business. Make sure that if any parent or child companies are involved you do all of the above research for each of those companies as well.
With the above things kept in mind, you’re well on your way to choosing the right franchise to invest in. Of course, the work doesn’t stop once the choice is made. Once you’ve selected the right franchise that doesn’t seem like it’s about to implode in any obvious way, you still need to find a great location for the business and begin to learn about the intricate inner workings and standards of the business model.
