In part one of our series on whether you should be a restaurant franchisee, we went over all of the pitfalls and reasons someone shouldn’t. Of course, owning one isn’t all bad and there are, in fact, a lot of very good reasons to buy one.
Where part one was all about the cons of buying a franchise instead of running your own, this part will go over all the pros.
Easier to Finance
One of the biggest reasons we pointed out to not buy a franchise in part one were the costs. Buying one typically requires you to spend more, but there is some silver lining in that cloud. Most banks are far more likely to approve of a loan for a franchise since the business has a successful proven history. This gives financing an edge to a owning one rather than starting a brand new restaurant despite the additional costs.
Proven Business
We touched upon this in the previous point but it should get its own point. Buying a franchise also means buying a turnkey business. Running a restaurant is tough as it is so being given a proven business model to turn a profit without a period of trial and error is a definite bonus.
The Brand
Retaining repeat customers is on of the best ways to make your restaurant profitable. An increase of just 5% of your repeats can boost your profits anywhere from 25% to a whopping 95%. However, have to attract them to your restaurant in the first place and gaining new customers is one of the toughest problems facing any restaurant or retailer.
The benefit of buying a franchise is that it comes with a built-in audience that already knows the brand. Because customers have seen and heard television and radio ads, or have even visited another franchise location, they are more likely to be familiar with the product and more likely to visit your franchise.
Support
In part one we pointed out that some franchisors promise support but fail to deliver it. However, if you do your due diligence as we suggested then you can find out which franchisors do provide it to their franchisees. Those who do can provide owners with sales and marketing support as well as give them access to a network of other franchisees that can offer them advice and give pointers.
Better Inventory Prices
While a franchisee may not have a lot of say in where they get most of their supplies from, they can expect to at least get a better rate for them. Leveraging the collective buying power of a franchise group not only means that you’ll probably have more favourable prices than your non-franchise competitors, but it will also give franchisees more bargaining power because of the brand recognition that comes with it.
Training for a Franchisee
For those who have never run their own business before, this is one of the best reasons to buy a franchise. Before launching their restaurant, a franchisee can expect to be provided with in-depth training to learn how to run a successful business. The process can be quite intensive depending on how seasoned the franchise owner is at running a restaurant. This training is a process that most independent restaurant owners will not ever have a chance to experience and it takes out a lot of the guesswork in running a successful business.
Ultimately, opening a start-up restaurant or buying a franchise is up to you. Both have their pros and cons but starting down this path to running your own business can be both exhilarating and intimidating so understanding these benefits between going it solo or buying a franchise should help you make your decision.
