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by Donald Mahoney Franchising provides exciting career opportunities and greater potential personal happiness. Job cuts and lay-offs have sent many people looking for new careers, and more and more people are turning to franchising. Here is why franchising works: it lets entrepreneurs invest in a sturdy, established business system, as opposed to a fledgling start-up. Especially for someone starting a new business for the first time, the support, training and blueprint that a franchise system provides ensures that those difficult early days of a business will be considerably more comfortable. Factor in as well that franchised businesses are some of the most-established brand names in the world, and franchising emerges as a strong place for someone to start a second career. Many college graduates are also opening franchises. There simply aren’t many great jobs out there at the moment, especially in the financial sector, so young people are deciding to start their careers with reliable franchise opportunities. Operating a business on a ‘nuts and bolts’ level will most likely provide an outstanding learning experience. One of the best things about franchising is the diversity of the opportunities available. For someone looking to purchase a low-cost franchise, there are scores of businesses out there to choose from. From food franchises to plumbing franchises and nearly everything in between, if there’s a business that interests you, it's probably franchised.
Another reason to choose a franchise is that it provides many businesspeople with great job satisfaction. A number of studies have been conducted in recent years which show that owning your own business can increase your personal happiness and job satisfaction. A person’s ability to succeed with franchising has less to do with suspected genetic entrepreneurial conditioning, and is rather more dependent on one’s ability to work tirelessly and conduct endless research to find the top franchise opportunity. A report by academics in Vienna University found that the myth of an entrepreneurial personality was most probably untrue, stating that the stability of a personality in general must be questioned along with the acknowledgement of the different personality traits needed at different stages in a business’ lifetime. To begin with, the personality of an individual at certain stages in their life cannot be relied upon to remain fixed, because individuals change, as influenced by events in their life. Therefore the entrepreneur who begins a business may not, and most likely will not have the same personality after 10 years of running the business. This means that a personality will not remain stable and therefore a fixed entrepreneurial personality cannot be identified. Secondly, while certain enthusiasm and risk may be required in order to start up a business, as that business develops other traits are required in order to grow the business at a stable and healthy rate such as the ability to identify problems within a business process and enough energy and innovation to be able to implement change. The report concluded that “it is not possible to predict the long-term success of a business by evaluating the personality factors of the business founder in early stages of the start-up process”, as the founder will no doubt change as the business changes also. Walter Kuemmerle writes that “real entrepreneurship is a far cry from managing an established business and farther still from the sanitised model that became popular during the late 1990s.” Other studies carried out by academics world-wide have linked job satisfaction to a number of factors including general personal stability and the ability to adapt to new and varying situations. A report by academics in Oxford University found that difficulty in settling into a new situation may often hinder the achievement of job satisfaction as a changing work environment can upset mood balance. It identifies the importance of Core Self Evaluations (CSE), which are the methods by which we perceive ourselves, our ideas of who we are and what qualities we believe ourselves to display. These evaluations determine the path we choose in life and how we perform in certain situations. For instance, an individual who perceives themselves to be an entrepreneur will seize the opportunity to start their own business, whereas an individual who perceives themselves as a career, will most likely opt more towards a more appropriate role such as a doctor, hospital nurse or a home care specialist. Studies into job satisfaction has also found that Core Self Evaluations play a major influence on job satisfaction but these cannot be linked to the long term success of a business, this comes by making the right decisions at the right moments. Job satisfaction cannot be determined by a business model alone as it depends on the personality of the individual and their ability to achieve success. However, business success does depend on making the right decision prior to making an investment and this means carrying out an enormous amount of research before investing any funds, as well as consulting with industry professionals. Therefore, franchising should be viewed as a very viable opportunity to strengthen your career and establish a successful business. There is a large variety of franchise opportunities available on the market offering good (and not so good) opportunities, but with the right attitude and street smarts, you will be able to make the right decision and select the right opportunity for you. If you love business, but appreciate the input and infrastructure of a thriving business engine, then you might be looking for a franchise to set your career in motion. About the author Donald Mahoney is an editor and blogger with Franchise Direct, http://www.franchisedirect.com/ |
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