How many times have you clocked in at your work or home office, sat (or stood, as seems to be the trend these days) at your desk and spent the rest of the day watching the clock count down until the hour that you can finally finish? You tell yourself that tomorrow you’ll start looking for something different, but the next day you wake up and inevitably find yourself doing the same thing. Over and over it goes. According to Gallup’s ‘Global State of the Workplace 2023 Report’, only 31% of the North American employees are ‘engaged’, with 52% ‘not engaged’ and 17% ‘actively disengaged’. You feel a change necessary, so what’s holding you back?
A man just a little bit smarter than I am once said; “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” (Albert Einstein). Identifying the need to change is the easy part, however making any kind of significant life change can be absolutely terrifying. So let me ask you something. What if I told you that in 10 years from now, your life would be exactly the same, which is more frightening; taking that leap and making a change today, now? Or knowing that you’ll be stuck where you are today? What is the cost of doing nothing?
Let that sit for a moment
What are your options then, you might be thinking. Well, there are a few that immediately come to mind. You could look for another job, pray that you win the lottery or enter the world of self-employment and run your own business.
The latter has always been something which has interested you. Going self-employed and running your own business is certainly one way out and a very attractive one for many people. Being your own boss, choosing your own work hours, reaping the rewards of the hard work that you put in and not just being a cog in a system where you can’t see what difference you are making, are all very good reasons to exit the ‘job’ market.
BUT you’ve heard the statistics about how most new businesses fail within their first year. That’s not 100% true, however the failure rates aren’t confidence inspiring. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the failure rates for new businesses are as follows:
| Years Operating | Failure Rate |
| 2 | 20% |
| 5 | 45% |
There is, however, a different set of statistics that you may not have heard of before: the success rate of FRANCHISE businesses.
| Years Operating | Success Rate |
| 2 | 91.2% |
| 5 | 85% |
What is Franchising?
In Canada, franchising generates over $100 billion each year to the economy and is the 12th largest sector overall. As they like to say in the industry, franchising is ‘being in business for yourself but not by yourself’. Essentially it’s a form of licence with an agreement in place between the franchisor and franchisee. For an upfront fee and typically ongoing royalty fees, you are granted a licence to operate using a brand with a proven model and track record of success. This is what makes franchising so powerful. You buy into a business where things have been tried and tested for you. You are provided with the training and support to help you run your own unit franchise. You get to be your own boss but with the help and support of others around you in the same business. Essentially, you get many of the perks of being self-employed and running your own business without the costs and risks of doing it by yourself.
Franchising is an industry full of people who have your back, are invested in your growth and development and who want you to succeed. Don’t take my word for it, this is done by design. A franchisor only makes money when their franchisee does and so it’s in their best interest to do all that they can to help you succeed. That doesn’t negate the hard work that you have to put in in order to make your business successful, but franchising is a way to give you the key to the door of a proven operating system.
There are a multitude of options on the market today ranging from low-cost ‘micro-franchise’ businesses starting around the $10,000 mark right the way up to big restaurant chains that might set you back a few hundred thousand. Some of the top industries include; food and restaurants, fitness, senior care, automotive, home improvement and renovations, education, training and children’s products and services to name just a few. There are many sites available where you can search the franchise businesses. On most you can submit an enquiry, obtain some basic information about each business and determine if it might be a good fit for you. Or not. There’s absolutely nothing to lose by simply making an inquiry, but you possibly have everything to gain… So let me leave you with one final question to ruminate on:
What’s the BEST that can happen?
