Are You Ready for a Change? What About a Franchise?

When thinking about a career transition, you have more options than taking another corporate job or starting your own business from scratch; you could buy a franchise. 

The International Franchise Association predicts that 2012 will see a 1.9% growth in franchises. According to their research approximately 4% of all small businesses in the U.S are franchise-related.  But before you pull out your checkbook and take the entrepreneurial leap, let’s take a closer look at whether this option is right for you.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Alice Errett, CEO of Right Fit Franchise. Alice is an experienced and competent Franchise Consultant, so I called on her to help me with this article. Thanks, Alice!

What is a Franchise?

A franchise can be defined as, "A form of business in which a firm which already has a successful product or service (the franchisor) enters into a continuing contractual relationship with someone (the franchisee) operating under the franchisor's trade name and usually with the franchisor's guidance, in exchange for a fee."

According to Alice, "There are 2,500 franchising opportunities available in the US! It’s not just fast food anymore! There are opportunities from commercial truck maintenance to child development centers, from golf services to newspapers." And the number keeps growing as new ones such as Healthy You Vending are established.

How do I Select a Franchise?

Here’s what Alice told me in response to this very important question. "The internet is full of information about franchising, and that’s a great place to start. However, at some point you may decide to work with a competent Franchise Consultant in order to learn more of the ‘real story’ behind the franchises you are interested in. The Franchise Consultant’s job, at no charge to the prospective franchisee, is to help you evaluate a variety of opportunities against your own desires and interest."

If you’re not familiar with what a Franchise Consultant can do to help you sort through all the options and make the right decision, here are some insights into the types of conversations Alice holds with her clients:

• "How do you feel about selling? Some franchises require it; others do not."
• "Do you need a franchise that allows you to work a flexible schedule? That’s possible with some and with others, it’s not."
• "Are you looking for a tried and true history of success, or are you open to some risk with a model that is more speculative?"
• "What’s your preference between a stressful environment and one that is more relaxed?"
• "The profit potential varies greatly between franchises – what are you looking for?"

The benefit of working with a firm such as Right Fit is that they know the hard questions to ask, they listen to your needs, and from the beginning of the relationship they utilize their extensive knowledge of franchises to pair you with only those potentials that most closely align to a great fit.

Pros and Cons of Owning a Franchise

Alice is quick to point out that franchises vary WILDLY in terms of quality, support and outcomes. Her point is well taken; make sure you do the proper level of due diligence.

Pros:

Alice agrees with me that for someone looking for security and limited risk, a franchise might be a better option than hanging out a shingle. "A franchise offers a tried and true model for success, with name recognition, credibility, loyalty and branding, so it’s much easier to quickly develop customers and traffic."

Another advantage is that the parent company provides training to help owners and employees acquire the right skills and knowledge to do their jobs effectively and build a successful business.

This benefit is huge, as it usually comes with policy and procedure documentation.

Since the parent company also negotiates lower costs for supplies based on volume, the franchisee can take advantage of lower overhead costs vs. trying to control business costs on their own.

Cons:

Owning a franchise means you will adhere to the rules and operating procedures of the company. This can be as simple as using company uniforms, or as restrictive as participating in nationwide promotions. For the individual that wants to hold all the control, this could be a problem.

Alice mentioned that one negative for some individuals might be the initial cash investment, which depending on the franchise, might be more than the cost of starting up an independent business. "Although financing is available, she suggests individuals interested in franchising should have $35k or more available for investment before investigating financing options."

Although the company’s established brand is a plus, it can also be a minus. Any scandals or problems the parent company encounters can have a ripple effect on its franchises.

"Fit"

Just as it is important for a job seeker to confirm fit with an organization’s culture, performance expectations, and competencies, an individual considering a franchise option must do the same. Naturally a lot will depend on the leadership, operational tools and support offered by the parent company, as well as the personality, preferred work style, education and past experiences of the individual.

Probably the most important piece of the "fit" question is that you need to know yourself. This is where working with a career coach can be helpful in developing a personal profile of interests, strengths, and work style preferences that will then be used when working with a Franchise Consultant to align with the right franchising opportunities.

Also, just like in any career search campaign, research is key. Identify the products or services that interest you. Understand the different franchise business structures. Find alignment with the reputation, culture and credibility of the brands. After you have narrowed down your list of possibilities, network with franchise owners. Interview them, just like you would someone at a corporation you were interested in going to work for.

Working with a qualified Franchise Consultant can make the navigation to the best franchise easier. Alice acknowledged that there are many qualified consultants out there, including her own organization. Whether you contact her at Right Fit, or another agency, Alice offers the following questions for you to include as you develop your interview strategy:

• "How have you been directly involved in the franchise industry, beyond consulting?"
• "What is your process for helping me identify the right franchise fit?"
• "How many franchises do you represent?"
• "Is there a contract for service?"

As the economy continues to get stronger, we will see more job openings; but perhaps you’re ready to take a turn in the direction of owning your own business. Folks like Alice, who love franchising, will tell you, "owning a franchise means being in business for yourself, not by yourself."

The franchise option can be overwhelming. If you decide to explore further, develop a strategy that includes:

• Working with a career coach to create your personal work style profile. This will include utilizing various assessments, interviews and exercises.
• Conducting extensive research.
• Working with a Franchise Consultant to navigate the complicated road to the right organization.

Job Seeker Questions and Answers

I’m hearing a lot about recruiters using Facebook and other social media to do background checks on candidates for job openings. Does this really happen?

Ruth

Check out Dear Job Seeker for my answer to Ruth's question.

What Does Your Digital Footprint Reveal About the Type of Worker You Are?

Whether you’re actively looking for a job or managing your existing career, don’t overlook the power of social media. I always advise my career coaching clients to make it a habit to Google themselves frequently and to take appropriate actions to manage the information revealed.

Now, based on a recent series of studies conducted by Northern Illinois University (NIU), the University of Evansville and Auburn University, I’ll also be suggesting that my clients do a thorough review of their Facebook profile. The studies, led by Donald Kluemper, are important for individuals interested in current or future career development because for the first time we have statistical evidence for what HR professionals have instinctively felt for years: within five to ten minutes of reviewing a candidate’s Facebook postings it’s possible to quite accurately predict the candidate’s probability for successful job performance. Fair or not fair is another question, but for now be aware that this type of review has been happening, and based on these new findings, will be happening more frequently.

The Big Five

In the university study, experienced human resource professionals were asked to rate a sample of 500 individuals in terms of key personality traits, using only the Facebook pages for each sample group participant as a guide. At the same time, members of the sample group were asked to complete a self-assessment and an IQ test. The personality traits both raters and the sample group were assessing are often referred to as the "Big Five"; they include: extroversion, conscientiousness, emotional stability, agreeableness and openness to new experiences. After six months, the researchers followed up with employers to ascertain job performance evaluations.

The HR raters were generally in agreement about the traits identified through the review of the Facebook pages, which correlated strongly with self-rated personality traits of the sample group. More importantly though, they also found the Facebook ratings were a more accurate way of predicting a person’s job performance than an IQ test.

Based on the study findings, a prospective employer might surmise the following types of impressions from a Facebook profile review:

• openness to new experiences could be gained by a review of comments or pictures about vacations taken and the type and frequency of initiating new hobbies
• emotional stability might be assessed by evaluating postings to determine if they indicate the individual is self-motivated and grounded, or the frequency friends are offering words of support and comfort
• agreeableness could be assessed by evaluating the balance between postings indicating cooperation and collaboration with others, versus arguing

Surprisingly, photos of partying didn’t necessarily count against a candidate, as the rater may have perceived the candidate as extroverted and/or friendly. However, I would caution that this is not permission to post karaoke performances or "spring break" type drinking poses.

Time for Action

The takeaways from the NIU study for job seekers, as well as employed individuals interested in career advancements, include:

• Conduct a thorough review of your active profiles for sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter including postings and settings and make appropriate changes to limit the data available about you.
• Delete old social sites you no longer use. Yes, I realize this is time consuming and boring, but it’s worth it. When’s the last time you visited your MySpace page? Technology companies might still maintain a record on you, but you’ll leave fewer online traces for others to find.
• Check out what’s out there now about you through Pipl.
• Set up an automatic notification through Google Alerts on your name, nicknames or personal business name.
• Establish and share a standard of care with friends asking them to respect your privacy in posting information and/or pictures about you on their sites.
• Be diligent and think twice about comments and information you are posting on social media sites – you never know who is viewing the information and what impressions you’re sharing.

These steps may not seem important to you today, but now’s the time to consider the future.  Under different circumstances, you don’t want inappropriate content to make the difference between being invited for an interview or not.

HR professionals know there is information available on sites such as Facebook which is illegal to ask about in an interview; i.e., gender, race, disabilities. And, the waters are murky at this time regarding employer liability for using social media information to screen applicants. However, with more and more access to internet information, individuals should be aware of the potential impact of "conversations," postings, and photos being freely uploaded for the world to see.

Reputable employers use more than one measuring stick when it comes to the hiring process. For example, a hiring decision would not be made strictly on a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) profile; however, it would be a reasonable element for consideration in the entire hiring process. I see the review of social media information in the same light. According to a 2011 study by Reppler, a social media service, 90% of recruiters and hiring managers look at an applicant’s Facebook page. You know what they say, "a word to the wise is sufficient."

As always, I welcome your comments to my posting. Please click below to share your thoughts. If you found this article helpful, I’m very happy for you to pass it along to others. Have a great week.


This article was written by Deborah A. King, SPHR, CEO and Executive and Career Coach with Evolution Management, Inc. Debbie and her team are energized about changing workplace practices and can help you navigate your career development and job search. Contact Debbie for more information; debbie@evolutionmgt.com; 770.587.9032.

Job Seeker Questions & Answers

I’ve been out of work for over a year and I’m finding it harder and harder to motivate myself to search for a job. Any advice for kick starting a new campaign?

Samantha

Check out Dear Jobseeker for my answer to Samantha's question.