Does Industry really matter when searching for a franchise?

Job Title & Industry

These two items define us in the corporate world.  The job title is our scoreboard.  The higher up the corporate food chain, the more obvious it is as to how successful we are.  The industry tells the world where our expertise lies.  When it is time to find the next position, these two things, more than anything else, are the focus of our search.  Try to skip a level with your position and potential employers will tell you that you don’t have enough experience.  Try to change industry and you risk hearing that you don’t have the RIGHT experience.

These realities, whether justified or not, get beaten into our brains over time.  So, when people begin to search for franchise ownership opportunities they assume they need to do so in the industry in which they have always worked.  The reality, however, is that is just not true.  We should not be limited by what industry we have worked in.  We all have gained numerous skills that can be transferred to virtually any other industry.

Unfortunately, most corporations do not understand this at all.  Franchisors on the other hand, completely understand this.

This understanding of what is truly important is why most every franchisor focuses on skills, core values, and goals when they are assessing a candidate’s potential as an owner.  Rarely is the franchise owner flipping a burger, cutting hair, cleaning a house, or swinging a hammer so why do they need years of experience with those skills?

The answer is, they don’t.

Owners need to be:

• Leaders,
• team-builders,
• or networkers.

They need to be:

• Driven to succeed,
• able to be creative,
• able to adapt,
• all while effectively implementing a proven system.

All these traits are industry agnostic and most, if not all, of these traits are possessed by the professionals we help achieve their dream of business ownership.

The key to finding the perfect match of a franchise is identifying and understanding what one TRULY wants to do every day.  We call this the “Get out of bed” test.  You are going to get out of bed and go to work at YOUR business.  Let’s make this day as ideal as possible.

1. Who do you want to interact with (staff, customers, partners, etc.) and what do you want those conversations to sound like.
2. What core values and beliefs do you have and how can they translate to the core values and culture of your business?

The answers to these questions are the real drivers behind the search to find the perfect franchise.  Does industry matter?  Of course it does, but it is just one of many pieces to the puzzle.
 
 

Making a Paradigm Shift in Understanding

Making a paradigm shift regarding the importance – or lack thereof – of industry in the search for a franchise is not easy.  Engaging in a conversation with a franchise coach, like those with FranCoach, is a great way to successfully and efficiently navigate this process. There is a never a fee for working with FranCoach, it just takes a bit of time, an interest in potentially owning a business, and an open mind to explore a new process. When you are ready to learn more please reach out to schedule a brief introductory conversation.

Schedule a Conversation

In the meantime, check out the list below; this is a sampling of former FranCoach clients.  The list shows the clients’ most recent corporate title and industry next to the industry of the franchise they began.  You will see some clients ended up in a similar industry, but the majority landed in an industry that was different, sometimes very different.  The key for all of them was finding the fit that passed the “get out of bed” test.

From there, everything else just falls into place.

Click Here to view the industry that best fits you!