Does Industry Really Matter When Searching for a Franchise?

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Job title and industry define us in the corporate world. The job title is like 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 is. When it’s 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’ve always worked. However, the reality is that that’s just not true. The industry in which we’ve worked shouldn’t limit our search because we’ve gained numerous skills that can be transferred to virtually any other industry.

Job Title & Industry are Not Crucial to Owning a Franchise

Unfortunately, most corporations don’t understand this at all. On the other hand, franchisors actually understand this completely. This understanding of what is truly important is why most every franchisor focuses on skills, core values, and goals when they’re 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. We’ve outlined some key attributes that franchise owners should have:

Owners need to be:

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

They also need to be:

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

All of 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.

What Do You Want to Do Every Day?

The key to finding the perfect franchise match is identifying and understanding what one truly wants to do every day. We call this the “get out of bed” test. You’re going to get out of bed and go to work at your business. Let’s make this day as ideal as possible, and ask yourself:

  1. Who do I want to interact with (staff, customers, partners, etc.), and what do I want those conversations to sound like?
  2. What core values and beliefs do I have and how can they translate to the core values and culture of my 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 of industry – or lack thereof – in the search for a franchise is not easy. Engaging in a conversation with a franchise coach 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.

SET UP A CALL

In the meantime, check out the list of former FranCoach clients below. The list shows the clients’ most recent corporate title and industry next to the industry of the franchise they began. You’ll notice that some 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.

See What Our Clients Are Saying

“You have nothing to lose by having a conversation with FranCoach. Worst-case scenario, you discover you don’t want to touch this with a ten-foot pole. But best case, you figure out, hey this might be something for me and there are some possibilities here.”

Stephen, Arizona

“I remember when I first started exploring the idea of franchises and I found the Franchising 101 Podcast. I just got hooked. There were such good snippets of information and I started eating through them and listening to them all the time.”

Geoff, Pennsylvania

“The conversation we had, just on that first call, when you said, ‘Tell more about Ryan, what flips your switch, what gets you out of bed in the morning’… it was really important to me to know those things upfront.”

Ryan, Alabama

“One of the lessons that I learned very quickly was to focus on what is driving you as an individual. What makes you get up, and what do you want to get up and do every day?”

George, Pennsylvania

“If you have questions, if you want answers, or if you’re not sure if it’s for you – there’s no reason not to reach out to FranCoach.”

Michael, Indiana
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