Choosing a franchise is easy
If you are at the point of choosing a franchise you will have read a thousand stories about how to do it...
Apply common sense and simplify
Of course,
As if it was easy.
Why am I telling you this?
There are hundreds of people who have looked for information to choose a franchise and have made bad decisions. Bad decisions are made when you think you are facing a good opportunity, facing the best franchise of the moment and you take the step.
Well.... ERROR
The franchise you should choose is the one that suits you. It's frustrating to see so many people looking for the next breakthrough business and then a year later they're forced to close and then the question is... Is this franchise not working?
Sorry, but no.
The problem is that this franchise does not go with you.
It's that simple.
Therefore, the first point to know how to choose a franchise is:
1. Which franchise fits you?
To begin with, if you are reading this, it is likely that you have already decided that you want a sports franchise or at least it has a high probability of being so.
Sport is an exciting world, and those of us who consider ourselves athletes know that there is nothing that can satisfy us more than combining employment and sport. But beware, here we are talking about business, you have to look for the detail of each model, do not let yourself be carried away by passion.
Okay,
Whether it is sport or not.
One of the first mistakes an entrepreneur makes is to get excited about the first ideas. Be careful with this, you have to have a cold mind and know how to separate the grain from the straw to make good decisions.
You must make a detailed list of the characteristics that each of the franchises has and from there choose the best option for you.
We will start with the first point
1.1 Involvement in the project
Wow… turns out you have to work!
It may sound like a basic thing, but I've heard this many times.
There are franchises such as large chains of well-known American gyms or restaurants that, although you have to work at it, are created for investor-type profiles. In other words, they are higher investments that are profitable in the long term, those in which the daily activity of the franchisee has less impact and the costs are very high, which is why it is necessary to manage a good cash.
Is it your case?
Perhaps what you are looking for is an "easier" business in the sense of having a greater impact on your business, where an opportunity can make a difference in the result of each month but which of course REQUIRES A LOT OF DEDICATION.
Therefore, we define as the first point, knowing the dedication required by each business model.
1.2 Investment
Okay,
We all agree that if you are looking at a franchise, of any kind, it is because you want to invest in a business but…
Are you aware of the financial capacity you have?
I have seen sports franchise models whose investment ranges can be from €5,000 to half a million. That strip is huge.
How much money do you have to start?
It is true that perhaps I am direct but in Sportmadness I have seen many cases of people who have known our sports events and academies business model fits them, they see themselves in the role of franchisee, they tell their family, their friends and at the last moment.
WOW!
The bank has rejected the operation, you don't have the loan to begin with.
For this reason, I recommend that you analyze your capacity and your economic possibilities before getting into the process of learning about a franchise.
Do not waste time or make the franchisor lose it.
1.3 Growth capacity
We'll see,
You cannot want to launch a business model with €10,000 and within 5 years it will be billing 2 million. Forgive me for being so direct, but it is VERY HARD for that to happen.
In any case, the question here is
What performance do you expect from your business?
There are franchises that offer really important returns from the fifth year, the investment is high but the model has a certain scalability of the investment... 350k and up.
So answer that question first before choosing a model.
We at Sportmadness always say the same thing, our business model is not going to make you rich.
If you are looking for Ferraris and luxury homes, invest in something else.
You can live well, very well, so well as to have economic stability without worrying about a payroll, but I'm telling you that if you expect to have benefits of over a million euros a year or similar, there are sure to be better options.
1.4 Company culture and philosophy
This is always important but in the world of franchises this is accentuated outrageously, why?
Because you are buying, among many other things, that.
You have noticed the strange feeling when you meet someone and from the first moment they give you good feelings, they generate trust and you even share many of the opinions and criteria.
Well, this has to be something like this, if from minute one some things don't sound good to you, you see little transparency and the values of those who boast in their dossiers simply stay there,
RUN.
There is nothing worse than being tied to something without wanting to be. And more when it comes to business.
Therefore, make sure that the human team and the culture that the company breathes are aligned with your ideas and values.
2. How is the market?
Within the franchise sector there are many options. Online franchises, traditional and innovative, that require an establishment, etc.
What you have to assess is where the market is going and how that fits into the business you are considering opening.
Eye! Here I also give you another tip. This is a little more difficult to identify but it is important that you observe the ability of the central franchisor to adapt to changes, this is important.
We live in an environment of constant change and the companies that adapt are the ones that survive. We recently talked about how to survive in VUCA environments and the fable of the lizard and the hedgehog.
In any case, my advice is that you value:
2.1 Digitization
This is unavoidable today.
Watch out!
We are not talking about having a cool app, we are talking about the internal processes of the company.
If you want a business to scale, it has to be digital on the inside.
Look at the processes they use, look at what type of technology, if it is their own, if it is from third parties, and the most important thing at this point is to know how they use the data provided by technology.
This can be one of the most powerful avenues of measurement and business intelligence, but of course, it depends on how it is used.
2.2 Low fix costs
This is clear.
It depends a lot on the business model you are looking for, it has nothing to do with opening a McDonalds with a franchise like Sportmadness.
We have recently been through the COVID-19 crisis, and many people ask us how it is possible that no franchise has had to close its doors for this reason.
I am sure that many things have influenced, but one of them is precisely having low fixed cost structures.
That is key to knowing how heavy your structure will be.
The market tends towards this type of company (apart from the distances) Airbnb offers lodging without owning hotels, Uber offers transportation services without buying taxis. We offer sports services without investing in facilities.
We have the service, the user and we create his experience, which is what he is looking for.
2.3 Telecommuting
If it was already a trend, in recent months, now it has become much more accentuated.
Being able to work from home is a plus for any business because of the possibility of reconciling your professional and personal life. In addition, it is a cost that, at least during the first months, you save.
At this point, within the sports sector, it is difficult to find interesting proposals, therefore, make sure that the franchise has the necessary tools to guarantee it.
Sportmandess was born with this condition, that is why it is not something that we have had to implement but rather it is in our DNA, in fact the media usually echo these characteristics, such as the entrepreneurs magazine that launched an article by franchises you can run from home o el de 5 franchises which don't need an establishment.
2.4 Competition
Are there other business models similar to this one?
When choosing a franchise you should investigate if there are similar alternatives that you have not valued. They may even do so with a better image, as more commercial strength, focusing on more important aspects.
Never forget to look at the market and understand in what context of competitors the franchise develops.
3. History and success stories
This is key.
But beware!
Just because a franchise hasn't worked for other people doesn't mean it won't work for you.
Here you should also take into account two perspectives:
The first is that, if it is a young or innovative franchise, it will not have much trajectory, so the figures will be from "Young" companies, this is not a bad thing at all because what it is showing you is that there is an opportunity.
Second, the relationship they have with their franchisees. It is important that before taking the step you have spoken with one of their franchisees to find out what their relationship with the team is like, how insistent they are with monitoring their business and how happy they are with their franchise.
Not everything is reduced to numbers, but if you can ask about them, the better.
Also, if it is the headquarters itself who provides you with the telephone numbers of the franchisees, it is a very good sign.
Also ask what kind of tools, events or systems they use to dynamize that "community" of franchisees.
In our experience, perhaps because of the type of business that Sportmadness is, it is inevitable to have direct contact with all the franchises and encourage them to collaborate.
We do this with group videoconferences every month where all the franchises are connected, also with small group work sessions also online and of course with our Kick Off Sportmadness or special launch event.
There are many aspects that you must take into account when choosing, beyond the financial plan, the market opportunity, I want to finish by saying that the most important thing is that you are convinced to undertake.
Entrepreneurship is not a bed of roses and doing it hand in hand with a team is important to avoid mistakes, but analyze well before choosing a franchise.
At Sportmadness, over the last three years, we have spoken with thousands of people interested in opening a franchise with us.
I can assure you that more than 60% of people have not analyzed all these points before deciding to enter the process.
If I, who work from within, tell you that they are key aspects, it is because I know the value they represent for the franchisees that make up the Sportmadness network.
In any case, if you are trying to choose a franchise that suits your idea and you think Sportmadness might fit the bill, take a look at our sports management franchise and do not hesitate to contact us.
