As we emerge from the economic challenge of the pandemic, I have been struck by an interesting development: I am getting more inquiries about franchise opportunities than ever before from experienced business owners. In conversations, these are the reasons I have been hearing:
They believe our economy will come back strong. Experienced business owners have gone through the ups and downs of economic cycles before. While the circumstances of the pandemic downturn are unique, they recognize the tell tale signals of a bottomed out economy and the inevitable upturn. They want to be positioned to take advantage.
They see pent up demand. The greatest market force known to man is pent-up demand. Fortunes have been made by those who recognize the growing force of pent-up demand and positioned themselves to take advantage. History has shown that companies that are aggressive in the early resurgence of an economy will gain market share they will never lose.
They smell blood. The sad truth is the pandemic has left in its wake a swath of economic destruction among many small businesses. While that is unfortunate, it does create enormous opportunity for aggressive business owners to lead the resurgence. Simply put, there will be a great need for businesses to meet the pent-up demand discussed above.
They understand the “need for speed.” There is an overall belief that the economy will “take off” as opposed to a slow rebound. While this remains to be seen, those who slowly approach the market may well see many ships steaming towards open water before they have even started to pull up their anchor.
They know presence is more important than innovation in the short term. While there will always be the need for innovation, being present and available is key to meeting pent-up demand. There will be time to innovate. Right now, the key is to be be there for with the products and services people need NOW.
Finally, they know that a franchise can put them in a great position to capitalize on factors 1-5 mentioned above.
Franchises have the products and services people are looking for. Whether food, home services, healthcare services , childhood education, business services, personal fitness or offerings in virtually all verticals.
They see how top performing franchises grew throughout the pandemic by rapidly pivoting to include new products and services, many through virtual components.
They understand the power of an established brand name and marketplace awareness.
But the reason I hear the most is the relatively lower cost of entry and the speed to market advantages of a franchise. Traditional start-ups take much longer to bring to market as the product/service, management systems, marketing plan, and the literally hundreds of components necessary to launch a business must all be laboriously planned, tested and implemented. They know all these components exist, have been tested and refined as necessary, and are ready to be deployed immediately upon opening. And speaking of opening, these businesspeople know that with the brand already established in the market, they can expect customers - and revenue - from day one.
Yes, experience is a wise teacher indeed. Which is exactly why those with business ownership experience are gravitating towards the franchise model. As always, I invite your response and your inquiries at: bruce@zizefranchise.com