How to Choose the Right Franchise for Your Life | Franchise Fridays with Jeff Dudan #174

Hey everybody, Jeff Duden here and welcome back to Franchise Fridays. Let me ask you something. What's the point of owning a business if it doesn't support the life that you actually Want to live? 92% of franchise owners say they are satisfied with their lifestyle and work life balance. And that's not a coincidence. That's the power of aligning your business with your values and your strengths and your goals. Are you living the life that you want to live and is it integrated with your business? Today I'm going to walk you through a set of decision filters that will help you figure out exactly what kind of franchise fits your life. Because when your business and lifestyle align, that's when you can win. And remember, click the link below for a free copy of my book Discernment. And if you're ready to explore lifestyle first franchise brands, head to homefrontbrands.com to see what we're building there. All right, let's get into it. Franchising is not a one size fits all. From fully absentee hotel ownership to hands on mobile services, you've got options. But before you choose a business, you've got to understand the life that business creates. Let's break this down with a few key decision filters. Decision Filter Number 1 How much are you willing to invest? Let's talk real numbers. Your total investment includes startup costs, working capital, franchise fees, buying whatever equipment is necessary, and often personal income coverage during the ramp up phase. If that's important to you. That's just the financial side. Time is a currency too. There's always opportunity costs. And will you be dedicating 40 hours a week to this business or more? Or are you a part time investor running executive model while you're keeping another income stream to maintain your lifestyle, you also have to think about risk tolerance. Do you want low capital slow ramp business? With that you're having to push it up a hill and grind it out and build a market. Or are you willing to swing bigger for a faster scale? Maybe a location based business that's already well known where customers are likely to drive by and just walk into your door. Here's a tip, when you're finding this out, ask the franchisor or look in your franchise disclosure document for your item 7 and it lists the total investment ranges. Decision filter number two how fast you need a return. Some franchises are slow burn but ultimately bigger upside. They may take 12 to 18 months to cash flow and even longer than that for a return on your original investment. Whether that's be total investment or cash on cash. But these may deliver real long term wealth and stability. Others might be high churn quick to revenue, you jump into a truck, you get out there and you start selling and fulfilling right away. But these might require your daily involvement. Neither one's good or bad. It's really about aligning with what you want to do. What your what lifestyle are you looking for and what are your expectations? You need to know do you need income out of this business? How important is that? How long can you go without income? Are you building to be short term income fulfilling or you being long term greedy where you're able to put the money back and build the business properly over time? Another tip, study the item 19 in the franchise disclosure document. It will give you information about revenue and earnings data. Decision filter number three, we've already touched on it. Do you need personal income? How soon, how much? How fast do you have? Mortgage, tuition, grocery bills? Who are you responsible for and what bills are you responsible to pay? You need to make sure that that nut is covered. Because if you have to pay your own personal bills and you pull back on your advertising, that's a no no. That is a spiral that you don't want to get into. Because when you're building a business particularly early, you need to be investing in new customer acquisition and you don't have the referrals and repeat customers yet. So you got to make sure that you don't have to sacrifice the growth of your business to make sure that your bills are paid. Now be clear, how much income do you need? Honestly, when do you need it? You probably need to double it to make sure that you're safe and that you're covered and that you have an access to cash if you need something. How much are you willing to delay the gratification? And many owners bridge income from savings or part time work until the business ramps. So just understand what it's like for you and be honest with yourself about what it's going to take to make sure you can maintain your lifestyle and take care of the things that matter the most to you. And as a tip, as you're going through validation, you can certainly ask franchisees when they begin drawing consistent owner's income. Now number four, what role do you want to play in the business? Let's get personal. Are you a salesperson? You love relationship building, you love networking, you love the thrill of the deal and the art of the close. Is that you? If so, that's probably a great role for you. Or are you an operator? Do you want to make sure that everything works on time and everything is delivered properly, then that can be a role for you. Or are you a visionary leader? You want to build a team and you want to step back, get out of their way and let them build something great with you and for you. You've got to understand what your role is going to be. And working outside of a role that is your authentic self can be challenging. So you need to be honest with yourself and make sure that it's if you're going to take on a new role that you're willing to commit to it and you're willing to really put the time in to get great at that role. Because when you're in the wrong role, it's exhausting. Your will is an exhaustible resource and the right role is energizing. And remember, as you're building a business, it is very likely that your role will change over time. Many franchisees start in the trenches. You've got to learn the services you need to give away what you know the best. So if you own a business, you better know every aspect of it, down to the last little nut and bolt. And then as the business grows, you start taking off these hats of production, of sales, of business development. And that's how you scale your business. Tip. Ask the franchisor if multi unit owners operate differently from new franchisees and if there's support to scale your role over time and what that looks like. There should be a scale role at each phase of the business that you can clearly see what it's going to take and how your role will change over time. All right, decision filter number five. And this is a biggie. Are you working in a fixed location on a day to day basis or is this going to be a mobile service business where you are working on somebody else's property, on their home or in their business. Location based businesses require leases. Typically they're more expensive to start up, they're going to take longer to start up because you're going to have a build out, you're going to have permits, you're going to have longer timelines, but you go to work at the same place every day. And if you execute on the marketing plan, there should be customers that come to see you on a daily basis. Mobile service businesses on the other hand, typically mean lower overhead, faster to launch, a little bit more flexibility because you're out there and you're choosing where you're going to do your business and where you're going to drive leads and what aspect of the business you're going to build first, but you've got to go out to the customers and you've got to build brand awareness. And it's a different customer acquisition game than it is from a location based business. So ask yourself what's best for you. Do you want structure in a central hub, somewhere that you go to every day as a home base, or are you willing to get out there and mix it up in the community and in the marketplace and have a little bit more freedom and maybe some lower fixed cost, especially when you're starting out. So mobile models often allow you to grow multiple territories more easily without having to add another location, another lease. And they tend to work well if you're focused on scaling fast. Decision Filter Number 6 what hours are you willing to work? Okay. Are you doing this business to create more lifestyle because you want to spend more time with your children, because you want to spend more time traveling? All right, well. Or are you okay with working evenings, working weekends? Are you a whatever it takes, whenever it takes, wherever it is, type person, or even working holidays that can have an impact on how fast your business scales and actually what type of business you want to get into. Do you like a fixed schedule, 9 to 5 Monday through Friday, or can you operate in early mornings like a contracting business, getting out there early, getting things started and working around other people's schedules? A little bit more dynamic, but also maybe a little bit more freedom for you? Some franchises require emergency response like restoration or locksmithing or window repair or windshield repair, things like that. And while others just run simply nine to five. Look, if you're selling chicken sandwiches, there's never going to be a chicken sandwich emergency at midnight where somebody's going to call you and say I've got to have it in 30 minutes or something bad's going to happen. Look. And then also too seasonality. Most businesses are impacted by seasonality. Depending on the market that you're in, it could be weather related or it could be tourism related. Some towns blow up in the summer and disappear in the winter where other towns like Florida, they blow up in the winter and they disappear in the summer. So you've got to understand your market as it relates to seasonality, as it's going to impact your time as you have to put into the business which is going to impact your lifestyle. So again, as you're going through the validation process or the market that you're in or similar, ask franchisees, what's a typical week look like? Better yet, what does a, what does a typical year look like to you? Okay, here's the bottom line. You need to be honest with yourself about who you are, what you're good at, what you're willing to do, and what lifestyle advantage you're looking to gain from the business to pick the right business for you. Franchising works, but works best when it aligns with what you actually want and what you're actually good at. I think it was Jim Ro who said the easiest direction in which to ride a horse is in the direction that it's already going. So. So be honest with yourself, be honest with your financial needs, be honest with your skills, and then find the business that most closely aligns with who you are and what you do. Especially if it's your first business, because that's going to give you the greatest chance for satisfaction and success. And if you value freedom, flexibility and control, franchising can help you get there. But you've got to be honest about it. How much are you going to invest? What kind of return do you need? What role are you willing to play and the life that you're building towards? If you're curious about franchises designed for lifestyle first ownership, check out what we're doing at Homefront Brands. We've built scalable service based franchises that work with real life, not against it. And again, click the link below or visit homefrontbrands.com or grab your free copy of Discernment where I go deeper into how to make the right calls in business and in life. Thanks again for being here. I'm Jeff Duden. I really want to help you with this. This has been Franchise Friday. Stay sharp, stay focused and stay on the home front. Thanks for listening.