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Entrepreneurs can realize their double-scooped dream of achieving financial independence – without falling into the common pitfalls – and establishing themselves as their own boss by partnering with the right franchise.
It comes as no surprise that, the key drivers for entrepreneurship are earning more income and the desire to be one’s own boss.
As the founder for The Bombay Churros, I see that every day in my efforts to drive franchise sales and development for the brand. Currently, we are working on war-footing as the company is setting its foot in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Dubai. My daily communications are with highly motivated individuals with a vision to grow their income, while on the same hand maintaining their autonomy by working for themselves.
To be sure, the lure of independence and the ability to control one’s destiny has conceived many entrepreneurs, but there can be considerable unforeseen pitfalls along the way:
Firstly, there is the core lack of guidance. Many entrepreneurs will explain it to you that, it can get lonely at the top. It helps to have someone with experience in all of the aforementioned areas—and many others—that can provide guidance and case studies of what tactics and strategies have worked and what has not—and especially why.
Following this is the herculean task of building a customer base. Everyone thinks they are a marketing guru, but it is easier said than ever done. Marketing is fusion of art and science, and it’s important to get it right to be successful. When the time comes to develop and execute marketing strategies that will bring foot traffic to your door, and keep those customers coming back again and again.
Unlike the talk of town, one must remember that, price is not the reason most customers decide to go somewhere else. Customers are four times more likely to leave you if they have a problem with your customer service than if they are unhappy with your product. The more time you spend enhancing your customer service, the more it will benefit your bottom line.
When you consider the advent of social media there are countless ways to reach customers. Geo-targeting and other methods can be much more precise in promoting your brand and measuring results. Social media is constantly evolving and while it can be extremely positive, there are also just as many ways for it to have a negative impact.
Then arrives the unforeseen start-up costs. A blank slate is difficult to build from. If you are negotiating a lease, or choosing a contractor to build a storefront—the margin for error is thin and will impact your business for years. It doesn’t take much to come out of the gate in a deeper hole than anticipated.
Furthermore, the amount of decisions to be made in terms of location, layout, and finishing touches can be paralyzing. If you are going to operate a storefront, it can be useful to rely on experts regarding items such as traffic flow, point-of-sale considerations and more.
Next chink in the business armor is the issue of Human Resources. Most entrepreneurs are driven by success. They like to set goals and then attain them, but nothing disrupts such positive momentum more than navigating complex human resources issues. While these are important issues that must be resolved, they can become burdensome, and get in the way of making sales. They are often fraught with legal considerations and are best left to those who are up to date on labor laws and best practices. Beyond managing current employees, attracting and hiring the right ones presents their own challenges. A national franchise can be a helpful resource on many of these issues. Ensure that with the franchise brand even the food cost is taken care of including that of the vendor. Thus, everything to a franchise is sourced by the franchisor – a win – win situation.
Then there are concerns of distribution and inventory control as well. It is a simple concept that you cannot sell what you do not have. Yet, one of the most critical mistakes a business owner can make is having an incorrect amount of inventory, whether that is having too much or not enough. This is critically important in the food-services industry where product can often have a very limited shelf life. Timing is everything and it is of great benefit to have an idea as to what to expect and what has worked for others.
While these issues can plague a significant challenge to a startup, it is very likely these issues have already been considered and solved on a franchise level. A franchisor is aware of all the nuances and challenges franchisees may encounter. Much of this knowledge is taken into consideration when removing or alleviating barriers to entry.
The moral of the entire story is that – a franchise only does well, if its franchisees are doing well and it is in a franchise’s best interests to help its franchisees succeed.
