Are you looking to start a business but aren’t sure if it’s better to consider franchising rather than starting from scratch? Find out what’s best for you by exploring the pros and cons of each below.
The Pros of Franchising
To help you determine if a franchising opportunity is best for you, here are just some of the pros to consider when starting a franchise:
Low start-up costs. You don’t need massive amounts of equity to get your business off the ground with a franchise. The initial investment cost for H2GO Mobile Wash is $120,000 all in vs. over $300,000 when starting from scratch.
Established reputation. Forget spending years trying to build a reputable brand. When you become a franchisee, you’re joining a company that already has a proven record with thousands of positive reviews that you can piggyback off of to attract customers more easily.
Proven methods and systems. You’re investing in a business plan that is already successful. All you need to do is implement the systems already in place to start earning instantly.
Less risk. Owning a business is risky, especially if you don’t have a lot of money to use for trial and error to make your business work. Owning an established franchise, on the other hand, offsets that risk because you don’t have to take all the risk on yourself. You have the support of the franchise behind you every step of the way.
Less stress. Most things will be taken care of by the main franchise including branding, leasing, and collateral. This can take a lot of stress off your shoulders, especially when you’re just getting started.
Profit sooner. When franchising, you won’t have to do all the legwork yourself. This means you can hit the ground running and be profitable much faster.
The Cons of Franchising
The most common complaints about becoming a franchisee are the initial fees and franchise costs. To get started, you’ll need to provide the initial fee upfront to the franchise when becoming a franchisee. Saving up for this amount can take time and may not be easy for some. However, on an apples to apples basis, the initial fees and franchise costs are much less than you would have to pay to start up a business. Sure, you can start small and try to keep your costs low when going out on your own, but the costs will eventually start to add up and total much higher than they would if you were to join a franchise.
The Pros of Starting from Scratch
When you start a business from the ground up, you can make it truly yours. You don’t have to follow any established processes or systems that you may not like. Everything from the branding right down to the product is your concept and creation.
The Cons of Starting from Scratch
When you’re starting a business yourself, you’re literally starting with a blank slate. You will need to figure out everything on your own from the manufacturing, branding, office supplies, marketing plan, sales funnels, systems, software, hiring, operations, accounting – the list goes on. It can be a lot to handle for someone who has never started a business before. It’s also extremely costly to start from scratch if you are bootstrapping your business with your own money. This means you’ll have to start small and slowly grow your business to gain a reputation and income that’s necessary to succeed. And for most entrepreneurs, it can take 3-5 years until they start to realize a profit over their start-up costs. In fact, 90% of startups fail within their first 3 years because of cashflow issues. All the more reason to consider starting with a franchise that already has everything in place and a reputation you can benefit from.
If you’re ready to join a successful franchise, contact us at H2GO Mobile Wash. Our mobile pressure washing business is the first of its kind in Canada. With a low start-up cost, a highly desirable product and a winning team on your side, our franchise structure is a fast track to success. Get started today by filling out an application.
