Can franchising make you rich?

Louise Harris writes:

Richness or wealth is relative. We always want more, I guess. So, what is rich?

If you’re earning the typical middle manager salary (as of May 2022) of £47,000 in a job, and a franchise business model indicates the possibility of £100,000 profit at the end of year two, you might feel rich – you’ve doubled your earnings. And you might be doing something that you love, in which case there is another type of enrichment to add to the money benefit.

The franchisor needs to be able to show potential earnings and return on investment when you’re looking at the model. If you’re not good with figures (and actually, even if you are) having a trusted advisor look over these figures is a great idea.

There are franchise models that promise fabulous returns – and some even guarantee those returns for a fixed period. Some show very conservative figures and you should not be put off if the returns are lower.

What is important is whether you can afford to buy in and live during the start-up phase when you’re driving income. What if you earned nothing? And then, how hard would you need to work – what volumes would you need to drive – to make the big money, whatever that is. It may be that the big money only really happens if you have more than one territory, you move to a second term in the franchise, you need to invest far more than planned in marketing – get under the skin of the figures if you want to be sure. And if no-one will share, don’t progress the discussion.

It’s easy to forecast big money. The killer question is “how many of your franchisees are actually making this money?”

Make sure that your version of rich is achievable in that franchise. They also know your weaknesses and can identify where the challenges might lie for you.

Franchising can be hugely rewarding when you find the right match!

Louise Harris has been in franchising since 2006 and has been both franchisee and franchisor. She runs Franchise Projects, completing critical tasks for franchised businesses.