How to start a business

If starting your own business has always been a dream of yours and you’re taking the initiative to find out how to go about it, then you’ve come to the right place. This is a quick and easy guide that answers the questions how to start your own business and how to start a successful business. One of the best options you have at this point in time is starting a franchise business. And the benefits of this are numerous. Not only is a franchise practically recession-proof but it’s also part of a growing billion pound industry in the UK. There are, of course, a number of other benefits that you’ll enjoy and these are just a taste of what’s to come. So, without further ado, here are the 11 easy steps on how to start a business.

How to start a franchise business

1.Evaluate yourself and your situation thoroughly

Going back to ancient Greece with Socrates famously declaring “know thyself”, this saying has never been more true when it comes to starting your own business, and starting a franchise in particular. You need a thorough understanding of yourself, your goals and ambitions, your plans for getting there, ideas on how to start a business, what excites you and what doesn’t, what amount and type of work you’re willing to put in until you see the desired outcomes and so much more. 

2.Conduct your research

As you probably already know, there are numerous types of franchises out on the market today. Choosing can be a daunting task simply because of all the variety that’s offered. When conducting your research, key questions and considerations to keep in mind include: is this a low-cost franchise? Is it a risky investment or is it low risk? How much will it cost to get off the ground and up and running? What is the reputation of the franchisor like? And are you willing to be part of a bigger umbrella brand and work towards maintaining the franchise’s reputation?

3.Attend events to meet more franchises

There’s no better way to find out more about franchising than to speak to franchisors and franchisees in person. This gives you the perfect opportunity to ask them questions like what would you have done differently if you knew what you know now. 

4.Decide on a franchise

Once you’ve gathered your research and spoken to as many people as possible, it’s time to make the crucial decision: which franchise you’re going to stick with over the long term (think the next five to 10 years). Franchising can be in highly niche areas such as the pest control and handyman industries or more broad industries which require a lower skill set and are not too specialised such as a cleaning business or a waste removal business. 

5.Choose your location

Location is key to your success as a franchisee. You’ll essentially be purchasing the rights to operate in a specific area. This means the area needs to have potential for your business’ launch there and this means customers. If it’s a sparsely populated area, you may find yourself struggling, whereas if the area is more highly populated, that’s where your big earnings will come from. So choose your location wisely.

6.Secure funding

The next step is to secure funding. If you’re one of the lucky ones with savings, immovable property and other investments, this part should be easy for you. But for the rest, it’s vital to secure funding from your bank or financial institution to get off the ground. Luckily, a franchise business model can open many doors for you and you’ll be able to secure funding much easier as opposed to a business plan that’s for a business which you’ll want to start from scratch. 

7.Read the agreement (and then once again) 

It’s time for you to read the franchise agreement. And once you’ve done this, read it again. This is crucial because it will set out your rights, responsibilities and obligations as a franchisee and you don’t want to be surprised by something that you didn’t read in the agreement later on. Do your homework well and even consider consulting a professional franchise consultant or an attorney. 

8.Get the right permits and insurance

When the franchise agreement has been signed, you’ll need to start preparing the other required paperwork. As a service-based franchise, you’ll be working with people for people and it’s inevitable that an accident is bound to happen from time to time. You therefore need to be properly insured to protect yourself and your franchise business from a lawsuit further down the road. 

9.Get trained

Once you’ve covered your insurance, you need to get trained. But where, how, when? These are natural questions to ask but luckily, your franchisor should be able to help you with this. In fact, some franchisors have in-house training and ongoing development personnel whose sole function is to help you get the business off the ground and serve clients as soon as possible.  

10.Hire your employees

Next up is hiring your staff. You may need to do background checks and dip your toes in the world of recruiting for some time. While we won’t go into much detail about this here, you need to make sure that the staff you hire is as passionate as you about your business. 

11.Launch a franchise!

Finally, it’s time to launch your business. This is probably going to be one of the scariest but most exciting times of your life. Launching means serving customers and you’re only going to be as good as the last job you did. Therefore, a strong commitment to high service standards will be necessary by both you and your staff. 

Start your own franchise business today

Now that you have an idea of what is expected of you when you start your own franchise business, you may get that tingling feeling and start feeling excited to get started. This is great!

At Fantastic Services, we offer all our franchisees all the support they need to begin earning as soon as possible with ongoing training and support that continues even after your business has been set up. To find out more about our franchising opportunities, why not get in touch with us today? We’re right here for you and ready to make your business dream come true.

Posted in Advice Hub