#5 of 10 Reasons NOT to Buy a Franchise: Limited Independence
February 14, 2007 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
Nolo.com features an article titled: Ten Good Reasons Not to Buy a Franchise.
According to the author, there are ten compelling reasons NOT to buy a franchise. We’re looking at them one-by-one.
5. Limited independence. When you buy a franchise, you are not just buying the right to use the franchisor’s name, but you are buying its business plan as well. As a result, most franchisors impose price, appearance, and design standards on franchisees, limiting the ways you can operate the franchise. While these regulations can help promote uniformity, they can also be stifling to franchisees who feel they could run the business more effectively their own way.
This is not necessarily a reason to NOT buy a franchise (though it may be for you), but it’s an important point. Don’t believe the hype and nonsense in franchise ads that tout franchising as a way to “be your own boss” and “achieve independence.” As a franchisee, your role is, for the most part, to implement an established system. If you want to tinker with the recipe by adding a twelfth herb or spice, don’t join KFC. The advantage of buying a franchise is that you don’t have to invent a business from scratch; you can concentrate on building your business from DAY ONE, rather than creating it. The trade-off is that you sell off a measure of autonomy and personal freedom. It’s a bit like joining the Marines. If you can’t deal with the haircut, the uniform and the rules… or if you don’t think the benefits will outweigh the disadvantages… don’t enlist.
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