Buy a Franchise. Change The World.
April 29, 2009 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
At the risk of sounding sappy, I’m going unveil one of my most passionately held beliefs about small business start-ups, regardless of whether it’s a franchise opportunity or independent venture: I believe that the only valid reason for starting a new business is to change the world.
This belief is not based on pie-in-the-sky idealism, but a very practical observation: growing a business takes tremendous effort, stamina and commitment. It takes, perhaps above all else, the ability to keep all involved motivated to do their best day after day after day after mundane day. Financial motivation, for most of us, only goes so far. We long to know that we are making a difference in the world, that we are helping to further the causes that we care about, and that we make a difference.
Employment studies have shown that adequate (or even high) financial compensation does not make employees happy in their jobs. Why? Because personal fulfillment comes from being part of something worthwhile, for being recognized, for making a difference. It’s easier for a business owner to maintain focus and enthusiasm if he or she has (and his or her employees have) both financial and non-financial motives for maximizing the success of the business.
IMHO, the best businesses are those that enable all involved to feel that they are truly making a difference in some way… that they are both making a living AND changing the world.
I thought about this today when I was posting an entry on the Fairway Divorce Solutions FanWall on Top New Franchises. Founded by Karen 
Stewart, Fairway Divorce Solutions is a new franchise that offers an alternative to traditional divorce settlement process, one that’s based on cooperation rather than confrontation.
I think that Fairway Divorce Solutions franchisees will have to possess a great deal of skill, empathy and commitment to create mutually negotiated divorce agreements between parting couples. They’ll also need to be flexible enough to pioneer both a new concept AND a new franchise system. However, it’s hard to imagine of a more personally fulfilling business to be in than to be helping families lay the groundwork for peaceful cooperation and mutual respect when, without you, they may have resorted to anger and resentment.
It seems to me that this concept, if grown correctly, could really have a significant and far-reaching impact on many, many lives. If Karen Stewart and her Fairway Divorce Solutions franchisees can pull it off, they’ll reap the rewards of those who can look back and say, with certainty, that they changed the world.
DO YOU KNOW A FRANCHISE COMPANY THAT’S CHANGING THE WORLD? SHARE IT BELOW.
Photo of Karen Stewart: Fairway Divorce Solutions
Effecting change with a solution for media overload is the new Ad-Visor shared, targeted direct mail franchise.
Businesses want a better way to reach more of their specific market at a lower cost, consumers want more relevant offers and fewer ad media invasions into their daily lives.
The Ad-Visor is a solution for both businesses and consumers, providing a more targeted approach to marketing in the least invasive, but most effective medium, direct mail. Business owners enjoy a much lower cost because they are sharing high quality print, targeted list and postage costs. Consumers enjoy better value and a minimal invasion into their limited time because they are receiving information and offers specifically for them.
I agree with you entirely, Sean. Money may motivate some of us, but in order for a businessman or woman to really succeed, they must believe their vision can actually bring some good to the world. In my time, the most successful entrepreneurs I know have not been profit-driven, they have been change-driven.
I could not disagree more with you Sean.
A business exists only to create a commensurate return on shareholders’ invested capital. Anything else is just flim-flam b.s. designed to disarm and deceive naive potential franchisees.
Invoking social justice issues is a crock: Always has been and always will be. And it frequently is the hallmark of a charlatan.
Les, thanks for reading and commenting.
I agree that any business, first and foremost, must be designed to generate sales, profit and ROI in a sustainable manner. Otherwise it’s a non-profit endeavor or a hobby. I’m not suggesting that that not be a requirement and a priority – it should.
Probably the most widespread and most damaging illusion foisted upon prospective franchisees is the insistence of writers and consultants on using the “personality audit” as a starting point of selecting the “right” franchise. I’m not suggesting one start with their own feelings or beliefs in identifying a likely opportunity. Does the market NEED and can sustain a coffee shop is more important than whether one loves coffee, whether their personality is suited for it, or whether they can affect social change by it.
It’s sad to read the hundreds of comments here and on UnhappyFranchisee.com by express fitness franchisees whose motivation was to change the health and lives of women to the point that they overlooked the flaws of the concept.
Yet at the same time, success in small business takes dedication, perseverence and motivation which does not come solely from money.