Franchisees are entrepreneurs too

There’s a good article by Rachel Elnaugh in the July/August issue of The Franchise Magazine in which she makes a very good case for franchising as a way to realise your entrepreneurial dreams. Rachel’s an entrepreneur herself, having founded the ‘experiences’ company Red Letter Days, and was one the original Dragons in series one and two of Dragons’ Den, so she’s well-placed to understand the pitfalls of starting a new business. These include practical issues such as how to access finance and meet your start-up costs, how to find clients and build a brand identity and how to cash-flow yourself through the lean months – and years – before your profit kicks in. ‘Softer’ issues, such as lonliness and the lack of a support network to mentor and advise you through the challenges of a new business venture, can be just as dangerous to the ultimate survival of a new start-up as lack of money.

These are all serious considerations for anybody who dreams of breaking free from the shackles of corporate life and, according to Elnaugh, are very good reasons to thoroughly investigate franchising before taking the plunge into stand-alone self-employment. As a small business advisor, Rachel has created an online Entrepreneurial Profiling Test to help people understand what type of entrepreneur they are and over 80% present a profile that indicates a good match for franchising. So, while some may see franchising as, somehow, cheating Elnaugh prefers to see it as the ideal way to build entrepreneurial muscle and fulfil your dreams of running your own business.