# Pluses and minuses of franchising



## ChristineSutherland

With the Franchise Expo roadshow around Australia at the moment it's timely to consider just how solid or otherwise the franchise model is, and whether it's what you're looking for.

Many people put their blinkers on when looking at business opportunities and tend to avoid asking the hard questions that will avoid bad decisions.

For example the recent Allphones fiasco could have been avoided if prospective franchisees had just done a simple 6-step due diligence process which is freely available. Allphones failed this test right from the start.

I wonder who here has bought a small business or franchise and discovered they've bought trouble and stress, or who is considering buying in Australia? What are your experiences so far?


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## Barbaragabogrecan

I don’t have any bad experience yet. When I got something then I’ll let you know.


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## ChristineSutherland

So Barbara would you share your successful experience of franchising?

It's always great to hear business stories


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## Henry_Jakson

When it comes to starting up your own business, the thought of a franchise has a lot of appeal. When starting a franchise you already know that your customers have heard the name of your business and will most likely come to your shop as well. You already have that free advertising going for you. Nothing can spread business faster than word of mouth. But there are pluses and minuses to every type of business you could decide to start up. It would be a good idea to read through some rent-a-center franchise information before jumping in feet first.


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## jparker2011

ChristineSutherland said:


> With the Franchise Expo roadshow around Australia at the moment it's timely to consider just how solid or otherwise the franchise model is, and whether it's what you're looking for.
> 
> Many people put their blinkers on when looking at business opportunities and tend to avoid asking the hard questions that will avoid bad decisions.
> 
> For example the recent Allphones fiasco could have been avoided if prospective franchisees had just done a simple 6-step due diligence process which is freely available. Allphones failed this test right from the start.
> 
> I wonder who here has bought a small business or franchise and discovered they've bought trouble and stress, or who is considering buying in Australia? What are your experiences so far?


A big plus for a franchise is that people around the world know about their products and you will have a lot of customers. Of course, this is if the company for which you are getting a franchise is well known.


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## ChristineSutherland

*Pluses and minuses of franchises*

There are certainly some pluses for franchises, but being well-known, and even being able to guarantee a lot of sales (for now) is a long way down the list of essential due diligence checks.

A question that many prospective franchisees fail to ask is "Is this very substantial money that I am putting up front, merely buying me a very stressful and low-paid job?"

If a franchise is a genuine business opportunity it will deliver leverage, and not have you trapped into trading dollars for time.

There's much more to due diligence than this of course, but it goes to show that people need to be much more skeptical of these types of opportunities.



jparker2011 said:


> A big plus for a franchise is that people around the world know about their products and you will have a lot of customers. Of course, this is if the company for which you are getting a franchise is well known.


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