What Good is a List?
What Good is a LIST?
Have you ever wondered why everyone seems to want to make life more difficult for you? They're always telling you to slow down, and to check things carefully…or wait until you know more…or make a plan you know you can make work…or something that slows you down and stops you from realizing your dreams.
Like many others, you may say to yourself, "What's wrong with spontaneity? Why must everyone be so methodical? Isn't variety still the spice of life? Isn't it still fun to go into a restaurant and instruct the waiter to "surprise you with whatever they think is best?"
Of course it is! Doing things intuitively has a place in all of our lives. When we make a decision to enter any business we certainly have to trust our own instincts to some degree.
However, when it comes to making a good decision for ourselves we have to avoid putting too much faith into something that may not be best for us.
Lists of franchised business opportunities that are available for acquisition are one of the places where "blind faith" can hurt us more than it helps us.
As franchise consultants we are often asked by prospective clients to "just send us a list of the franchisors you work with". We work with many franchisors that we think are excellent choices for the right buyer, yet we strongly resist such requests whenever we can!
Why? Because we've learned that merely sending lists to a buyer doesn't really help that buyer find what he/she wants. In fact, more often than not, the lists tend to be more confusing than enlightening.
When most people get a list, their eyes slide down the rows and rows of franchise names, and then they may say, "Nope, nothing there that I like!" Or, perhaps they'll stop at a business that looks interesting to them, and tell us "This is one I might consider".
Typically prospective buyers scan a list looking for something familiar, or something that strikes their fancy. What's wrong with that? Plenty! In so doing, they very often pass over some of the finest franchises in the world – the tried and true – simply because they don't have enough information about the business and themselves to best understand and recognize what they're really looking for.
Once you realize this, you become compelled to ask: "How can any buyer be expected to properly evaluate whether a name that they see on a list is one that they should be interested in learning more about?" Often times, its just not enough.
You'd be smart to assume that you can't pick a great business merely by looking at a list of names! If you haven't worked with a company yourself, or you haven't by some means acquired a detailed knowledge of how it operates, you simply can't expect to know whether a business is right for you simply by looking at a list. It's impossible!
Let's take fast food as an example. You probably think you know how fast food works, right? Seems like a great business to you, doesn't it?
Step back for a moment, and consider this example. We know of a fast food giant that started franchising many years ago. This company had excellent success in attracting experienced business people as franchisees.
After a couple of years in the business some of these franchisees, although they were making good money, were unhappy with their choice of business.
They were making money, so why were they unhappy? Because this particular fast food business is more than JUST a food business.
1. It is a kid business. It took 50 people or more (mostly young) to run such a large enterprise, and because most kids are somewhat transient, the franchisees found they were hiring and firing up to 150 people a year. Some of these franchisees didn't like lots of employees, so for them they didn't enjoy what they were doing.
2. It is a cash business. Owners usually have to be around when cash is a big part of the business – you can't expect to have thousands of dollars in currency floating around your store without attracting employee theft. Many franchise
Have you ever wondered why everyone seems to want to make life more difficult for you? They're always telling you to slow down, and to check things carefully…or wait until you know more…or make a plan you know you can make work…or something that slows you down and stops you from realizing your dreams.
Like many others, you may say to yourself, "What's wrong with spontaneity? Why must everyone be so methodical? Isn't variety still the spice of life? Isn't it still fun to go into a restaurant and instruct the waiter to "surprise you with whatever they think is best?"
Of course it is! Doing things intuitively has a place in all of our lives. When we make a decision to enter any business we certainly have to trust our own instincts to some degree.
However, when it comes to making a good decision for ourselves we have to avoid putting too much faith into something that may not be best for us.
Lists of franchised business opportunities that are available for acquisition are one of the places where "blind faith" can hurt us more than it helps us.
As franchise consultants we are often asked by prospective clients to "just send us a list of the franchisors you work with". We work with many franchisors that we think are excellent choices for the right buyer, yet we strongly resist such requests whenever we can!
Why? Because we've learned that merely sending lists to a buyer doesn't really help that buyer find what he/she wants. In fact, more often than not, the lists tend to be more confusing than enlightening.
When most people get a list, their eyes slide down the rows and rows of franchise names, and then they may say, "Nope, nothing there that I like!" Or, perhaps they'll stop at a business that looks interesting to them, and tell us "This is one I might consider".
Typically prospective buyers scan a list looking for something familiar, or something that strikes their fancy. What's wrong with that? Plenty! In so doing, they very often pass over some of the finest franchises in the world – the tried and true – simply because they don't have enough information about the business and themselves to best understand and recognize what they're really looking for.
Once you realize this, you become compelled to ask: "How can any buyer be expected to properly evaluate whether a name that they see on a list is one that they should be interested in learning more about?" Often times, its just not enough.
You'd be smart to assume that you can't pick a great business merely by looking at a list of names! If you haven't worked with a company yourself, or you haven't by some means acquired a detailed knowledge of how it operates, you simply can't expect to know whether a business is right for you simply by looking at a list. It's impossible!
Let's take fast food as an example. You probably think you know how fast food works, right? Seems like a great business to you, doesn't it?
Step back for a moment, and consider this example. We know of a fast food giant that started franchising many years ago. This company had excellent success in attracting experienced business people as franchisees.
After a couple of years in the business some of these franchisees, although they were making good money, were unhappy with their choice of business.
They were making money, so why were they unhappy? Because this particular fast food business is more than JUST a food business.
1. It is a kid business. It took 50 people or more (mostly young) to run such a large enterprise, and because most kids are somewhat transient, the franchisees found they were hiring and firing up to 150 people a year. Some of these franchisees didn't like lots of employees, so for them they didn't enjoy what they were doing.
2. It is a cash business. Owners usually have to be around when cash is a big part of the business – you can't expect to have thousands of dollars in currency floating around your store without attracting employee theft. Many franchise
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