Are Franchise Owners Entrepreneurs?

                                                                                                                        

No. The person who came up with the concept, and invented the franchise system for that concept is the entrepreneur.

Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. or Mrs. prospective franchise owner.....

I will tell you that owning one's own franchise is certainly more entrepreneurial than working for a corporation, like this one.

But, pure entrepreneurship is much different than franchise ownership, and that's ok. That's why before embarking on a serious pursuit of a franchise to buy, you should make sure that your specific personality traits are right for the business model of franchising. It is not for everybody! {Would you like to find out if you are, in fact, franchise material? Go here.}

Take me, for instance. I am not franchise material. I am way to feisty. Look!

So, before you spend several weeks of your precious time searching endlessly for that perfect franchise, make sure you are right for the business model itself. If not, don't despair. There are other ways to "own what you do." 

If you are franchise material, and you would like some help, just contact me. If you live in Northeast Ohio, I'll be your guide, and coach. If you live outside of Northeast Ohio, I'll introduce you to one of my fellow franchise professionals, who can help you navigate your way through sometimes confusing franchise paths.

Now, back to entrepreneurship.

I just read a great article titled "Not Everyone Is An Entrepreneur."

Here is how it starts out;

"A lot of people nurture that dream of dumping the corporate world, with all its regimen and frustrations, and venturing out on their own to run the business of their choice. But the entrepreneurial world is also fraught with challenges, so how do you know if it’s for you?'

Check out the 10 characteristics that Marty Zwilling suggests you look at, to see if you are an entrepreneur, or not.. He's the founder of startupprofessionals.com

Questions about any facet of franchising? Answers are here.

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So, are you an entrepreneur? Do you agree or disagree with this post?

Contact me

Comments

[Raj Sharma]

Are franchise owners entrepreneurs?

I suppose the answer depends on the definition of 'entrepreneur'.

Much like one could say that only lawyers, doctors and priests are 'true' professionals (and exclude everyone else, including teachers, journalists, and waste management 'professionals').

In any event, I disagree with you. If franchise ownership involves the organization of a business venture with an assumption of risk and profit, then it is difficult to deny them the entrepreneur sobriquet (or honorific?).

[The Franchise King]

Christian,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write a comment, and share your feelings about this.

I will stick to my guns on this one, and once again state that being a franchisee is certainly more entrepreneurial than working in corporate America.

Of course, some franchise concepts lend themselves to a tad more entrepreneurial mindset with their franchisees, which as you stated, makes it crucial to make sure that you are in fact, right for the business model of franchising.

I am excited to learn more about your foundry, Christian.

The Franchise King
Joel Libava

[Christian Faulconer]

Joel,

I read this article a couple days ago and I've left it open in my browser because I've been putting a lot of thought into this and I *think* I disagree with you but not entirely. That's pretty weak of me, isn't it?

I keep going back and forth but I think that's because I agree that not ALL franchise owners are entrepreneurs, but some most certainly are. I think that anybody who takes significant risk with the goal of building long-term value in a business deserves to be called an entrepreneur. Franchisees who put their life savings on the line to get started in their own franchise may not be taking the same risk that another entrepreneur is taking, but it's still a risk that should be recognized.

But when it comes right down to it, the reason I struggled with a response to this post is that you are 100% correct that being a franchisee isn't for everyone. And it is a mistake to jump into franchising without knowing what you are getting into and whether or not franchising is a good fit for your personality.

Love the blog and the thought-provoking post.