Does Industry Really Matter When Searching for a Franchise?

Written by Tim Parmeter | January 27, 2018

Job title and industry define us in the corporate world. The job title is like our scoreboard. The higher up the corporate food chain, the more obvious it is as to how successful we are. The industry tells the world where our expertise is. When it's time to find the next position, these two things, more than anything else, are the focus of our search. Try to skip a level with your position and potential employers will tell you that you don’t have enough experience. Try to change industry, and you risk hearing that you don’t have the right experience.

These realities, whether justified or not, get beaten into our brains over time. So, when people begin to search for franchise ownership opportunities, they assume they need to do so in the industry in which they've always worked. However, the reality is that that's just not true. The industry in which we've worked shouldn't limit our search because we've gained numerous skills that can be transferred to virtually any other industry.

Job Title & Industry are Not Crucial to Owning a Franchise

Unfortunately, most corporations don't understand this at all. On the other hand, franchisors actually understand this completely. This understanding of what is truly important is why most every franchisor focuses on skills, core values, and goals when they're assessing a candidate's potential as an owner. Rarely is the franchise owner flipping a burger, cutting hair, cleaning a house, or swinging a hammer, so why do they need years of experience with those skills? The answer is they don't. We've outlined some key attributes that franchise owners should have:

Owners need to be:

Leaders,
team-builders,
or networkers.

They also need to be:

Driven to succeed,
able to be creative,
able to adapt,
all while effectively implementing a proven system.

All of these traits are industry agnostic and most, if not all, of these traits are possessed by the professionals we help achieve their dream of business ownership.

What Do You Want to Do Every Day?

The key to finding the perfect franchise match is identifying and understanding what one truly wants to do every day. We call this the "get out of bed" test. You're going to get out of bed and go to work at your business. Let's make this day as ideal as possible, and ask yourself:

Who do I want to interact with (staff, customers, partners, etc.), and what do I want those conversations to sound like?
What core values and beliefs do I have and how can they translate to the core values and culture of my business?

The answers to these questions are the real drivers behind the search to find the perfect franchise. Does industry matter? Of course it does, but it is just one of many pieces to the puzzle.

Making a Paradigm Shift in Understanding

Making a paradigm shift regarding the importance of industry – or lack thereof – in the search for a franchise is not easy. Engaging in a conversation with a franchise coach is a great way to successfully and efficiently navigate this process. There is a never a fee for working with FranCoach. It just takes a bit of time, an interest in potentially owning a business, and an open mind to explore a new process. When you are ready to learn more please reach out to schedule a brief introductory conversation.

In the meantime, check out the list of former FranCoach clients below. The list shows the clients' most recent corporate title and industry next to the industry of the franchise they began. You'll notice that some ended up in a similar industry, but the majority landed in an industry that was different, sometimes very different. The key for all of them was finding the fit that passed the "get out of bed" test. From there, everything else just falls into place.

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