I read an excellent post recently about The Secrets to Success in Franchising. I love what blog author Mike Sheehan had to say to start the article,

If the title of this article caught your attention because you’re looking for a magic bullet, stop reading right now. There is no such thing – for any of your goals. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, quit smoking or achieve success in franchising, a quick fix or an easy solution will lead you to only one inevitable destination: failure.

But he does come forward with some concrete action steps in the blog post to increase your chances of success in franchising. One thing Mike says is that people will do more due diligence in buying a car than buying a franchise. As impossible as it sounds, particularly given the fact many people are investing their life savings, this is often true. Don’t be one of those people. Conduct due diligence on many fronts including a self-assessment of whether you have the mindset to be a franchisee, your strengths and weaknesses as a prospective business owner, and your financial picture. Only after performing those assessments would I look at researching specific franchises.

By the time most people come to me they have already decided to purchase a specific franchise. Sure I have seen people change their mind but most often they are moving forward regardless of what I tell them. Don’t be one of those people either. Don’t make the review of the franchise disclosure document and franchise agreement an afterthought. A good business person will consider the agreement as an crucial part of the deal. If it doesn’t make sense to sign the agreement, the good business person will walk away. Be one of those who are willing to walk away. You just might find that you will get a better deal and hopefully one that can help put you on the path to success. And if you can’t get a deal done that makes sense, don’t be afraid to acknowledge it just wasn’t meant to be. There are plenty of franchise concepts out there to consider.

Like any business, success in franchising is not easy. The statistics show that franchise businesses fail at roughly the same rate as independent businesses. But following the steps Mike sets out in his post definitely should help to increase your chances of success.