Finding A Franchise Is Financially Fantastic

On February 10th, we blogged about the benefits of buying a franchise. With notes from Business.com’s Nate Waymire, the Synergy Merchant Services Blog worked to highlight some of the attributes that make purchasing a franchise a wise choice for entrepreneurs in this new decade.  QMI Agency’s Stefania Moretti strengthens our view in today’s edition of The Toronto Sun.

She points out that starting your own business requires the raising of a fair bit of capital. Opening a franchise, however, helps for upstart business owners to have the advantage of running a business with a proven track record as a means to secure profits.

Explains Moretti: “Franchising is a business model whereby a company or individual (franchisor) licenses the right to use a trademark, brand and operating system for a fee to a franchisee. Franchised business accounts for 40% of all retail sales, or $90 billion per year, and 10% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product, according to the Canadian Franchise Association.”

Evidently, franchises throughout Canada are proving to be lucrative ventures for many franchisees. This is especially true for owners of Tim Hortons locations throughout the nation. According to Moretti, the Canadian coffee and donut shop is “arguably Canada’s most famous franchise.” The cost to open one, in fact, is close to the half a million dollars mark.

Nevertheless, the pressures associated with a recession-laden economy over the past year has encouraged more entrepreneurs to buy into franchises as a way to better determine their future economic successes. According to Lorraine McLachlan, CFA president and chief executive, the “demand for franchises remained strong even through the height of the financial meltdown.”

Said McLachlan: “The recession created the desire within people to control their own future…their own finances.” For would-be business owners, it is important to know what types of industries are the best to become involved in. Moretti points out that the CFA’s annual directory listed the top five franchise growth categories as seniors and home, business consulting, retail, health/fitness and nutrition and food.

This weekend, the CFA is hosting a Franchise Show at the Toronto Congress Centre to further assimilate entrepreneurs with the concept of buying into a franchise. If you haven’t yet started up your own business, attending this show may be the very first step you need to finding yourself in a more profitable business situation.

It is important to act quickly though. As Moretti advises: “Waiting lists for the most popular franchises can be long, but you can bump yourself up on that list if you are willing to relocate to areas the company has outlined as desirable.”