In a recent series on the Guardian website, Entrepreneurs Through The Decades, they examined how people at different stages in their lives had given up the security of full time work to go it alone and launch their own businesses.

I’m sure many people out there are more than capable of making this brave decision – but what if you simply are not an entrepreneur, or cannot risk everything on something that is not proven and has no track record of success? Franchising offers business ownership, but with the security of a proven system. Entrepreneurs need not apply – a franchisee has no need to reinvent the wheel, develop a concept or devise creative ways of launching a new product into the marketplace. All this work has been done by the franchisor and many franchisees across the network have successfully replicated the work in their local area. A successful franchise network will have the same system operating in a wide range of locations and with a wide range of different people running their franchises.

So, you might be twenty-something or sixty-something – but is a franchise the right option for you?

Many franchisors will use personality testing as part of their recruitment process – and there is a good reason for this. The ‘perfect’ franchisee will usually be highly motivated, hard-working, willing to follow a system, level-headed and enjoy communicating with people. Someone who is continually looking to fix something that is not broken or has a habit of putting their foot in it is unlikely to do well as part of a franchise network. If the former description sounds like you, then there is a good chance a franchisor will consider you an excellent candidate.

So, how do you choose the right franchise? That’s a much harder question!

As one of the owners of a franchise network, it is my job to make the final decision on every franchisee that we recruit. It is a hard job and can be extremely frustrating. Sometimes we have people who are totally convinced that our franchise is the best one they have found and are desperate to pay their money and get started – but they are simply not right for us. Sometimes it is the other way round. What we try and do as a network is be as honest and open as possible about our educational system and how it can be operated as a franchise – both the pros and the cons. No business is perfect – what makes it work for an individual is knowing what is going to be involved before committing and being prepared for the journey ahead.

One of the phrases I often hear us using as part of the recruitment process is, “If you picture yourself doing this, are you excited?” It’s an important point. Does the idea of becoming a franchisee within your network of choice make you smile? Do you dream about what you would look like wearing the uniform, or dealing with customers? Do you imagine what it would be like to tell your friends about what you are doing and to have them excited on your behalf? Would you be proud to call yourself a franchisee of this network?

That is possibly the most important part of the process of deciding which franchise is right for you – the emotional investment. If you are the right sort of personality to be a franchisee then there are literally thousands of opportunities out there – which is going to get you in the heart?

You can find out more about the experience of being a MagiKats franchisee by reading some of our other blog posts. Why not read a bit more and then enquire? It does not do any harm to send in an enquiry – we won’t hassle you – promise!