What Are the Disadvantages in Running a Franchise Business?

When you become a franchisee you will have to abide by the discipline imposed by the chain. This means that you will have to sacrifice some of the freedoms you may be used to in the name of the advantages brought about by strict order. If you think you can open and close the shop whenever you like, or you can improvise sales and discounts at will (‘A roast chicken with very insurance bought!’), to fail to provide receipts and to lag behind in your employees’ social security and medical benefits contributions, you should remain in that pat of the economy that likes a thick shadow. Do not apply for a franchise – you are not ready for it.

Keep in mind that many franchisees buy two or more outlets of the same chain; they are obviously happy and their happiness shows the advantages of organized systems. It is not an accident that the richest countries in the world are the best organized too, whereas the poorest ones are beholden to chaos.

Business means keeping busy, not idle. If your aim is to maintain a leisurely lifestyle and to receive passive income (rent) then franchising is not your business – neither as a franchisor nor as a franchisee. If your motive is to dabble in something for a couple of years and then have a second kid, better buy lotto tickets, not a franchise. Franchising is a business, not a Ponzi scheme or passive investment.