Should you work where you live? And should you live where you work? For many reasons, this is a personal preference that new franchisees run into as they are opening up their business. In the planning stages, you’ll decide what industry and brand you’ll work for, as well as where your franchise will be located. In most cases, you’ll have a franchising territory, in which your company can exist within a certain range. Geographical borders that are determined by population base, traffic, and more. This is so that towns aren’t oversaturated with a particular industry, and so franchise owners don’t compete with their own brand. This is most often done with extensive research comparing any number of variables. Therefore, it’s smart to open the right type of business in the right location.
But do you want to work where you live? Some franchise owners prefer to live close to work. Others would rather have some separation and be able to leave, getting far from their career at the end of the day. Other times, it simply isn’t a choice – the industry you love most is oversaturated in your area, so you have to travel to work in your genre of preference. All of these factors come into play when choosing your franchising industry, brand, and location.
Do you want to live nearby work? Or vice versa? Is your preferred industry heavy in your area? Or are you open to trying something new? Decide what’s important to you to create the best outcome when opening your next business venture.
Finding Your Best Franchising Market
When it comes down to it, there are two main questions to ask yourself: what will your market support? And what type of industry do you want to be in? Weighing the answers to these key queries will help you determine the best path for your franchising industry journey.
Your market will be open to any number of franchising business industries. Look at the size of the population, popular interests, ages and personality types that live in the area, and so forth. You can also pair this data against any franchising brands who are looking to expand nearby – they have likely already done the research and will know if your town or neighborhood is a good fit for their business model. In addition, there may be brands who have put this data into action and determined the area not to be a good fit. The good news? You won’t have to waste any time or energy; they’ve done the hard part. You can just move on to the next company that has determined it will succeed in your area.
The more serious you become about franchising and starting your next – or first! – location, consider reaching out to brands that interest you and see if they have openings in your workplace of choice.
How Often Do You Plan to Visit Your Franchise Location?
If you prefer to work on a more hands-off format, living far from your job shouldn’t be a problem. You’ll spend little time on your commute, and there are folks in place who can be called in case of an emergency. Managers, assistant managers, on-site co-franchisers, etc. all of these people can get on-site quickly when they’re needed.
This is also true for franchisees who own many locations. Logistically, it’s impossible to live near them all, so at least one of your stops will be far away. Franchise owners who have multiple locations are also more likely to have employees who help them manage daily tasks. These are the very folks you call when you need them, and they can help pick up the slack.
However, if you plan to run your business as an on-site manager, distance will become more of an issue. Daily commutes will become tiresome and can take away from your work and personal time alike. Meanwhile, when you do take off, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to get back on-site in a hurry. While living far away from your franchise location isn’t impossible as a hands-on franchisee, it can make things more complicated. Therefore, it’s important to take it all in before moving down this path.
Keep in mind that living nearby can keep you better informed about your customer base, as well as more vulnerable on a personal level. There are give and take to both options, the “best” choice for each franchisee depends on their personality and business model.
There can be many benefits from living close to your franchise location, however, it’s not a preference that everyone wants to take on. Consider diving in deep to the logistics in either scenario in order to create your ideal business setup.