Buying a franchise is often a good way for people to own a business, who might not have as much experience or confidence in running a business. Franchises offers a safer alternative, with less risk & more support than building a business from scratch.

The success of franchises' comes down to the fact you have a proven and working business model, with many other franchisees having already taken the (hopefully successful) step into owning the same franchise.

Benefits of owning a franchise:

- Established brand.

- Established marketing campaigns.

- Cumulative purchasing power.

- Proven successful business model.

- Support, assistance and training.

- Risk avoidance.

Before jumping headfirst into a franchise, you should tread carefully. It is likely you will be sinking a lot of money into non-recoverable costs - for example, franchise fees, legal costs and brand new equipment/store setups.

You should also be weary of new franchises promoting the 'best new thing' - no matter what the flashy brochures say. Be certain to speak to existing franchise holders to see if they are successful, and if not, why not.

With the added support of the franchise, they usually have a vested interest in you succeeding which has helped it to become a very popular way for less experienced people to become self employed. However it shouldn't stop you from going alone. The success of your business is only going to be as good as the franchise operator, if the marketing falls short - it could hit you badly as well.

A lot of people buy into franchises purely as a job, and it doesn't always live up to people's expectations. You should make sure you do the proper research and be realistic about the goals the business can achieve, before you hand over your cash.