(FS2) Finding Trends in the Franchise Industry
A great example of this is in the restaurant industry with franchising. You may think that all food based franchises are the same. Pizza restaurants are an excellent example of this. There are some restaurants that deliver and others that don’t. You will find that some offer a restaurant inside where people can enjoy their pizza and others that only allow for takeout or delivery. While the basic idea of selling pizza is the same with each of these, they do have different business models. The initial investment with these businesses will vary significantly as well as the number of employees you will need and other aspects. So this is why it is important to remember that just because you see franchises within the same category that you do not assume that they are the same. Each franchise is a little different.
Another example to look at with this is hair salons. These franchises may be designed to cut only men’s hair or maybe just for women. Some will only offer cuts while others will offer perms, hair coloring. Others still may have nail services as well as hair services. Even the products that are offered in the salon will be different depending on the franchise.
It may seem like all this information on franchise opportunities is overwhelming. Many people get overwhelmed when they start to think not only about the categories but the direct competitors in the industry and try to find the one that will be best. Just make sure you are informed on the franchise you buy before you buy it and you will be fine. Some people find it helpful to get all their information from one source and then go from there to investigate individual franchises.
Look at Trends
A big aspect you will want to explore when looking for a franchise is to determine what’s hot or trending. With all the different options for franchise opportunities it may seem that this is the real way to navigate the various options. The biggest thing to keep in mind with this is that trends are constantly changing. Make sure when you look at trends that
you pay attention to the date on the source to know if is still reliable and true. Here’s a few examples of things to keep in mind with different industries:
- if you are looking for something trendy in casual restaurants then the movement for healthier and fresher menus will have a huge impact on this market. You will want to look for a franchise that really capitalizes on this.
- As parents work longer hours, finding the right daycare and after school programs for children are important. This is why you will want to consider looking at a program that offers education and entertainment for children. You may even want to look at the menus the franchise offers for children to ensure that you are getting one that offers healthier food, as this is something parents care about.
- For those that want to consider senior care for their franchise, it is important to find one that really fills the need of seniors while also embracing the fact that being 65 is not what it was a couple decades ago.
Another thing to remember is that each year there are new trends that emerge in technology, medicine, science and other industry. You should keep up on these trends. Analyze which ones are simply fads and which ones can be useful not just for that particular industry but that can also be translated to the franchise industry you are considering.
If you do plan to go with a franchise in one of the most popular industries, then it is a good idea to choose one of the smaller or newer franchises. This is will give you more flexibility than some of the larger franchises. This is why it is also a good opportunity to choose one of the smaller franchises so that you can have more flexibility and have less competition.
