Want to start a business? Consider opening a franchise!

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In the current economic situation, many people are getting fired, loosing their jobs, and looking towards the opportunity to start their own business. But some of those people do not have any clue what kind of business they want to start, or even how to start one. Enter the opportunity to open a franchise. Franchise opportunities are all around you in your life, all you have to do is look around.

There are tons of different franchise available for you and your needs/interests. Whether it is a low cost franchise opportunityor something extreme and expensive. Every year Entrepreneur Magazine publishes their list of the Top 500 Franchises; this is a great place to look if you are interested in the opportunities out there and also to use as a quick guide about different businesses because it will tell you the market they are in, the start up costs, and more.

Here are the top 10 franchises from Entrepreneur Magazines list:

1. 7-Eleven
2. Subway
3. Dunkin’ Donuts
4. Pizza Hit
5. McDonald’s
6. Sonic Drive In
7. KFC Corp.
8. InterContinential Hotels Group
9. Domino’s Pizza
10. Re/Max

About.com also has some great information on franchises and a list of some of the most popular ones out there. There is another website, which hosts a list of the top 500 franchises and that can be found at the Franchise Buyers Network.

I am sure I do not need to explain the huge list of benefits of starting a franchise and the extra level that you can reach by doing so versus starting from scratch, but here are a few just in case.

1. Proven Business – Although it is still risky starting a franchise and launching a business, the risk is lowered because the the model has been proven successful previously. If it hadn’t, you wouldn’t be able to franchise it right? The corporation should be well aware of how to do business in the industry and market that you will be operating and should be able to help you out a lot when getting started.
2. Established Customer Base – Even if you are launching a franchise in a new territory, just having the brand name of your business known by people all around will be helpful in attracting new customers to your location. Perhaps they go to your franchise in another area whenever they visit or always wanted to see your franchise open in your location, now it is time to take advantage of those people! The brand awareness will provide trust, quality, and security to the customer.
3. Marketing – You as a smaller franchise operation will obviously benefit from any marketing efforts that the larger corporation puts out and does. If they run a marketing campaign for a new hamburger or sandwich, you better be sure to have it on your menu because customers will be wanting it. The franchisor can also help you put together your more local marketing plan and provide helpful guidance.
4. Exclusive Territory – Depending on the business you are going to operate, you may be able to have exclusive territory rights to an area which will mean you won’t have competition from within the franchise by another franchisee moving in down the street. This is harder to reach with restaurants (or the territory may be much smaller) but service businesses such as computer repairs or other home repair companies usually offer a good size territory.

Have you thought about opening a franchise? I know I had before. A few of the ones that I have looked at and investigated include: Cold Stone Cremery, Rita’s Water Ice, Five Guys, and Subway.

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