Franchises and business comment – Born in the storm.

The recession may be over but the turbulent last couple years has taken its toll leaving many people out of work and redundant. With the current unemployment figure being the highest since the mid 1990’s, it’s obvious that there are many looking for work or wondering how best to get their lives back on track.

For those people who are currently still out of work and looking for a brighter future, starting a franchise business could well be a way out of the doldrums.  Throughout the recession and into 2010, franchising has remained a robust business model.

The latest NatWest Bank 2010 survey indicates that 89% of franchise businesses were trading profitably in 2009; a staggering statistic considering the many businesses that fell foul of the recession, being forced into looking at redundancies, job cuts, or even closure of their businesses.

With such statistics as those NatWest one’s, starting a franchise has proved to be a good investment when compared to conventional self-employment where generally 4 out of 5 businesses don’t make it beyond 3 years of trading.

The old quote is still relevant –  risk gets reward; it has to be in that order and without risk the other doesn’t come. Of course, franchise business is not without risk. Where money is invested there is always a degree of risk so making some wise choices can maximise the probability of success.

Reading online guides such as these here and here. Look for businesses that are winning against the headwind of the economy. For example look for businesses that solve other challenges like this here. Pick the winners; dont strive to become a TV Engineer because you watch TV lots. Don’t become a dance teacher because you like to Salsa. Don’t go for a lawn franchise because you like to wear shorts and fancy a tan. Don’t start to touch up cars with paint because you like driving. Look for trends and market direction. Look for the real opportunities and for goodness sake act on them.