A person considering buying a franchise will look to a franchise chain that matches the skill set that he/she may have learned during the course of their career. For example, a CPA with an existing clientele, may look to purchase a tax-preparation franchise, a restaurant chef could invest in a fast food franchise, or a grocery store manager might look to buy into a gas station/convenience store franchise. People might assume that the experience gained from their previous career might equate to owning a similar franchise business model. What is overlooked, is that no matter what type of experience you have, being an “owner” is unlike being an employee and it takes a different mindset to succeed.

Working 60 Plus Hours Per Week
The first cultural shock new franchise owners get, is that they no longer will be able to “punch out” at 5:00 pm. Most successful first-time franchise owners work 60, 70 or even 80 or more hours per week to make sure that the business gets off to a successful start.

Meeting a Weekly Payroll
No matter what you think you might want to spend money on, you will have employees that are counting on you to write and sign their paychecks every week. This alone is an avalanche of non-stop responsibility that is as mentally taxing as anything you will encounter in business.

Firing Employees
If business slows down or if an employee is underperforming, you may be faced with having to fire an employee who desperately needs the job to support their family. Will you be able to break the bad news to them? Are you prepared to keep a professional separation from your employees to that you can make the tough decision to fire them if you absolutely must do so?

Accounting Skills
If you have never been an accountant or a bookkeeper, you may be shocked at the number of records and the level of detail that you are required to maintain for your business for income and sales tax purposes. If your franchise doesn’t offer one, you might consider taking a course in accounting and bookkeeping in order to get a feel for what will be required of you.

These are just a few of the many overlooked business skills that will be required of a new franchisee. You may be unpleasantly surprised to find out that the franchisor does not do as much for you as you assumed they would. In order to get a full overview of the responsibilities of the franchisor and what responsibilities fall to you, and also as to what it will take to successfully start and run a franchise, call franchise attorney Mario L. Herman for a consultation.