To Buy a franchise or not to buy? That is the question!

It is no secret that owning your own business is how wealth has been created. Let me share statistics that have long been swirling around. When I was a young entrepreneur in my early 20’s (in the early 70’s) these statistics were ubiquitous for those who were selling franchises or network marketing opportunities. But, amazingly, the numbers are still (almost exactly) the same numbers as 30+ years ago.

– 100 People At Age 65 (SOURCE: Social Security Admin)
16 Are Dead
66 Annual Income Under $30,000
13 Income Over $30,000
5 Income Over $60,000
1 Only One is Wealthy

– The Wealthy 1% (SOURCE: The New Interagency: Older Americans 2000)
10% Top Professionals
10% CEO’s – Stock
5% Super Sales Persons
1% Athletes / Entertainers
74% Business Owners

Now I don’t know about you but I certainly don’t want to be dead or dead broke at age 65 nor do I want the Government, family or relatives to be burdened with my expenses as I age. Moreover, I am 5’8” tall, can’t sing and I am not one of the very, very few atop the corporate pyramid with lucrative stock options. So, as an average person with average abilities and average education, what are my options to be wealthy? The best most probable answer is to be a Business Owner.

OK, now that I realize that my best odds, my best chance at creating wealth is to be a business owner, what kind of business do I “own” or start?

If you listen to the experts, starting a small business seems to be right up there with shark-diving and base-jumping as a dangerous activity that’s best avoided. Even so, most business experts conform to a theory of “thirds”: Of all the new business startups, 1/3 eventually turn a profit, 1/3 break even, and 1/3 never leave a negative earnings scenario. According to a study by the U.S. Small Business Association, only 2/3 of all small business startups survive the first two years and less than half make it to four years. With numbers like that, it’s no wonder so many would-be entrepreneurs think twice before taking the plunge. Especially when you are about to sink into your home equity, cash in your 401K, or spend your hard earned savings or alike.

Franchises are considered a sure-shot way to a successful business. They have an established structure and reputation and are recognized for their brand value. Figures for franchises show:

* Total franchise sales in 2000 were over $1 trillion
* Nearly 50% of all retail sales are through franchises
* Franchises are currently doing business in 70 industry verticals
* 8 million people are employed by franchises in the U.S., with 5 to 14 employed per franchise
* Franchised businesses create more than 170,000 new jobs each year
* 1 in 12 business establishments is a franchise
* A new franchise opens every 8 minutes of every business day
* There are approximately 3,300 franchisors and over 500,000 franchise units in the U.S.
* The U.S. Commerce Department says that fewer than 5% of franchises were terminated on an annual basis
* According to a study by Arthur Anderson & Company (a company now out of business) of 366 franchise companies, nearly 97% were still in business after 5 years. In contrast, a study by the U.S. Small Business Administration revealed that 62.2% of all new businesses failed within their first 6 years of business

I ran across this website that I found interesting. It is a “franchise broker’s” website.

At this website you can view a plethora of franchise opportunities. Costs range from a few thousand dollars to “pick a number”.

Network Marketing or MLM
What does Warren Buffet, Robert Kiyosaki, Bill Gates, David Bach, and other financial industry experts know about Network Marketing or MLM that most people don’t know? They love and in fact are pundits for the industry when by and large, the vast percentage of Americans, and actually most parts of the world, POO POO Network Marketing? Now wait…wait a moment, is there any correlation to the vastness of poo pooing and the percentage of those who are dead or dead broke with their current “success strategy?’ Let me see…..whose business acumen do I listen to? Warren Buffett or Aunt Mildred?

So let’s compare Network Marketing with Franchising!

Network Marketing

Franchising

Financial Freedom

There is no Financial Freedom for FREE. The question is do you want to exchange your home equity, 401 K, or hard earned savings for a Franchise that costs a ton and has a 62.2% chance of going out of business in the first 6 years or invest a small amount of money in Network Marketing along with sweat equity into a proven system, with a proven company, and a proven commodity with a proven success team? What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Network Marketing is the best business decision I have made in 30 + years or being in business. I love the business model which is 100% predicated upon the success of your team. Zig Zigglar said, “If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want. That is what we do.

Please touch base with me if you are open to the possibilities.

Glade Poulsen