In the franchising world, one of the most common concerns about a home inspection business opportunity is the difference between starting a business from scratch and investing in a franchise. Though these two things are the same at their core - each is a way of owning your own business - they are still fundamentally different in these three major ways:
- Planning
- Support
- Training
If you are trying to decide between investing in a franchise and starting your own business, keep reading to learn the key differences between the two.
Difference #1: Planning
Planning for your business is crucial, regardless of which route you take. The planning stage is much more extensive if you start a business from the ground up than it is if you choose a franchise. For example, starting your own business requires that you come up with a name, logo, products, and services to start out. Next, you have to spend time writing operations manuals and choosing policies and procedures that you and your employees will follow. Additionally, finding and researching technology and systems requires quite a bit of time and money.
Franchising, on the other hand, allows you to skip all of these steps, getting you that much closer to finding customers and turning a profit. Taking advantage of a franchise opportunity puts you ahead of the game and saves you both time and money during the planning stage. You will certainly still need to spend time on business planning - writing goals, making projections, and developing marketing plans are all necessary - but you can skip the initial parts and jump ahead.
Difference #2: Support
It goes without saying that owning your own business requires a lot of hard work, regardless of whether you start your own or invest. Support is key to keeping your focus on the big picture and staying sane throughout the process.
When you start your own business from scratch, the support from your family and friends can make a big difference to you. Unfortunately, that is where your support network stops. In contrast, franchise systems are loaded with support and resources designed to help you with anything from training employees to marketing to new clients to staying up to date on the industry.
Difference #3: Training
Simply put, training is non-existent when you start your own business from scratch. Unless your background is in the same industry, you will have little to no training on technology, services, or best practices. Additionally, if you have never owned a business before, there is a learning curve that you will need to get past as you grow accustomed to all the roles of business owner.
In this regard, franchising could not be more different than starting your own business. As a franchisee, you receive training on a wide range of topics including:
- The industry
- The brand
- The best practices and operations guidelines
- Business skills (sales, bookkeeping, human resources management, etc.)
- The technologies and systems that make the business run well
- The marketing strategies that the company uses
This training gives you the tools and skills you need to thrive with a home inspection business opportunity in ways that starting a business from scratch cannot.
Before you start a business all on your own, consider investing in a franchise to benefit from expert planning, support, and training. Pillar To Post is the #1 home inspection franchise in North America, and we help our franchisees every step of the way. Learn more about us by downloading our infographic.