In a dog-eat-dog world where businesses fight for attention in an ocean full of competitors, franchising becomes that lighthouse to help the budding entrepreneur find his way through stormy seas. But Become a Franchise? Franchising provides that readymade recipe for success while allowing owners to inject their flair. It’s like baking a cake with a readymix pack but adding that little touch with sprinkles.

You are in the middle of an industry which has another zillion other players in it. Think of it-you can buy a bicycle with fine-tuned gears rather than build one from scratch. That gives you a strong base besides saving lots of your time and also minimizes risk. Recognition of the brand means a lot. People are naturally drawn toward brands they know. Picking a franchise allows a new business to jump over that huge hurdle of making people trust them.

The heavy lifting of marketing? Already done. Once a franchise gets off the ground, businesses tap into nationwide or even global marketing campaigns. Imagine it was like having a megaphone, greatly amplifying your message beyond the block party. Franchises succeed together, sharing best practices and playing the dice together, kind of like being part of an extended family—a boisterous yet supporting one—where the success of any one member reverberates across the table.

It’s the training and support they receive. Franchisors pretty much give them a treasure map, replete with directions and how to watch out for pitfalls, so the franchisees can just run the show instead of putting together the game plan. They sell them a bag full of tools and resources, offering them every opportunity to keep learning and not be some kind of lone wolf out there trying to hunt everything. Franchisees have a network and a support system, at best, like having your cake and eating it.