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For those entrepreneurs itching to start their own business, purchasing a franchise can be a good alternative. We have written an entire separate blog on why you may want to consider buying a franchise over starting a business from scratch (which you can read here).

Here are our top tips for starting a franchise in 2018:

Get your finances in order

There’s no hiding the fact that starting a franchise will almost certainly require a substantial initial investment, so it’s important to ensure you have your finances in check before going any further.

Try to save as much cash as possible before committing to owning a franchise, as it may take a while for the business to get off the ground, so you want to ensure you have enough to cover both your personal and business expenses.

There’s a good chance you’ll be taking out a loan to help finance your franchise. So, aim to pay down any debts and improve your credit score to increase the chances of your loan application being approved, and qualify for a better interest rate.

Do your research

You may already have a good idea of the industry you’d like to buy a franchise in, or you might have no clue. If you are the latter, the first step is to consider which areas you are skilled and knowledgeable in, and the areas that you are most passionate about. You should also look for industries which fit your budget.

If you know exactly which industry you want to be in, we still recommend talking to other franchise owners, and looking into the different potential companies and their respective franchise programmes. If you’re interested in starting a franchise in the removal industry, you can find out the benefits of owning a Moving Home Made Easy franchise here.

Once you have decided on your industry and the franchise opportunity which best suits your needs, spend as much time as you can learning as much as possible about your new sector, as this will give you a head start when you eventually open your franchise, and reduce the number of things you’ll need to learn the hard way.

Make a business plan

Once you have decided on the franchise you want to start, you’ll want to write up a business plan.

The thought of doing so may be intimidating, especially if you don’t have a great deal of business experience, but it can be as simple as setting some goals with the steps you will take to reach them, and doing a financial projection for the next year. Your franchisor should be able to help you with the numbers, and give you an idea of what you can realistically expect to achieve.