Are Franchises worth the intial investment and the royalties?

Yes and no. Many franchises are worth the investment particularly if you have no experience in the related field and a well known brand is important. However, if you have a lot of experience in the field there are plenty of resources to help you with areas i.e. technology that you may not be as familiar with.

I agree with Boston I think most of the time a reasonably intelligent person can start their own business and do just as well without the burden of royalty payments. However, if you believe the statistics 9/10 franchises are still around after 5 years. The numbers are alot lower for independent businesses.

I have tried both and I can tell you it is a lot easier and sometimes more profitable to buy a frachise:

-They have the brand
-They have all the procedures and tools in place
-They have the marketing materials

Of course not every Franchisor is the same!!!

Why not try it on your own and then if you do not feel you are growing as rapidly as you think you should search for a franchise?

Often times it is not reasonable or feasible to try it on your own first and then buy into a franchise later. By the time you realize you aren't making it on your own you may have lost a significant amount (or all) of your capital. You may not be able to come up with the start up money and license fees to start over with a franchise.

So, yes it certainly can be a good investment to start off with a franchise. As has been stated already, if you don't have experience with business start ups, you would be wise to go with a franchise. If you choose well, most of the leg work has already been done. They will already have vendors in place for equipment and inventory and marketing plans and detailed training and help with location and lease negotiations. Also, you will have a resource to turn to when you encounter a problem you don't know how to resolve yourself. Franchises can definitely be worth the cost. And there are many franchises that are priced reasonably with low royalties. Just keep digging to find these gems.

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Sylvia
http://smallbusinessstartup.BIZ
Small Biz Startup & Business Plan Help

I agree with Bizdev be careful about using up all your capital!