When looking into franchising, the options, as far as available franchisors, are almost overwhelming.  Any business that you may have dreamed about going into exists, with multiple brands and business models already established and proving profitable.  Having so many available options can make it difficult during the initial “narrowing down” process of selecting a franchisor.  There are so many questions you have to ask yourself along the way, such as “Do I want to start big, or start small and work my way up?”

The Big Start

If you have a lot of capital and want to start big, there are certainly plenty of options available.  Granted, the larger the franchise, the greater the investment and the greater the risk.  This is why big franchise operations like major motel chains mainly appeal to those who have already established themselves within the industry.  These franchises are very expensive, but can also provide the highest return on investment if handled properly.

Large franchises are intended to be able to reach the greatest amount of customers within a region starting from the moment the doors open for the first time.  However, there is very little room for growth within the individual franchise.  What you start with is generally what you continue on with, with only minimal modification.  The potential for profit is certainly there in a big way, but the potential for growth is minimal.

Building Up

When you go into business as a motel franchisee, or a fast-food chain owner then you start big and, more or less, retain your size with only minimal growth in the franchise and in profits.  On the other hand, if you enter into a franchising agreement with one of the many franchisors that offer small business plans with the potential for almost unrestricted growth, then you are only limited by your own initiative.

When you start small, obviously, you don’t see as much profit as the big guys.  However, you’ve also invested less and you have more control of how your business grows.  There are a number of small franchise, such as waste oil management operations, that can be run from home and whose growth is only limited by the ability and drive of the owner.

This degree of flexibility, freedom and unrestricted potential makes small franchise ownership very appealing.  This small scale model of franchising is especially well suited to first time owners who don’t have a lot to invest and to those who want a hands-on owner operated business.  The owner-operated franchises provide a level of control that bigger franchises cannot.

The Perfect Fit

Small franchises are almost all intended to have a broad potential for growth.  By starting small you are often affording yourself the ability to expand far beyond the scope of what you would have been able to do by purchasing a larger, but more static, franchise.  Over time a small business can become something that rivals big franchises for profitability while retaining the relatively small initial investment and risk.  This makes small franchises not only promising for first time owners, but also the safer investment in many cases.