Franchise businesses were on the rise pre-pandemic. Experts suggest that budding entrepreneurs will continue to want to latch their wagons into more successful franchises because it assures them that they will have a return on investment (ROI). Will it surprise you that people still want to invest in this economy? Yes, even when everything is going downhill, people find franchises a great option for the future.
For the past decade, the top franchise has been the food business. More particularly, entrepreneurs are putting their money in the chicken restaurant franchise. It might seem like a cop-out to franchise a fried chicken business when practically every family has its own “unique” fried chicken recipe that can sell. However, franchises are decidedly easier to set up. Not to mention that its stability assures entrepreneurs that their money is safe.
Food Franchises
It doesn’t matter where you operate your business. Food is always going to be a great product. The only question is, what food should you sell? In the United States, the top food franchises are Dunkin’, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, and Smoothie King. These are household names. Whenever your target market thinks about buying burgers, McDonald’s comes to mind. The same can be said for donuts, tacos, and pizza. These are the brand names that people immediately think of when they want to stuff themselves with burgers, shakes, and pizza.
Service-oriented
The UPS Store is one of the most affordable franchise options in the country. Basically, the company works on the premise that a third of online purchases are being returned. Someone needs to take care of that. The UPS Store also partners with other major retailers, so they take care of returned products for several big brands. Every city should have at least one The UPS Store to service a huge population that’s becoming more dependent on online shopping.
Hardware Stores
Ace Hardware is one of the most popular franchise businesses. It recently ranked No. 6 on the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list. The store boasts that there’s an Ace Hardware within 15 minutes of every American home. In the third quarter of last year, Ace’s online sales rose by more than 80% because it begins offering customers the ability to have their orders delivered to the nearest branch.
In recent times, people trooped to hardware stores because quarantining at home turned into a do-it-yourself opportunity. They started renovating and redesigning their homes by themselves. This is the reason why Ace Hardware was one of the few businesses that posed a positive growth this year.
Competing With Similar Businesses
Since these are the most popular franchises today, you will notice that many entrepreneurs are getting into selling the same products and services. They are following in the footsteps of these successful franchise models. Today, you will find a chicken and burger restaurant with the same business model as McDonald’s. You’ll also have one-stop-shops like Ace Hardware trying to get a slice of the pie.
If you want to be above your competitors, you have to find out who they are and what they do. You need to keep up with them and the various strategies they use to sell more of their products. Knowing who they are will give you the platform to differentiate your business. You can better market your business if you know what you are trying to avoid—falling in the same category as your competitors.
Is owning a franchise the right path for you? With a more stable setup, franchises are the best options for people with little knowledge of running a business. It’s also far more profitable than starting your own business because it has an established clientele only. The only thing you have to figure out is which franchise to invest your money in and differentiate your business from its competitors.
