Franchise Value Proposition: Prospects Want to Know – What’s In It For Me?

By: Michael Alston for Franchise Insights

January 23, 2024 – Since we last reported on the motivations of aspiring franchise owners in August 2024, interest rates have eased, and a contentious election was resolved.  But the primary driver for those seeking business ownership has not changed. 

Franchise buyers want to know “what’s in it for me”. Knowing what motivates buyers is key to sales.

Consistent with our very large sample of interested franchise buyers surveyed over five years, “being one’s own boss” remains the primary motivator cited by entrepreneurs researching franchise ownership across the Franchise Ventures network of online franchise lead generation brands.  

• “Be my own boss” was the most selected response when asked “Why do you want to own your own business?”, at 76.8% of the respondents in December 2024.
• The survey allowed for multiple responses, and many entrepreneurs also selected “Income Potential” as an additional reason – it ranks a strong No. 2 at 61.8% in December, similar to the 62.4% of responses seen in July 2024.
• “Lifestyle Rewards” is the third most common motivation, at 47.1% of respondents. This driver includes the benefits of working from home, setting flexible hours or running a seasonal business. Aspects of work flexibility rank closely behind financial considerations among characteristics that prospects find attractive in franchises. The pandemic gave individuals a taste of greater work flexibility, and they now seek opportunities with the confidence that remote work can be productive and help to achieve better work-life balance, while employers are rushing to enforce “back to office” requirements. 
• “Side Business to Supplement Income” suggests shared or part-time ownership or a less-risky path to start a new business while retaining other income streams. This ranked fourth among drivers, cited by 43.3% of respondents in December 2024.
• Finally, “Tired of Climbing the Corporate Ladder” was fifth, cited by 40.2% of respondents in December, up from 32.7% in July 2024. This affirms that many aspiring small-business and franchise owners bring a depth of professional experience to their new ventures. In our December 2024 survey of aspiring business owners,  45.3%  were leaving full-time jobs.

Many of these individuals already have experience with business ownership. In the most recent Small Business Startup Sentiment survey, 20.9% of respondents said they were already current business owners, and the businesses owned by franchise buyers include other franchises.

As we’ve seen in almost five years of surveying small business startup sentiment, control over one’s destiny is the primary driver to saying ‘yes’ to a business purchase.

The fundamental drivers for business ownership have not changed despite the outbreak of wars in Europe and the Middle East, the highest interest rates in over 40 years, and the global pandemic which was certainly the most significant societal and economic disruption since the Great Depression. 

The benefits of business ownership, including the control of one’s destiny and the perceived returns from the hard work of building a business are worth the risks, and for many, the disruptions of the pandemic became the impetus for taking the first steps.

This Franchise Insights analysis is drawn from December 2024 surveys of individuals inquiring about franchises for sale among the brands of  Franchise Ventures. 

Franchise Ventures is the leading franchise lead-generation platform for potential franchisees to thousands of growing franchise systems in the United States and Canada. Its franchise lead generation brands include Franchise.com, Franchise Solutions, Franchise Gator, Franchise Opportunities, Franchise For Sale, SmallBusinessStartup.com and BusinessBroker.net, and together they provide the largest aggregation of prospective franchise buyers in the U.S.

Interested in more insights from our proprietary data set? Subscribe here to make sure you hear about them first.

Contact Franchise Ventures to get your share of today’s aspiring franchise owners.

 
Published on Tuesday, January 21st, 2025.