What Kinds of Businesses Do Aspiring Franchisees Already Own?
By: Michael Alston for Franchise Insights
May 8, 2024 – From over four years of surveying aspiring business owners, data show that between 15-26% of aspiring franchisees already own at least one business. The percentage varied over the pandemic years and exhibits some seasonality, but consistently represents a significant slice of candidates for franchise development.
We don’t know exactly why they are seeking franchises, but they may be pursuing a desire to upgrade or complement their existing businesses, or achieve scale. In the franchise industry, the pursuit of scale economies can be seen in the fact that over half of all franchises are owned by multi-unit operators.
What are the businesses that they currently own? The “word cloud” graphic above illustrates the variety. They range from personal care (spas, barbering and hair braiding) to advertising, marketing, sales, consulting and legal services. They are as disparate as cleaning services and children’s entertainment. Restaurant owners are numerous. In short, they are a reflection of the breadth of the franchise industry itself.
In the same February to April 2024 survey period, 17.5% of respondents said they were current business owners. Almost 80% were non-franchise businesses, and over 18% said they were operating “business opportunities” already.
The “Mystery Shopping” and Startup Sentiment Index™ surveys of franchise inquirers from which we collect this data are conducted monthly on the FranchiseVentures lead generation platform. This survey data was collected February through April 2024.
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.
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Published on Wednesday, May 8th, 2024.