How is a Franchise Different from a Regular Small Business?
One of the biggest differences between a franchise and an independent small business is the built-in brand recognition franchises have. When starting a new business, building brand awareness is a huge challenge, but a franchise’s brand is already established.
However, this brand recognition comes with a few caveats. Startup costs can require significant investment, ranging from a thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. Additionally, owners have to follow the franchise agreement in their day-to-day operations. If you prefer to make all the decisions about running your business, franchising may not be for you.
What are the Benefits of Owning a Franchise?
Home Office Support
Franchisors often offer sales, marketing, and operations support for franchisees. Many companies offer equipment, call centers, and support channels to help their franchisees succeed. Signal offers strategic sales, marketing, and operations support to help franchisees succeed in their markets. Business Development and Operations Coaches travel in-market to help franchisees target leads and streamline existing patrol or dedicated contract operations. Signal’s home office team also includes payroll, collections, and compliance teams to help franchisees navigate the complexities of business ownership.
Access to training for franchisees and employees
When you open a franchise, you are expected to follow the guidelines and business model set by your franchisor. To meet these expectations, franchisors will often offer training for both the franchisee and their employees. Signal has a robust online and in-person training program. This includes new franchise owner training, market launch training, field training, regional training for owners and their key staff, and more.
Signal’s training is especially helpful for new owners who may not have a background in business, as Haris Johnson, owner of Signal of Silver Spring said. “As someone who doesn’t have a business background, hasn’t gone to business school or had any formal training, it was everything I was looking for,” he said, “The training alone, the New Franchise Owner Training week, regional trainings, and sales trainings was like reading business owners for dummies. It made it manageable.”
Learning is one of Signal’s Core Values, so it’s no surprise that the Signal Training Team is passionate about helping others succeed.
“We offer the best of both worlds,” said Art Calderon, Franchise Performance Coach, “The freedom to own your own business with a team to support and train you and give you the tools to facilitate your own success. There is nothing more exciting for the Home Office than seeing the success of our new franchise owners.”
Established Brand Reputation
Brand reputation takes years to build, and small business owners have to be patient when building this reputation. In contrast, franchise owners join an already established brand, with a reputation and built-in customer base. This established presence can make lenders more comfortable providing funding and may help franchisees get their return on investment faster than with an independent small business.
Founded in 2003, Signal has been providing peace of mind across the country for nearly 20 years. This year Signal is proud to be ranked #83 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 list and number one in the Security Services Category.
Signal currently has over 960 franchise territories spanning the US and Internationally. We have a home office team of over 110 ready to support the network of franchise owners. To learn more about becoming an owner, complete this simple form and our team will set up a short call to discover if Signal is right for you.
