Franchising and Entrepreneurship: High Reward or High Risk?

Authors

Gad J. Selig, Sacred Heart University

Issue Season

Summer

Document Type

Research Article

Author Bio(s)

Gad Selig joined the College of Business at Sacred Heart University in 1995 as a full-time faculty member, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses and executive seminars in business strategy, marketing, technology, project management and leadership. Dr. Selig has thirty years of diversified domestic/international executive, management, and consulting experience with both Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the financial services, utility, information technology, telecommunications, manufacturing, and retail industries. His experience includes: marketing, sales, planning, operations, business development, mergers and acquisitions, general management, systems/network integration/out-sourcing, MIS/CIO telecommunications, the Internet, product development, training, and entrepreneurship.

Abstract

According to the Department of Commerce, start-up, small, and family businesses are among the fastest growing areas of employment. Even under the best economic environment, starting a business is risky. To reduce the risks and to establish their own businesses, an increasing number of entrepreneurs and corporate converts are buying franchises.

Franchising has enjoyed a major increase in popularity during the early 1990s, fueled largely by the growing pool of available candidates made possible by significant corporate and government downsizing. According to the Department of Commerce, franchising accounts for nearly one-third of all U.S. retail sales and employs over 7 million people.

If an individual has the motivation, skills, capital, leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and risk-taking attributes required to start and manage a business, franchising provides a structured alternative to accomplish this objective. Franchising encompasses both high risks and high rewards. While it is not for everyone, franchising represents a method to start and/or transition into your own business.

This refereed article describes the why, what, and how of franchising. It discusses the driving forces for franchising from both the franchiser's and franchisee's perspective, what it takes to be a franchisee, how to become an educated businessperson, what to do once you have selected a franchise, the do's and don'ts, the risks and rewards, and how to sell a franchise.

Recommended Citation

Selig, Gad J. (1998) "Franchising and Entrepreneurship: High Reward or High Risk?," New England Journal of Entrepreneurship: Vol. 1: No. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/neje/vol1/iss1/2