There are thousands and thousands of franchises for sale in the market today, everything from a small business franchise, to large hotel and resort franchises.  You can invest as little as a few thousand dollars to many millions.  Many people are out of work and looking for options, opportunities and businesses to get into or invest in.  Perhaps being an employee just does not appeal to you anymore and you want something new, something where you can be your own boss and start or invest into a business that will be successful.

Buying into a franchise system can be a very smart investment for anyone who is new to business ownership, experienced in business or you are already employed for someone else and you want to get out on your own.  There are many franchise opportunities available to you, automotive industry, hotel and resorts, commercial cleaning businesses, tax services, fitness and health industry businesses and fast food and restaurant franchises.

Out of all the franchise opportunities, I wanted to talk about fast food restaurants in particular.  Why? because I believe that the fast food industry is a reliable and solid business to get into.  Out of the top rated franchises today, fast food restaurants make up half of all the businesses on the list. That is a lot… well, not a lot if you are only looking at the top 10 franchises, which is only 5.  But you get the idea.

One of the best fast food franchises to buy is a subway franchise.  Subway has been in the top 10 franchise list for about 15 years in a row now and is still one of the fastest growing franchises.  In fact, Subway franchises have been in the top 3 fastest growing franchise list for the last 6 years in a row… that is amazing. And… it is still going.  This is one business model that WORKS!  Not only is it one of the best franchises to buy today, it is also considered a low cost franchise to buy as well.  With an investment of under $100,000 , you can own your own business and be making a profit almost immediately with this business.  Any franchise that requires less then $100,000 for a total initial investment is considered a low budget franchise and this qualifies.  You can spend more depending on your location and building costs, but in the end, it is still a really, really great value and investment.

The benefits of buying into a franchise system is that you are buying into a proven system that makes money.  Making money is the key, isn’t it.  If you had no hope of turning a profit, then why would you even consider a franchise business.  Buying a franchise is often easier then buying an independent business for sale because of the fact that it is a know and working system already.  Buying an independent business is still something to consider, but it is often a local name and may not be known outside the community it is in.  Lets put it this way… if you were to go to a strip mall and feel hungry for a submarine sandwich and you had two choices, one is a subway restaurant and the other is called Jack’s Sub’s .  Which one would you trust?  Most of the time people will go to subway because it is a well known name, well known quality and consistency.

Once you are in business, many franchise owners use the practical and experienced advice they get from the franchisor about building sales and a customer base in a new market.  The franchise owner also benefits from pricing and service advantages when purchasing products and supplies that they can acquire at group rates.  This advantage is huge when you are competing against other smaller businesses that may have to pay a higher rate for similar supplies and products.  You have a cost savings advantage that you can pass on to your customers and provide a better value to them in the end.  This also attracts more customers, which is what we like.

These systems all apply to nearly any franchise, but in the end, some just work better then others and some businesses are more popular then others.  This also has to do with the marketing strategy and programs of the parent franchisor.  A well planned and executed marketing plan that envelopes all franchises within the chain can be very valuable as a franchise owner.  If you have ever looked at advertising costs, they can be very high to hit the customer base that you want to attract.  In a franchise system that is already focusing their advertising on these markets can get a bigger bang for their dollar by pooling all the advertising money from all franchise owners and provide a larger, wider spread advertising campaign then you ever could on your own.

There are other fast food franchises that you should also considering looking into.  One of the other top fast food restaurants is McDonald’s of course.  McDonald’s may not be in the fastest growing franchise list, but it still gets top marks for a fast food restaurant.  If you have not heard of a McDonald’s, then I have no idea what hole you have been living in. McDonald’s restaurants are one of the most recognized restaurant chains in the world.  Even 2 year old kids recognize the golden arches.  The biggest difference here is that McDonald’s franchises are NOT on the low budget franchise list. If you don’t have a million dollars to invest, then you are looking in the wrong spot.  However, if you are able to come up with the capital needed to finance this profitable business venture, then this is one of the better fast food businesses to buy.  McDonald’s has a very long history and long standing system that has been well proven.

McDonald’s provides one of the best franchise support systems that includes newsletters, meetings, regular training and updates, local training, detailed support and operations manuals, national advertising and much, much more.  If you are looking for a stable, well proven business to buy into, then this is nearly a sure thing.  Then again, not every business venture is fool proof, you still need to be responsible for your business and put 100% effort into it.  There is not a single 100% guaranteed franchise business that I know of.  But some do come very close and this is one of them.

Yes there are many alternatives to owning a fast food franchise. In today’s society and the way people are living today, the internet is quickly becoming a great way to find the best fast food  franchise opportunities. The internet is swarmed with information, and other business opportunities that wont cost you in the hundreds of thousands to buy.

One of the other fast food restaurants I should mention is a Sonic Drive in Restaurant.  Here is a restaurant business that has been in business for nearly as long as McDonald’s, but does not have the same amount of franchise locations.  The key difference is that Sonic is only franchised in the United States, where a McDonald’s is franchised throughout the entire world.  This franchise is based around a stand alone restaurant, drive through location.  This is why the initial investment on this business is fairly high, over one million dollars at a minimum and can exceed three million in some cases.  Establishing a franchise investor or financing is a good idea if you are considering a larger fast food restaurant like this one.  The great thing about a well known and highly rated franchise like Sonic is that your are more likely to get the financing you need at a great rate from any financial institution or bank that you deal with.  The benefit to investing with a franchise business from the banks point of view is that you are investing into a know and proven system.  You would have a far harder time getting financing for an independent, unknown name, business over a well know franchise.

In the end, it is up to you, but if you are fed up with a corporate gig, especially for those who’ve been laid off or have no desire to stay in the job you are currently in. The right career path might be the purchase of a fast food franchise.  You should take the time to research your options and understand if buying a franchise is the right or wrong move to make.

Research the business and research the industry that you are interested in. Do not limit yourself to a fast food restaurant. There is a franchise that is right for you and you just need to find it.  The key to deciding on whether to buy a business depends on a lot of common sense and a lot of research.

If you were already focused on the fast food industry, then any one of the 3 businesses I mentioned here would be a perfect way to get into business ownership.  There are other ways as well, including a home inspection business franchise or a home based franchise that you can do with only 1 employee, yourself.  There are no limits really.