Changes in the economy are very much accountable for the increase in recent parent-child franchise operations that are seen taking place throughout the United States.
Although there are no national figures to support the increase in franchises that are owned and operated as a team by parents and their adult children, recent evidence suggests that more and more job-seeking parents and children are joining forces to purchase rights and own/operate franchise businesses together; a likely outcome resulting from the poor economy and lack of corporate jobs being offered to new college graduates as well as to existing, previous laid-off adults.
However, franchise consultant, Rick Bisio, claims that "10-20 percent of the franchisees he places start as parent-child pairs and that the number has risen since the economic turmoil."
The result: an estimated 20% of franchises that have recently been starting are parent-child pairs that are working together to earn a living.
Multi-generational franchises seem to be becoming more popular in the franchise world as parents who have the financial background and maybe even the corporate knowledge to effectively run a franchise are pairing with their adult children who have entrepreneurial courage and confidence.
With many recent college graduates finding it difficult to find a job or get hired, and adults who were once steadily employed experiencing layoffs and job cuts, it seems that workers are turning to new ideas, coming up with new plans and looking to franchising to make ends meet now more than ever before.
These new pairings of parents and their children often result in the division of labor that is ultimately responsible for such smooth franchise operations.
In a recent case, a family purchased rights to operate under a franchise name with plans for the parents to operate the major connection aspects of the business including customer service and corporate handling while the adult children took on responsibilities such as marketing (online and offline), technology and similar roles.
While franchising can be lucrative, the business is a long-term investment that will likely take 5-10 years to fully payoff into a rewarding, consistent return.
Despite the longevity, or perhaps because of the longevity of the franchise business, parents and their children continue to work together to approach franchise opportunities, grow their careers and build long term wealth despite a struggling or otherwise sluggish economy.
Most will agree, that although the work is tough sometimes, it beats not working at all!
Article by Jason Duncan, CEO/Founder of ManagerComplete.com.
ManagerComplete is an online software application that helps multi-unit franchises manage operations effectively.
