Executive decision: corporate execs are jumping into franchise ownership and experiencing a whole new side of business

Entrepreneur,  July, 2005  by April Y. Pennington

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3. BE CERTAIN YOU CAN RELATE TO THE PEOPLE YOU WILL BE WORKING WITH. Dealing with minimum-wage, entry-level or English-as-a-second-language staff can have its challenges.

4. REALIZE THAT FRANCHISING IS NOT AKIN TO RETIREMENT. If you're leaving the corporate world to work fewer hours and decrease stress, you may be in for a surprise. In your early days as a franchisee, how you handle the hours and the stress determines whether you will be successful and happy.

5. KNOW YOU'RE NOT EXACTLY THE BOSS. As a franchisee, you take direction from the franchisor and its field staff. Your primary role is to execute the brand strategy locally, not to create a new PowerPoint presentation on making the brand better.

6. MAKE AN AUDIT OF YOUR LIFESTYLE. Franchising can affect the time you have for your family, children's activities, evenings and weekends. Having the support of your family and friends is important during the transition period.

7. ASSESS YOUR FINANCES. Make sure you have enough to live on until the business starts making a profit--and that you will not be taking a risk with your kids' college funds, etc. Making money in a franchise is not always instantaneous--indeed, it rarely is. You need to be realistic about where the money will come from.

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