Happy Friday all! I am interested in learning more about owning a franchise or buying an existing small business. I don’t have any previous entrepreneurial experience but this is something I’ve always been interested in. Do you have any recommendations on how to learn more about what it’s like to be a franchise owner/how to assess those opportunities/profitability/capital requirements, etc? All suggestions are appreciated.

4 Comments

1. KatJuly 12,2024 at 5:03PM UTC

   Do your research. Figure out what type of business you want to run first. See if there's franchise option or if it's something you could do independently. Take classes on how to run a business and understand all the parts of being an owner (taxes, time and money investments, overhead, payroll, other expenses, etc.) before you invest in anything. Your local small business association or community college should have classes available for you to take. The US Small Business Administration (https://www.sba.gov/) has lots of resources and links that will be helpful during this process.

2. Sharon RosendahlJuly 12,2024 at 8:02PM UTC

   A good franchisor will provide you with lots of training to be successful. Make sure you understand what is provided by them and what that will cost you. Also, understand how much other expenses you will need to pay for such as building, equipment etc. Make sure you like the way they want you to run the business since you generally don't get a lot of opportunity to customize the business. Make sure you visit some of the franchisees' operations and interview them to make sure you will get the support you need.

   Often, there are some great trainings available through your regional Small Business Development Commission (SBDC). They can have various names but they provide free and low cost trainings to entrepreneurs and businesses.

3. AnonymousJuly 12,2024 at 9:58PM UTC

   I would start my own business. I did as I was tired of working for someone else, stealing my time and freedom, having a capped income, getting a raise once a year, all so boring.

   I have a great resume but lately have only gotten rejection letters from some hiring manager who cannot think outside the box.

   So I opened up 2 x Etsy Stores, 2 x Shopify Stores and 3 Instagram stores and started my own clothing line.

   Don't buy a franchise, open your own business, you can buy wholesale, sell retail, do drop shipping, sell on Etsy, it's only 20 cents per listing, open up a Paypal account for shipping, go to printify.com and start a print on demand shop, you can design anything and connect it to your Etsy Store or Shopify Store. They have everything from clothing, home goods, totes, all kinds of items and if you do it right you can have a lot of passive income.

   Find one item you like that you can sell on Amazon. Amazon also has academy classes for small business.

   Watch Youtube, there is so much you can learn there too. There are also a lot of very inexpensive apps (you can pay by the month and start and stop anytime) where you can remove the background on your products, ad backgrounds, make posts.

   Life is too short to be unhappy working in a job that you don't like. There is so much you can do without being stuck in a job that makes you unhappy.

4. AnonymousNovember 3,2025 at 10:17AM UTC

   Starting with Zendrop was one of the best decisions for my online business https://www.zendrop.com/ I love how user-friendly the platform is — everything from finding suppliers to managing orders feels straightforward. The automation helps a lot, especially when handling multiple products. If you’re new to dropshipping, this platform makes the whole experience much easier and more organized.