Joel Libava
Most franchisors stay the course when it comes to searching for new franchisees, and even new franchise locations. They open new franchises in, or at least close to, major population centers. Personally, I’ve received inquiries from people who live in small tows, and even rural areas, who’ve wanted to explore franchise ownership ideas with me. (Not a lot of inquiries, but a few)
When I’ve asked franchisors to take a look at those small areas, the answer I get, nine out of ten times is something like, “Joel, there’s just not enough population to support a franchise location in Blue Ridge Manor, Kentucky, but thank you for thinking of us.”
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That always makes my day. Not really.
Will More Franchise Businesses Start To Open In Small Town USA?
Recently, I was reading an article that I had asked Becky McCray to write for Small Business Trends. (Disclosure; I’m the Community promotions Director there) In the article, she pointed out the fact that ” Baby boomers are migrating. The USDA is predicting more Baby Boomers will retire to small towns than previous generations. This is going to mean an increase in the active 50-75 age group in some small towns. Get your business ready to welcome these new residents.”
This made me start wondering if we’ll start seeing an increase in franchise chains in smaller, even rural areas. Franchisors, You’ve been looking for ways to grow your footprint for the last few years. Can you start taking advantage of this growing trend? More importantly, do you want to?
Becky shared several more “Rural Small Business Trends For 2010” that smart franchisors may be able to leverage to their advantage. I don’t suggest waiting to long to do so….
If you’re a franchisor-and you’ve been thinking about targeting small town USA, now’s the time to think harder.
About the Author
Joel Libava is The Franchise King® — an independent franchise advisor with 25+ years in the industry, two published books on franchising, and his writing has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, CNBC, Entrepreneur® Magazine and others. In addition, he wrote exclusively for the U.S. Small Business Administration blog for eight years. He doesn't sell franchises. Instead, Joel helps you figure out if franchise ownership is actually right for you — and if it is, teaches you his powerful, proven-to-work franchise research techniques, so you can make a smart, informed decision on a franchise to own and be your own boss.
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