Franchises often make expensive partnerships though many people find them far less expensive than building a brand new business venture. There are still plenty of expenses that go into building a franchise that are often overlooked until too late. Before you even consider buying into a coffee franchise you need to sit back and take stock of your overall financial situation. Business is risky, even going the lower risk route of purchasing a franchise there is no small degree of risk involved that you will lose your investment and perhaps any collateral you had invested in your business venture.
How much cash do you have available to invest in your coffee franchise? Most franchises will require a personal commitment of finances even if you can arrange for a good portion of the costs through financing. The reason for this is that most people are going to work twice as hard when their own money is on the line to make the business a success. It is a sound business move on their behalf and one of the reasons that they are able to become franchises and maintain a solid reputation for quality goods and services.
What is your net worth? There are quite a few bigger named franchises that require you to have a certain amount of net worth before they will even discuss an investment opportunity with you. There are various reasons for this and each company has its own reasons. The bottom line is that you should expect to be asked for your total net worth and prepared to divulge that information when applying for franchise partnerships.
What are you willing to use as collateral in order to secure any business loans you may need? This is an important question to ask yourself. It is best; if at all possible, not to risk your personal home or your family’s security (IRAs and 401Ks) to secure the funds needed to buy into a franchise business. That isn’t always possible however and extreme caution is urged when doing so. It is best to go into this with your eyes opened to the risk rather than wearing rose colored glasses. You run the risk of losing whatever you use to secure the funds for your business. Are you willing to accept that risk? Is your family?
What money are you going to live on while building your business? It takes a little time to build a steady profit that will provide a sustainable income. Do you have enough money set aside to pull you through the lean months while you are building your business or do you have some other methods of earning income during that important time for your business?
Finances are surprisingly the most overlooked aspect of building a business such as a coffee franchise and one of the most important and necessary for doing so. You need to plan to support your family while you are building your business in addition to having the money that will be needed to start your business in the first place. It takes money to run a business and this is more true in the first few years of your business than at any other time.
