By :
Keith Pollow
Today, more people are looking to run their own business due to the many rewards of being self employed. If you are considering becoming a business owner, you will have a choice of building a business from the ground up or buying a franchise. When making the decision, two such options are business opportunities and franchises. It is important to understand the difference between a business opportunity and a franchise. A business opportunity involves the lease or sales of a service or product that will allow you, the buyer/licensee, to start a business. A business opportunity can be, for example, a convenience store or a liquor mart. There are many general differences business opportunities and franchises. All franchises will operate under a common brand however when it comes to a business opportunity, there is no legal mandate to work under a common brand. As well, with a business opportunity, there is no contractual agreement where such support services as advertising, accounting, and training are provided unlike a franchise which has support from the franchisor for such assistance. With a business opportunity, in most cases, the seller will not have any control over the buyer's business operations meaning the buyer does not have to follow any type of operational procedures. With a franchise, the franchise owner will have to follow specific operational procedures. The franchisor will provide set methods to follow regarding business operational procedures. In addition, with a franchise, the buyer of the franchise is obligated as outlined in the franchise agreement to pay royalties to the franchisor. This is not the case with a business opportunity. There are more details regarding the contractual agreements when buying a franchise due to the fact that there are specific guidelines and rules written in the agreement regarding business operations. There are legalities regarding contracts and other pertinent legal documents. With a business opportunity, the business opportunity seller will state in the contract that they will assist the buyer with locating a suitable location or they will state they supply the product to the purchaser. You will also be able to change or alter the brand giving you more flexibility. With a franchise you have to keep the product that you are selling as instructed by the franchisor. For instance, sub sandwiches from a Subway on one side of the country tastes the same as a sub sandwich from a Subway on the other side of the country. You will get the product or product supplies from the franchisor and the actual look of the business will be according to the franchisor's mandates. With a business opportunity, the seller's products or services will be purchased by the business opportunity buyer and the business opportunity seller will buy back any product that cannot be sold by the business opportunity leaser. In addition, business opportunity seller will provide a marketing program that can include the use of a trade name or trademark. Both business opportunities and franchises have their own advantages so the choice will depend on your specific needs and preference.
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