There are many advantages to buying a sports coaching franchise business, but you should be aware that it comes with some downfalls as well. Within this article, I want to highlight the pros and cons of both and maybe open your eyes up to another idea to get your foot into the sports catching industry.
If you are thinking of buying a sports coaching franchise business, then you have probably also considered the idea of setting up for yourself. Starting a business from scratch is no easy feat with all of the time and attention that goes into the operations, marketing, sales, HR and finance. This is why a lot of people choose to buy into a sports coaching franchise.
Advantages of buying into a franchise...
An Established Brand
Being able to open your business with a recognised and established brand will help to give you a head start when it comes to building your reputation. You'll also have access to some of the marketing content and material that the franchise owner shares with franchisees, which should save you some time on the marketing front.
Be aware though, even if they have a good reputation at the time of researching and purchasing your franchise; the franchise or one of the other franchises might do something to damage the reputation of the wider brand and therefore your company if you share the same name.
Systems
Systems are a huge part of any business and a good franchisor should be able to provide you with a clear operations manual that would talk you through the steps of running a successful sports coaching business. This allows you access to efficient processes and saves you a lot of time making mistakes to learn from.
Support
As a franchisee, you should have access to high quality support from people within the franchise that can help you grow your business and bring innovative new ideas to the market.
Time Freedom
Buying into your own franchise will mean that to some extent you are your own boss. You will be able to determine your own working hours and decide what sessions you want to run and at what time.
Tried and Tested Model
If you are not the first franchisee within the business, you will have other contacts you can speak to who have been through the franchising setup and who will be able to share with you their thoughts on the brand. This should also mean that you avoid some of the mistakes that other people may make by setting up their own business.
Disadvantages of buying into a franchise...
Heavy Upfront Investment
Some sports coaching franchises in the UK will charge up to £90,000 for the initial fee and continue to take an operation fee on a monthly basis which is normally close to 10%.
You might not your money's worth from the upfront investment. Most franchisees will be able to offer marketing, support, equipment, lesson plans and systems but the level of detail and support will vary between each franchise. Dependant on how highly you value the brand will determine whether you think the upfront fee beats starting your own business.
Will you be supported in the long term?
Are you confident that the support from the franchise owner will continue on a long term basis? Some franchise owners are more interested in receiving the upfront fee and finding new franchisees than they are of supporting their current franchisees. This could leave you with very little support and guidance further down the line as your franchise business grows.
Less Creative Freedom
Being part of a bigger company will mean that if you would like to change the look of the website or update the logo, you have no choice of being able to implement these changes. Depending on how much freedom you receive from franchise owner, you may be very limited to what you can post and how things look to the customer.
Long-Term Commitment
When buying into a sports coaching franchise, you will most likely sign up to a 5 or 10-year agreement with the owner. This can be very limiting on your career should you decide to change your path within the industry or even changes in your personal life. You may also find that you don't work well with the franchise owner and have no control of those who working in a position within the head office.
Sales will be driven almost all by yourself, although you have the branding of an established company, it is unlikely that they have the marketing systems in place bringing in new customers within your specific area. The expectation will be on you to go out and find all of your new schools, nurseries and parents for yourself.
Ongoing Investment
Although you would have already paid the initial fee as well as your monthly admin fee, you may also have to pay additional fees such as marketing fees and HR fees.
So, what should I do?
There are a number of sports coaching franchisors across the UK and they will all offer something slightly different on a financial point of view. However, on a bigger scale, they all use a very similar model. A model which is easily copied or replicated by starting your own business.
Is there anything else other than a franchise?
uSports have disrupted the market by pulling together an offering for passionate, entrepreneurial and knowledgeable sports people through our partner program.
The uSports Partners program has unlimited earning potential without the risk of buying into a franchise or starting your own business.
Before you commit to buying a franchise, look through our partner program page and get in contact with us if you are interested: www.u-sports.co.uk/partners