uterti-com

Just another WordPress site

Entrepreneurial aptitude: a measure of the likely success of a franchise business owner

Entrepreneurial aptitude: a measure of the likely success of a franchise business owner

The keys to success for franchise business owners

Brand equity, location, franchisor support, product or service quality, local competition, and economic climate—all influence business success. We would expect a potential small franchise owner to investigate these factors thoroughly as part of the due diligence process.

But the biggest variable of all is the small franchise owner himself and his skills in running the business. If you’ve never run a business before, how do you know you have what it takes to be successful? It is incumbent on the potential buyer of a small franchise business to extend the due diligence process to include an objective self-assessment, something the franchise buyer rarely does formally.

Assessing your entrepreneurial aptitude is a great way to gauge your likely success as a small franchise owner.

Entrepreneurial fitness may not be what you think. The things that make you successful in corporate America are not necessarily the same as the skills you need to succeed as a small franchise owner. Graduating with honors, being a top team player at a Fortune 100 company for several years, or having been the captain of your college football team or cheerleading squad has little to do with your entrepreneurial aptitude.

The dictionary defines “aptitude” as the “potential to acquire skill.” When applied to a business environment, it is the potential to gain the skills to manage the business. Who would want to buy a franchise without knowing that it has good potential to gain the skills to run the business?

But can Entrepreneurial Aptitude be measured in any meaningful way?

In fact, entrepreneurial aptitude can be measured. Studies of highly successful entrepreneurs define a profile of fairly common family backgrounds, childhood experiences, core values, personalities, and many more characteristics. Testing yourself against that profile of highly successful entrepreneurs is a great way to gauge your personal entrepreneurial aptitude. We encourage all potential franchise buyers to “Try Before You Invest”.

The proof is in the results

The most successful entrepreneur I’ve ever met matched the ideal test profile almost exactly. Although he would have had limited success working for someone else, the results for him as a business owner were phenomenal.

He started his software business in his early twenties. He was an unimpressive-looking guy with unimpressive credentials. He didn’t have an MBA from Harvard; in fact, he never finished college. His experience was limited to a few years as a software developer. He had never managed anyone before starting his business. He was neither a charismatic personality nor a dynamic communicator. He was clearly not your typical corporate executive profile.

I worked with him for eleven years. I was constantly in awe of his invaluable instincts and abilities indicative of a born entrepreneur. He had a clear vision of where he was taking his business and a passionate, infectious, and uncompromising commitment to get there. He was brilliantly creative. He had a strong penchant for action rather than debate, even if he didn’t have the consensus of his senior staff.

He had started the business without outside investors and retained full ownership. When he decided to get out of the business, he sold it for an undisclosed amount of over $500,000,000 (yes, I mean $500 million with a “b”). And it was all hers!

He had the perfect business aptitude.

Take the test before investing

Achieving a high score on a business aptitude test such as the one we provide to our clients is not a guarantee of success in running your franchise business, nor is a low score a guarantee that you will fail. But it is a clear indication of how easy it will be for you to develop the skills necessary to run a small franchise business, and whether you have the stamina to do so. It is a very important step in the due diligence process of buying a franchise business that should never be overlooked.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *