Buying a franchise can be a path to business ownership, financial independence, and a life built on your own terms. But most prospective buyers spend more time researching the brand than researching themselves.
Joining us on this episode of Business Trends Today is Joel Libava, The Franchise King®. Libava has spent more than 25 years guiding prospective buyers through the process and is one of America’s most trusted franchise experts. He says that before you even start thinking about which franchise you want to own, you need to take a close look at yourself.
“Before I got into franchising, when I looked at franchises, the first thing I did was just go to a franchise opportunity website and just look,” Libava said. “I was taught that’s not where you start.”
He encourages prospective buyers to start with a simple exercise. Take a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle, label one side ‘strengths’ and the other ‘weaknesses,’ and fill it out focusing on business skills and personal traits.
“Once you have that down, you can consider what you’re really good at and avoid what you’re not good at and try to match yourself to a business,” he said.
Match your skills to the franchise
One of the first skills Libava asks prospective buyers to evaluate is sales ability. Strong sales skills do not always translate to a good fit in a retail franchise.
"Can you picture yourself standing behind a counter and just kind of taking orders? That's not going to be a good fit. You're going to be bored within a week."
For that person, Libava says a business-to-business franchise is a better fit. The owner goes out in the field, builds accounts, and sells services rather than waiting for walk-in traffic.
The point, he says, is to let an honest self-assessment drive the category search. Not the other way around.
Rule follower or pure entrepreneur?
Franchising runs on systems and rules. Libava says that works well for some people and poorly for others. Prospective buyers need to know where they stand before going any further.
“If you are inventing your own things, you are an entrepreneur, a pure entrepreneur. Do not buy a franchise.”
Knowing which one you are matters. Libava says too many people skip that question entirely.
The most common mistake
Many prospective buyers jump straight to the brand, Libava says. A concept catches their eye, the excitement builds, and the self-assessment never happens.
It happens most often with food franchises. People have always wanted to run a restaurant. They turn to a brand they know and love, certain their community needs it. But Libava says none of that answers the question that actually matters: do they have the skills to own and operate that brand?
He urges prospective buyers to walk themselves through what restaurant ownership actually looks like. Long hours, managing staff, HR headaches, and late-night emergencies.
Taking the next steps
Once someone completes an honest self-assessment, Libava says the next step is to let it drive the search. He suggests using an AI chat platform to get started.
“Type in something like, I am really good at sales, I don’t want to invest a million dollars in a franchise, but what franchise sectors at least should I look at if I’m really good at sales?” he said.
From there, franchise opportunity websites can help narrow the field. Libava recommends Franchise Direct, his strategic partner, along with Franchise Opportunities and Franchise Gator.
For prospective buyers who want a structured starting point, Libava offers a free franchise quiz at TheFranchiseKing.com. The quiz does what most people skip. It helps you figure out who you are before you figure out what to buy.
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