(This excerpt was taken from the Franchise Bible by Erwin J. Keup published by Oasis Press)

With so many options available and all the potential pitfalls possible in buying a business or franchise, you may be wondering why you should invest your time and money into a franchise opportunity. To help you get an idea of some of the advantages you would enjoy as a new franchisee, review the list below. As a franchisee, you will enjoy:

• Group advertising power;
  
  
• Owning your own business and making day-to-day decisions yourself, guided by the franchisor's experience;
  
  
• The ability to sell products and services to markets that cannot be serviced by company-owned outlets because of higher operational costs and lower motivation of employees in company-owned outlets;
  
  
• The benefit of identification of service marks, trademarks, proprietary information, patents, and designs;
  
  
• Systematic training from experts;
  
  
• A lower risk of failure and/or loss of investments than if you were to start your own business from scratch;
  
  
• Being a part of a uniform operation throughout the country, which means all franchises will share the same interior and exterior physical appearance, same product, and same service and product quality;
  
  
• Assistance in financial and accounting matters from the franchisor, as well as ongoing support; and
  
  
• The enhancement of your management abilities and being the recipient of an opportunity you could not have had in most employment situations.

In addition, you may wonder how to go about ensuring you make the best decision possible. Investing in your own business takes guts and the willingness to make important decisions. As a result, you will need to carefully research the statistics regarding new business start ups versus the purchase of an existing business from a nonfranchisor. Once you have done this, compare these statistics with research on franchised endeavors. What you find may be useful in helping you make a sound business decision and helping you understand why franchising may be more beneficial for you. Here are some helpful facts of franchising.

• The U.S. Department of Commerce, in its edition of Franchising in the Economy, has cited very interesting statistics that conclude franchising has increased phenomenally in recent years and is a significant part of the U.S. marketing system. Franchising offers tremendous opportunities to individuals and companies seeking wider distribution of their products and services. The U.S. Department of Commerce also points out that retail sales from franchise establishments comprise about one third of all U.S. retail sales.
  
  
• John Naisbitt, in the Naisbitt Group's The Future of Franchising, has predicted that more than one-half of all retail sales will be made through franchise sales by the year 2010.
  
  
• Government research indicates that the success rate for franchise-owned endeavors is significantly better than the rate for nonfranchise-owned small businesses. These same findings also show that 80 percent of all new small businesses fail, many within the first year. By contrast less than 2 percent of new franchises are discontinued over a three-year period.

In short, the good news is that franchising is a growing part of the national economy and presents a much better chance for success to the new franchisee. The bad news is that not every franchise is a sure-fire way to multiply your savings and provide you with an enjoyable occupation for your remaining days on this planet.