Costco Connection - February 2008

cover story

While by no means ris k free, franchising can offer a shortcut

to business success Fr_ea_nn_tc_eh_ris_pe _arıse B y Will Fifield

fter a decade-long career in the film and video industry, a frustrated Geraldine Smythe, a Costco member in Austin, Texas, finally threw in the towel.

The final straw came in 2004, when, after a year of exceeding quotas in a sales position, she was “rewarded” with a cap on her commissions, significantly cutting her salary. “At that point, I thought I’d better go to work for myself before I blew a gasket,” Smythe says.

Determined to make her next career more fulfilling, creatively and financially, Smythe worked with a job coach, researching a long “^When ^my ^joblist of business ideas for nearly a year while ^coach ^first ^suggestedshe finished her last job in the film and video ^franchising, ^I ^laughed ^atindustry. After eliminating many ideas, her him. I didn’t know then coach suggested franchising as a possible path. that franchising is respon- Initially she equated franchising with a certain bespectacled Southern gentleman ^sible ^{for nearly} ^one-thirdknown across the country for his fried chicken. ^of ^our ^nation’s ^GDP.But her research revealed a staggering num- —Geraldine Smythe, ber of franchise business opportunities in all ^Abrakadoodlekinds of fields.

In 2005, after weighing her coach’s advice and evaluating her career goals, Smythe bought a franchise from Abrakadoodle, a _{MICHAEL O’BRIEN}chain of 70 home-based art education centers for children from 20 months to 12 years ing viable and attractive business than 760,000 U.S. businesses that generate old. In this way she ended one career and paths in franchising. According to $1.5 trillion annually and supply one out began another. the International Franchising Asso- of seven jobs, according to the IFA.

Today Smythe owns two Abrakadoodle ciation (IFA, www.franchising.org), which “There are more franchises now than ever franchises, manages 17 instructors and receives represents more than 10,000 franchisees and before,” says Terry Hill, a communications and high praise from her clients. More important, 1,200 franchise companies, 2007 saw the media-relations executive with the IFA. Some she finds her work satisfying and is good at it. births of 900 new franchises in industries as people are drawn to franchising because their

Abrakadoodle named her its most outstand- diverse as health care, art education, hotels, jobs have been downsized, “right-sized” or out-
ing franchise owner for 2007. personnel services, real estate, automotive care sourced. Others are entrepreneurial minded yet
and accessories, travel, home maintenance want to work for someone else, while others
and construction. These are 900 new parent have marketable skills but their life circum-
companies, many of which, like Abrakadoodle, stances don’t permit a regular 9-to- 5 job.
operate many “units.” “It is difficult to accurately track franchise
Overall, franchising accounts for more numbers, because each year some franchises