Franchising after the forces
With the military and defence services implementing some of the most severe job cuts of recent times, tens of thousands of military servicemen and women – from all backgrounds, ages and stages of their lives – are finding themselves in the very difficult position of having to face complete changes in their lives.
The military sector is unusual in that those who find themselves redundant not only have to look for a new job but also a home – often requiring relocation – as well as encountering for the first time some everyday tasks that civilians take for granted, such as paying bills, dealing with tax, maintaining a household and generally taking care of finances etc. All of these aspects play a contributory factor in the problems that ex-forces personnel often face when returning to ‘civvy street’. Proper preparation for resettlement will be a part of the process and will, inevitably, include some generic business training – for those considering the franchise sector, training specific to the individual business is normally provided as part of the start-up process. All of these elements will help to ensure a smooth transition to civilian life.
Those with a military training often have many attributes which not only attract them to franchising in the first place but also make them attractive prospects to franchisors, including people management skills, strategic planning experience as well as the hard work and commitment required to make a success of a franchise. The lack of ties to a particular geographic region, which many of those leaving the forces have, is often seen as advantageous by franchisors who can rarely guarantee a franchise in a particular area.
The key stage, as for any prospective franchisee, is planning and researching this next life stage and to ensure that as much information as possible has been gathered, that careful consideration has been given to the match between the prospective franchisee’s skills and those required to make the business a success so that any business is entered into with eyes wide open.
For those looking to find out more about franchising, it is advisable to visit one of the bfa educational franchising seminars.
