Starting a computer repair business is not for everyone. Starting one from scratch is even less appealing to most people. One way to dramatically reduce the potential for business failure is to buy into a computer repair franchise. There are some real positives to doing this but there are also at least a couple of negatives.
First the positive. A good franchise opportunity will offer you lots of training and support. There is a saying that says that you don't know what you don't know. This is certainly true of computer repair. There are a million tiny details to worry about when running your own business. Many of them are not obvious to someone new to the business. A franchisor can make your life much easier by pointing out the potholes before you fall in them.
Proven advertising is another big plus of buying into a franchise. A good franchise opportunity will have proven flyers, business cards, newspaper advertisements and more to get you started. Good franchises will also send you leads. You can often get better advertising rates due to bulk buys if the franchise is large enough.
Lower computer part prices should be another benefit you get from being involved with a franchise. Being part of a larger buying block should help you get better prices with your vendors. People that are running a mom and pop repair shop won't have the benefit of a buying group.
Professional image is another benefit of belonging to a good franchise opportunity. You will use their logos, t-shirts, business cards, car decals and more. You won't have to pay to get these created for you or simply try to create your own half baked graphics. These things will be provided for you.
What are the drawbacks to a franchise opportunity? One of the biggest revolves around money. Both the up front franchise fee and the ongoing royalty fee. Usually the more established a franchise opportunity is, the higher their up front fee is going to be. My advice is to shop around for the best opportunity for you. If you can't find any that interest you, you may have to start a business on your own.
Joe Duchesne is webmaster of GreatComputerInfo.com specialing in computer repair topics including computer repair franchise topics. Reprint freely but keep the live link in this resource box.
