5 Little Known Benefits of Investing in a Fast Food Franchise

If you been considering investing in a fast food franchise for a while then you have probably read a lot about the benefits of getting with the program. If you are still on the fence though consider these 5 little known benefits of investing in a fast food franchise.

1. The Brand Power

There are a lot of popular fast food franchises like Zac’s Burgers and Papa John’s who have strong brands that people immediately recognize. By choosing to go into the fast food franchise, you will benefit from sharing in the brand recognition.

When you are starting out from scratch on your own, you have to build your brand on your own. That is what is so great about joining a popular franchise program. There is already a customer base who knows all about you and is excited to see what you bring to the table.

2. Corporate Support

One of the biggest incentives of choosing to invest in a fast food franchise is that you will have a support structure to help you get started. This is something you don’t have when you are opening a restaurant on your own. With a fast food franchise, the franchisor offers you training for you and your staff and will help you find your location and prepare for your grand opening. If you are new to the restaurant business, this is especially attractive.

3. Room for Growth

While the structure and boiler plate quality of some fast food franchise programs might turn you off, there is still a lot of room for personal growth and creativity in the fast food business. As the boss of your own franchise unit, you make little tweaks to the menu, to the décor of your store or how you interact with the local community. All these are ways to use your creativity to grow your own unit.

When you are researching and shopping around, make sure to ask what the rules and regulations are for each individual franchise. If some individual freedom is important to you, don’t sign on until you have the reassurances that you will have some creative control.

4. Ability to Do Good

What is probably one of the least known benefits of investing in a fast food franchise is your ability to do good. As a local business owner, you now have the resources to get involved in the community around you and help out in different ways, whether donating food for charity events or hosting community events at your restaurant. It feels good to do good and there is a lot you can do as a fast food franchise owner.

5. Extended Family

When you pick the right franchise program, the one that really cares about its franchisees and treats them like family than it will be just like you welcomed new family members into the fold. You will love the rich, meaningful relationships you will form at your franchise and in the franchise industry in general with people who share your passions.

Are you sold yet? Of course having enough money to open and run a successful fast food franchise also needs to be a practical consideration. Startup costs for fast food franchises can vary from $10,000 to a couple of millions so you need to really save up seriously. Don’t jump into it until you have enough money to not only open strong, but to stay afloat while you start to build your customer base. Remember that Rome was not built in a day.

Here are some tips for saving:

• Know exactly how much you need to save. Even if your saving is slow-going at first, chipping away at your goal will help keep you positive throughout the process.
• Switch to a bank with better incentives. Higher interest rates on your savings account, no ATM or overdraft fees are all small ways to save more money. It might not seem like a lot at first, but you will be surprised by how much money can be frittered away with bank fees.
• Set aside a certain amount from each paycheck. Make sticking to a budget easier for yourself, by having a certain amount of money from each paycheck put right into your savings account. We all know how easy it is to let coffees and lunches and dinners out can fritter away our money before we have a chance to save anything. This way there are no excuses.
• Use cash as much as possible. While having a credit history is important, using cash for most of your daily purchases can go a long way to helping you save more money for your franchise. Each week, calculate how much spending money you have and take the cash out of the bank. You will not only save on ATM fees, you will not overspend because once the cash is gone you know you can’t spend anymore. Use envelopes to separate out food shopping money from gas money from I really need that cappuccino money.
• Turn those lights down. Utilities..Utilities..Utilities. Do you cringe when you get your water or electric bill? Just paying for utilities and mortgage or rent can pretty much eat up your paycheck so you need to find ways to lower the utilities portion of your monthly budget. Take shorter showers, turn off lights when you are not in the room. You will be surprised by what a difference it can make.
• Go cold turkey on any expensive habits. Whether it is that Starbucks run every morning, your weekly bottle of wine or regular pedicures and manicures, identify those expensive habits that are sabotaging your efforts to save. If you can, go cold turkey, but some addictions are harder to beat than others so you might want to gradually wean yourself off instead. The great thing is that not only will your wallet thank you, but so will your body. Think how much healthier you will feel as well.

For more information about the benefits of investing in a fast food franchise, contact Zac’s Burgers.

Zac's Burgers is presently not selling franchises and does not have a certified franchise disclosure document.  Zac's is offering licensing opportunities, however, potential licensees must meet all federal and state requirements.