Self-Reported Strengths Shared by Aspiring Franchise Owners
By: Michael Alston for Franchise Insights
August 20, 2025 – In the July 2025 Startup Sentiment survey, Grit, or “persistence towards a goal despite obstacles” was cited by 58.5% of respondents. In this survey of individuals seeking franchises, 55.4% also attested to their “willingness to follow a proven system”, an essential ingredient for succeeding at franchise ownership.
Many franchises require team leadership skills, and “team leadership experience” was reported by over half of respondents, at 52.3%. Almost 39% have experience in the business segment they are pursuing for a franchise.
While 33.8% of respondents to this question included prior business ownership among their top three strengths, a record 27.7% reported that they currently own a business in the July 2025 survey.
Survey respondents were invited to select only three of the seven factors provided, or to provide an “other” response, so the above are what they deem their most valuable attributes for franchise ownership.
It should not be unusual to find these traits in aspiring franchisees, given that the majority of today’s would-be franchise owners are near prime entrepreneurial age and leaving full-time jobs according to recent aspiring franchise owner demographics from the monthly small business startup sentiment surveys.
“Grit”, “willingness to follow a proven system”, and “team leadership experience” are most cited by franchise-seekers.
Grit was coined to mean “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” by psychologist Angela Duckworth and colleagues in a 2014 study of the predictors of success. The authors found that traditional predictors like intelligence (as measured by standardized tests like IQ) and talent — possession of extraordinary abilities — were secondary to what they came to define as grit. This six-minute TED talk by the author has been viewed over 16 million times.
Grit may be a desirable trait, but it is not sufficient for the successful operation of a franchise. The willingness of franchisees to follow a proven system is a known success factor, and the belief among today’s prospective owners that they possess that characteristic bodes well for the coming generation of franchisees.
“Access to sufficient startup capital” was reported by 30.8%, followed by 27.7% of respondents citing a supportive partner or spouse.
In the most recent survey, 33.8% of respondents included prior business ownership among their top three strengths, consistent with the 27.7% who reported currently owning a business.
An “other” category garnered some valuable other traits that we may include in future rounds of the survey. “Experience leading businesses through change”, “managed $X million of revenue” and “willingness to learn” are among the responses.
The Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ is based on a monthly survey of individuals who have recently inquired about businesses or franchises for sale on the Franchise Ventures lead generation platform. Data for this article was collected in July 2025.
Franchise Ventures is the leading franchise lead-generation platform for potential franchisees to thousands of growing franchise systems in the United States and Canada. Its franchise lead generation brands include Franchise.com, Franchise Solutions, Franchise Gator, Franchise Opportunities, Franchise For Sale, SmallBusinessStartup.com and BusinessBroker.net, and together they provide the largest aggregation of prospective franchise buyers in the U.S.
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Published on Monday, August 18th, 2025.