The Key Personal Strengths Claimed by Today’s Aspiring Franchisees

By: Michael Alston for Franchise Insights

November 22, 2023 — Most franchise inquirers believe they demonstrate three important characteristics for succeeding at business ownership.  Grit, or “persistence towards a goal despite obstacles” was cited by 53.0% of respondents in the October 2023 Startup Sentiment survey by Franchise Insights. “Willingness to follow a proven system” was claimed by 53.9% of respondents, followed closely by “team leadership experience” at 52.9%.

These characteristics could be expected, given that the vast majority of today’s would-be franchise owners are at prime entrepreneurial age and are leaving a full-time job according to recent aspiring franchise owner demographics from the monthly small business startup sentiment surveys.

Survey respondents are invited to select only three of the seven actors on the list, or to provide an “other” response, so the above are what they deem their most valuable attributes for franchise ownership.

Team leadership experience, “grit” and willingness to follow a proven system are cited by most franchise seekers.

Grit was defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” by psychologist Angela Duckworth and colleagues in a 2014 study of the predictors of success. In this pivotal work, 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. If you have not been exposed to the research findings, you might enjoy this six-minute TED talk by the author whose video has been viewed over 22 million times.

Grit is a necessary trait, but it is not sufficient for the successful operation of a franchise. The willingness of franchisees to follow a proven system is a well-known success factor, and the recognition of that characteristic in today’s prospective owners bodes well for the coming generation of franchisees. Franchises require team leadership skills, except for absentee-ownership situations and one-person opportunities.

Access to sufficient startup capital was reported by 36.3%, and 34.3% have experience in the business segment they are pursuing for a franchise. Another 29.4% of respondents include prior business ownership among their top three strengths, and 28.4% cite a supportive partner or spouse.. Almost a fourth (24.8%) have experience in the business segment they are pursuing for a franchise.

In October, 29.4% of respondents included prior business ownership among their top three strengths.

An “other” category garnered some valuable other traits that we will include in the next round of the survey. “Training” experience, and “sales and marketing skills” are two examples. 

These aspiring business owners see business conditions “the same or better” for startups in the next three months. In the same survey, 73.8% of entrepreneurs planned their launches within the next six months.

The most recent Startup Sentiment Index™ survey was conducted October 27-31, 2023. 

Download a copy of the October 2023 FranchiseInsights.com SSI report here. See excerpts from prior SSI™ surveys and subscribe to receive the Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ monthly report when it is released.

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 FranchiseVentures Lead Generation platform.

FranchiseVentures 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.

Interested in more insights from our proprietary data set? Subscribe here to make sure you hear about them first.

Contact FranchiseVentures to get your share of today’s aspiring franchise owners.

 
Published on Tuesday, November 21st, 2023.