Franchises are a great way to get into business. But, these models aren’t for everyone. There certainly are pros and cons to the systems, regardless of industry. However, it’s an effective way to start a company and it’s a quite popular method. For instance, there are approximately 400,000 franchises in the United States alone, according to the International Franchise Association. These employee nearly 10 million people and range across 75 different industries. But, is it for you? Most Common Franchise Downsides Okay, let’s begin with downsides of owning a franchise. Perhaps the largest can easily be capital expenditure or start-up costs. Some are quite large but others are relatively inexpensive. Along the same lines are the fees. You’ll pay for marketing materials, royalty payments, and more. Speaking of costs, you might be subject to sole vendor sourcing. Meaning you must purchase certain materials and supplies from approved vendors. If buying an existing business doesn’t sound right for you but starting from scratch sounds a bit intimidating, you could be suited for franchise ownership. New franchisees can avoid a lot of the mistakes startup entrepreneurs typically make because the franchisor has already perfected daily operations through trial and error. —Entrepreneur.com You must also comply with the proprietary standards, set by the franchisor. Now, you might have some flexibility with said standards, but it’s usually limited. Additionally, you could also be locked into a contract. Then, there’s the ongoing success of the franchisor. In other words, the “parent company” must continue its track record. And then, there’s always risk involved with any endeavor. Biggest Franchise Advantages Of course, franchises have plenty of upsides. If they didn’t, there’s no way these models would routinely demonstrate such high levels of success. People simply wouldn’t waste any time (or money) and the entire notion would eventually disappear. But, franchises do largely succeed. So, here are the biggest franchise advantages: It’s an already established brand. Here’s what attracts so many entrepreneurs to buying franchises — it’s a known quantity. Consumers are already familiar with the brand and its products and/or services. Which means you don’t have the burden of establishing it from scratch. Marketing and operation support. Another big benefit is that you’re not out on your own. You receive marketing and operational support from the franchisor, which is a huge plus. Proven system of employee training. Along the same line is there’s already a working system in-place for employee training. You don’t need to work your way through trial and error to refine a workable training system. Access to proprietary operating methods. Speaking of an in-place system, you also don’t have to try to peel back the veil to learn how the system works. You’ll get all the information you need to open and run the business with actionable guidelines. What other franchise pros and cons would you add to the list? What are your thoughts about buying a franchise? Please comment and share your ideas! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Decision fatigue. It’s a phenomenon which probably affects you. Yet, you’re not truly aware of it. Put another way, you’ve likely felt its impact, but just didn’t know what to make of it. Or, more particularly, what to call it. That’s okay. It’s something many people experience a few times. Others are hit with it a lot — a whole lot. Usually, these are individuals in positions of authority. You know, the “decision makers.” Although we joke about it, the truth of the matter is, making decisions gets harder and harder as the day goes on. So, let’s look at some ways to avoid decision fatigue. Is Decision Fatigue Actually Real? The short answer to the question above is a resounding, “Yes!” Decision fatigue is real. In fact, two university researchers examined more than 1,000 decisions made by judges in Israel. Said judges either decided to grant or to deny parole. Prisoners who appeared in the morning, about 9 am, fared quite well. Those offenders had a 70 percent chance of making parole. Decision fatigue can seem harmless enough. Spending a few extra minutes deciding between chicken or beef isn’t the end of the world. But what you may not realize is that those little moments of turmoil could be negatively impacting your business. If left unchecked, decision fatigue can lead to reckless behavior like compulsive spending or, worse, the inability to make any decisions at all. —CNBC.com But, by the time mid-afternoon rolled around, those chances dropped down to just 10 percent. The conclusion, of course, was the judges simply used-up their stamina and therefore, took the simplest and safest way out. Ways to Avoid Decision Fatigue Now, if you’ve ever felt “used-up” at the end of the day, like your brain can’t process any more, decision fatigue is a likely culprit. Here are a few suggestions for how to avoid decision fatigue to better your work performance: Start tomorrow today. At the end of every day, start getting things in order for the next morning. Don’t make big decisions. Just get organized so you’re ready to go when you come back tomorrow. While this might seem too simple, it will have a big impact. Make important decisions early. When you start your day, don’t “ease” into it. Instead, challenge yourself by making the most important decisions when you’re most fresh and have new energy. You’ll see things more clearly and have a better sense of which way to go. Stop second-guessing yourself. In the military, some class instructors tell their students to bite the erasers off of their pencils right before starting a test. It’s not literal — it’s a figure of speech. It means your first intuition is typically the right one; so, don’t second-guess yourself. Snack and exercise every day. It’s a very good practice to have a solid but sensible breakfast in the morning. A light lunch is also a sound practice. But, you might feel a bit worn by mid-afternoon. The cure? Exercise and have a small snack to re-energize. What other ways do you combat decision fatigue? Please share your experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Once the initial wave of panic rolls over and starts to fade away, you begin to realize there’s a lot on the horizon, and that means you’ll need a plan. But, where do you start?