Franchising has a few stigmas. It is all about fast food, it is not sexy and it is often seen as a shortcut to entrepreneurship—a ready-made business with brand recognition and a roadmap for success. While that’s partly true, there are plenty of misconceptions that can mislead potential franchisees and even eliminate people from considering this route to business ownership.
If you’re thinking about investing in a franchise, it’s crucial to separate fact from fiction. Let’s do some myth busting!
Myth #1: Franchising is EASY Money Guaranteed!
Truth: Franchising can be profitable, but it’s not a guaranteed cash machine. You still have to work hard, manage people, market your business, and solve daily problems. Think of it as owning a business with training wheels—you’re still riding the bike and there are bumps in the road. Heck, you can still fall off.
Success takes time, effort, and financial patience. Many franchisees work longer hours than they did in corporate roles, especially in the early years. You get out what you put in! In this situation, you are not sitting at your corporate desk waiting for your bi-weekly paycheck to hit the bank. If you don’t show up, neither does payroll.
Myth #2: You Don’t Need Business Experience
Truth: While many franchises are designed to train newcomers, having business, leadership, or customer service experience can be a huge advantage. You’ll need to make financial decisions, manage teams, and lead operations. Franchises like to train new owners on the concept and business-type (where no experience is needed) but you need to have a basic understanding of what levers to pull even when coaching is provided.
Franchisors give you the system (aka “playbook”), but they don’t run the business for you.
Myth #3: You’re Just Buying a Job
Truth: It can feel that way—especially if you’re an owner-operator working full-time in the business. But many franchisees grow to own multiple units or hire managers to create more passive income over time. Some love working “in” the business because they see the fruits of their labor. Others hustle to work “on” the business to grow into a more general manager/executive type role. This goes back to our goal of finding YOUR fit – your involvement will be different based on the franchise of interest.
You’re building an asset, not just trading hours for dollars—if you treat it like a real business.
Myth #4: The Franchisor Will Handle All the Marketing
Truth: While franchisors provide national marketing campaigns and brand tools, local marketing is often up to you. That means community outreach, networking, promotions, and managing your own local social media. The corporate franchise office is not going to come and sponsor your son’s little league baseball team. That is the local marketing engagement required of a local owner. Funny, I never thought of a franchise as being “locally-owned” but IT IS!
Local visibility = local responsibility. Successful franchisees are proactive marketers.
Myth #5: All Franchises Are Expensive
Truth: Not all franchises require a million dollars to start. There are lower-cost options especially in the non-brick and mortar space – services. Hundreds of options exist beyond your typical brick and mortar business and way beyond fast food. Think home services, senior care, education, consulting…the list goes on!
Franchising isn’t just for the wealthy—it’s for the resourceful. Most franchisees finance their franchise through SBA and ROBS offerings.
Myth #6: You Have No Freedom as a Franchisee
Truth: Franchises come with rules—but you still have autonomy over how you run your day, manage your team, and grow your business. Some industries are stricter than others (e.g., fast food), but many franchises encourage owner creativity—within guidelines. Believe me, no one was in my office telling me how to run my franchise.
You give up some flexibility for brand consistency—but gain support and proven systems.
Myth #7: If a Franchise Brand Is Popular, It Must Be a Good Investment
Truth: Just because a brand is well-known doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for you or your market. High brand awareness often comes with high fees, saturated markets, and tough competition.
Due diligence matters more than popularity. Look at unit performance, support quality, and franchisee satisfaction before signing anything. Also known, as Find Your Fit.
Myth #8: Franchising Is Only for Food Businesses
Truth: While food franchises are common, franchising spans dozens of industries, including:
- Fitness
- Home repair
- Child education
- Health & wellness
- Pet care
- Automotive
- B2B services
Many of these services you may have used and NEVER knew it was a franchise. When you start looking, you will be surprised how many are at your fingertips.
There’s a franchise for nearly everything!
Myth #9: You’ll Be Profitable in a Few Months
Truth: Some franchisees take a year or more to break even. It depends on the industry, your location, your skill, and how aggressively you market and operate. If you are operating on a part-time, semi-absent basis, expect it to take longer.
Plan for a slow ramp-up and have enough working capital to get through it. It is HARD – no one said it was gonna be easy.
Myth #10: Franchising Isn’t Real Entrepreneurship
Truth: You may not be inventing a product from scratch, but you are building, leading, and taking risks like any entrepreneur. You make hiring decisions, manage finances, grow revenue, and adapt to your local market. At the end of the day, that business belongs to YOU and the success is on YOU too. As the owner, you pull all the levers.
Franchisees are entrepreneurs—just with a head start.
Final FIT Thoughts
Franchising is a powerful business model—but only if you walk in with clear eyes. Don’t let the myths cloud your judgment or lead you into a situation you’re not prepared for.
Take your time, do your homework, and talk to real franchisees. The more you learn, the better prepared you’ll be to turn your investment into a thriving, long-term business.AND, partner with an experienced franchise coach, like The Franchise Fit Company to help you navigate, explore and ask the right questions. Your third party and extra set of eyes-our goal is to find your right fit, not SELL you a franchise. Contact Us
