Should I start a retail Franchise Business

Opening a new business is  risky proposition. No matter how much you educate yourself, or how many  long days you put in running the business, unforeseen personal or  macroeconomic events can crop up to present significant obstacles. One method to minimize unforeseen problems is to brainstorm and come  up with as many pros and cons about operating the business that you can,  especially if it is a specialty retail business. For: Successful Business Owners Make Money:  Making money is a primary  goal of all small business owners, and seeing all your hard work pay off  in a successful store that makes a lot of profits would be a dream come  true for most. The markup in the business is relatively high, which  means you do not have to sell a huge volume to make a reasonable profit. Against: Losing Your Investment or Owing the Bank Money if the Shop  Fails:  It is important to be honest with yourself and admit that your a  business can fail despite your best efforts, and that is especially  true with a small specialty business like a retail outlet. Also make  sure that you are only investing personal funds that you can afford to  lose and that you are only borrowing money you can afford to pay back. For: Entree to the World of Retailing: One wonderful fringe benefit is  the entree to the world of retail is you get by owning a shop. You will  not only get regular visits from salespeople and company reps (and  occasional free samples), you often also get invitations and/or discount  admissions to events in your area and in major cities. Against: Long Hours and Little to No Pay at First:  One major  disadvantage to starting a business is the near certainty of long hours  and little pay when you first open up the business. If things go  swimmingly, you might start to make some decent money in a few months as  your clientele builds (and businesses do tend toward repeat customers),  but realistically you should expect to have a quite limited income for  at least a year or so. For: Establishing Relationships with Customers and Employees:   Another advantage of owing a business is the opportunity to meet new  people. A retail business owner has all sorts of public interactions,  both with customers as well as vendors and employees. Networking and  establishing working relationships with people in the industry and  business community can serve you in good stead in the future. Against: Employees, Taxes and Insurance Means Paperwork:  There is a  lot more to running a business than buying stock and selling it. You  also have to to hire, manage and occasionally fire employees; buy the  appropriate insurance; pay the utilities; calculate and pay sales and  income taxes and much more. All of these activities are paperwork  intensive.