Before you purchase a franchise, you’ll want to spend time researching the best franchise to own. As we’ve discussed before, that’s a highly personal question. One entrepreneur’s perfect franchise opportunity could be a dud in someone else’s hands. To buy the right franchise, you’ll need to find an opportunity that checks off all the right boxes for you.

But for that to happen, you’ll need to know what those boxes are and why they’re important.

We wanted to simplify that process. To do that, we made the following 10-item checklist of what you should look for in the best franchise to own. Use this checklist to help you find a franchise that fits your resources, goals, and personal strengths!

Murphy’s ‘Best Franchise to Own’ Checklist

1. The Right Level of Investment

Finding the best franchise to own starts with finding a franchise within your price range. On a smaller budget, you’ll be looking at low-cost opportunities, such as a home-based franchise. If your budget allows for a seven-figure investment, you can choose from a wider range of franchise brands. (That said, you might find that your best franchise to own doesn’t require a large investment.)

2. The Right Earnings & Returns

As with any other investment, a franchise should generate a positive return. So it’s important that you find a franchise opportunity with: A) the potential to generate profits and appreciate in value at a level that justifies your investment; B) a strong likelihood of achieving these returns within your target market.

3. The Right Location/Territory

When you purchase a franchise, your agreement will (typically) give you the right to operate in a specific area. The best franchise to own will provide you with a high-potential territory — one with the market conditions you need to run a successful franchise. Your agreement may also provide a protected territory. This gives you the exclusive right to serve clients within that area under your brand name, a valuable asset for service businesses.

4. The Right Business Model

In choosing your best franchise to own, you’ll want a business model that’s proven to work and that you feel confident using for your business. You’ll also want to consider the level of flexibility this business model offers. Some franchisees prefer a rigid set of standards, while others prefer the freedom to run their franchise according to their own vision.

5. The Right Training & Support

As a franchisee, you’ll depend on your franchisor to provide the knowledge and resources you need to succeed. This is particularly true in highly complex industries (like business brokerage), or in those that are highly regulated. The best franchise to own will come with rigorous training — including in-person classroom education. And it will come with the tools, systems, and guidance you need to build a thriving business from the ground up.

6. The Right Fit for Your Skillset

Franchisees don’t succeed by simply picking a top-ranked franchise off a list of the best franchises to own. Instead, they find a franchise opportunity that fits who they are as entrepreneurs. That starts with finding a franchise opportunity where you can harness your strengths. These include hard and soft skills that you’ve developed over the years, as well as knowledge you’ve gleaned from personal and professional experience.

7. The Right Fit for Your Interests

You might have the perfect skill set for a given franchise opportunity. But if you’re not interested in that industry, or if you’re bored by the day-to-day operations that a franchise would require, it won’t be the right fit. The best franchise to own will give you a business where you’re excited to get up in the morning, and where each workday gives you new challenges and opportunities that you’re ready to engage with.

8. The Right Fit for Your Work Habits

Everyone has their own way of doing things. As an entrepreneur, it’s important that you find a business where your way of doing things allows you to thrive. Invariably, the best franchise to own will put you in a leadership role where you feel comfortable. At the same time, you’ll want a franchise where day-to-day operations fit your personal work habits and workflow preferences.

9. The Right Fit for Your Life & Routine

Owning and operating a franchise business is a life-altering decision, with significant implications for your personal life. Choosing the best franchise requires finding an opportunity that makes sense for you and your family, allowing you to maintain a healthy work/life balance, find time for friends and family, and continue doing the things you love and feel passionate about.

10. The Chance to Do Meaningful Work

One of the most overlooked aspects of finding the best franchise to own is the sense of purpose your business provides. Some entrepreneurs are simply looking for a path to financial independence and enrichment. But for others, starting a franchise not only gives them a chance to make money but also a chance to make a meaningful change in people’s lives.

At Murphy Business, this is something we’ve seen from our own franchise network. For our franchisees, starting a Murphy Business franchise checked off all the boxes they were looking for in a franchise. But it also provided them with the chance to work directly with Main Street business owners. What’s more, our franchisees guide these business owners through one of the most difficult phases of business ownership.

Looking for your best franchise to own? Call Murphy Business today at (727) 725-7090 to learn more about our franchise opportunities.