Franchising has always been seen as a reliable route into a second career. Recently however, it has begun to attract more and more young people too. According to the latest NatWest/bfa Franchise Survey, 1 in 5 new franchisees are now under the age of 30. One shining example of young people succeeding in franchising is Amanda Perkins. After she had her daughter, Amanda resigned from her role as an HR advisor to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board to find work closer to home. Shortly afterwards she became a Musical Minis franchisee and earlier this year won the EWIF (Encouraging Women Into Franchising) Young Franchisee of the Year award.
Simon McNeill-Ritchie, Founder and Managing Director of FranchisingWorks, believes that more young entrepreneurs should consider franchising as a route into self-employment and entrepreneurship. “Young people are brimming with enthusiasm, and this combined with the experience and expertise of an established franchisor can make a winning team. Franchising is like an apprenticeship into self-employment, at the end of which the young franchisee has the skills, experience and financial track-record to start up their own business – or continue in franchising.”
Getting access to the finance to start up a business can also be difficult for young people, who rarely have homes or other assets that can be used as security for loans. However, even in the current economic climate the high-street banks remain ready to lend to new franchise businesses. On top of this, FranchisingWorks has its own funds for qualifyng candidates looking to start up their own franchise business.