A Business Opportunity is Like a Franchise

A Home Business Article Contributed by Elizabeth Fox-Wise

Would You Like Fries with That Business Opportunity?

Basically buying into a business opportunity is like purchasing a franchise. A Business opportunity is typically one company (either large or small) selling portions of itself to entrepreneurs. For a specified amount of money up front that you pay when you join the business opportunity - and some times additional agreed upon money on a monthly or royalty basis, you get the rights to use the company's name, marketing material, products and most importantly their established reputation.

The theory is that you can build your success of off their, already established success, by duplicating what they are doing. Hence the birth of your business.

So a Business Opportunity is Not Much Different from Buying a Mcdonalds

Yes and No. There are some basic similarities although also some major differences.

Buying a franchise with world wide recognition - such as a McDonalds, a Pizza Hut or a Subway, takes more capital that many entrepreneurs have at their disposal. So along came Business Opportunities from companies who saw a need and knew they could fill it.

Companies who have been established, built a reputation, and may even have world wide recognition, but because the support you will need from them is minimal and their business will profit from your success, they can let you buy into their business opportunity for the fraction of the cost of purchasing a franchise. Suddenly Business Opportunities (or franchises) became affordable by almost all Americans.

Unlike buying a franchise, many business opportunities will have very low overhead and operating costs after the initial investment. Typically you will not need employees. And it may or may not require a physical location. If it does require a physical location, if your costumers are not coming to you, space inside your home might be all that you need. This can vary with different business opportunities, though, so always find out the details of any business opportunity you are looking into.

What Kind of Support Can You Expect with Your Business Opportunity?

Like buying a franchise, there is a certain amount of support you should expect to be able to receive from the corporate (or parent) company. The amount and type of support you will receive will vary from one business opportunity to the next.

Typically, you should expect that the money you paid to join the business opportunity should provide you with some marketing materials, any product you might need to get started in business, forms and other materials needed for use in the business, and some type of training or mentoring to get you started in your business opportunity and to provide support long after you business is up and running.

When looking into any business opportunity you should compare and contrast the start up and any ongoing fees or memberships involved with what you are getting for your money. In general, the more expensive it is to join, the more free materials and support you should expect to get in return from the business opportunity.