Many years ago it was the norm that when someone wanted to go into business for themselves it meant using one’s own instincts and depending on one’s own personal know-how and also observing the way that the market was going to move. However, things have changed and franchises have become the new way of doing things which has led to much prosperity for franchisees. Essentially, a franchise is duplication of business concept that has proven successful for the parent company and it also means that the franchisee is the owner who hires his or her own staff and looks after the day-to-day working of his franchise in which the stakes are high since the franchisee has invested his own time, money and effort in running the business. An Already Established Concept – Another advantage to owning a franchise is that the concept has already been established and there will already be a proven track record of success. Also, the franchisee is well within his or her rights in using the trademark of the company and also its brand name which gives a license to the franchisee to market products that already has the brand recognition and which is already popular with the customers. Thus, having a franchise means tapping into a market that has already been established and is ready for more business. When one takes a franchise, there is assured support on the part of the franchiser, and even though you may running the business on your own, there is always an extra opportunity or two available from the parent company and assistance too is always forthcoming. Since a majority of franchises are turnkey projects, it means that after signing the agreement, the franchisee gets all the equipment as well as supplies that are necessary to grow the business further, and this is something that sets franchising apart from other business concepts. Next, when one takes a franchise there is less need for capital as compared to starting a business for yourself, and this can be attributed to the fact that you will already be getting experience and also a tried and tested system that the parent company has operated with success, and for which you do not have to spend unnecessarily such as on trial and error ideas. And, it also means getting supplies at lower costs because the parent company has already negotiated prices with suppliers and this benefit is passed onto the franchise. Other benefits to starting a franchise includes getting wider promotional campaigns, benefits of ongoing R & D programs, having the status of a company, not taking any more risks than are necessary, and getting a set of quality standards that are unified. Thus, with all these benefits, it is easy to see why other forms of business concepts are not able to compete with franchising.