Our careers could recover. You probably don't have that kind of time on your hands. You've realized it's time to step up to the plate and swing for the fences-the years are going by faster, and soon, the car, the house, the spouse and the baby will require more and more cash. Many middle-aged people I've met are so ensnarled in this trap that an escape from a day job is incomprehensible. By contrast, you're probably loaded with energy-and a solid franchise system can be a perfect complement to the natural attributes of youth.
Franchises come in all flavors.
In sorting through the morass of options, I spoke with Dallas franchise attorney Don McClure, who agreed with me that there is an ideal combination of factors to look for when entering this field without a great deal of capital or experience. Now, that seems like an obvious statement, but it's worthy of dissection. One of the primary considerations is the experience level of the franchisor as well as where that franchisor stands in the growth curve of its system. If you want to build an empire, you should select a growing opportunity-but not necessarily a new opportunity. Therefore, it is imperative that you ask the management and some of the older franchisees in the system if anything exists that would prevent you from expanding.