Unemployment
Redundancy is increasingly becoming a fact of life these days. After years of growing employment there has been a sharp upturn in the number of people losing their jobs in Ireland. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development predict that redundancies will soar to about 2,270 a week in the period between New Year and Easter, the worst since the 1950s, sending unemployment above the 10% mark.

It’s a very challenging situation, and everyone will have sympathy for those who are going to be effected. Many of these people will have been made redundant once or twice before, and they’re not relishing the prospect of it happening again. Finding another job won’t be easy. The future, surely, for many of them, is in franchising.

Looking back to the early 1990s, when we had the same gloomy conditions, the franchise industry continued to expand and, interestingly, the ranks of the franchisees increased significantly with enterprising people viewing self employment/ business ownership being distinctly preferable to the uncertainties of being an employee. Banks at that time reported that while many “stand alone” new business start ups ended in failure, the great majority who went the franchise route had succeeded. I expect history to be repeated.

I’m not saying franchising offers any guarantees. It doesn’t. Running your own business is not easy and there are risks involved, especially if you’ve never been your own boss before. As with any business, you get out of it what you put in. But at least you’re not on your own. A Franchisee will have the support of the Franchisor who provides a proven business system, ready access to best practice procedures and the tools and collaterals to meet changing circumstances.

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