Are You an Entrepreneur... or a Systempreneur?

It's the first question any potential franchisee should ask themselves. Here’s how to find the answer.

- By Alicia Miller

Franchising sounds great, in theory: You can have your own business, where you're the boss, while also operating inside an established brand that's committed to helping you be successful.

But wait. Before you go any further, there's an important question you must answer about yourself: Are you an entrepreneur or a systempreneur?

Here's another way of thinking about it: Do you want to start a business...or own a business?

In my work consulting for those in the franchising industry, I often ask people this question. The distinction is important-because the answer can predict whether you'll be happy and successful as a franchisee.

Some people love to invent. They have a unique vision and want to bring it to life-building not just a new product or service, but also the team that supports it and the system that executes it. This is hard, rewarding work. If it's what you dream of, then franchising probably isn't a fit for you. (That is, unless you plan to start your own franchise concept and bring it to market!)

There's another way, however: If you simply dream of running and owning a business, where your daily focus is driving profitability, growth, scale, and impact, then you might be an excellent franchisee.

The franchise model was designed with exactly this type of operations- and sales-focused entrepreneur in mind: I call it the system-preneur. Strong franchisees are also typically good at managing people, listening, sharing, learning, and collaborating-in other words, fitting great people into thriving systems.

This requires an open mindset. A system-preneur must see opportunity and have a can-do approach. You will be following someone else's system, so it's critically important to make sure you are prepared to do just that-and that you are prepared to work with them every step of the way.

Working in the system