https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2020 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2020 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

Strategy


Look Before You Leap Into A Managed Services Franchise

  • Written by Mitch York 1
  • September 24, 2008
At first glance, franchises are for fast food and retail stores. But franchises are popping up in the managed services market, and quite a few are successful.

Still, franchises aren't for everyone. I had lunch the other day with a franchise consultant who helps people find a franchise that’s right for them. Here are some key thoughts from the conversation.

Managed Services FranchiseAt first glance, franchises are for fast food and retail stores. But franchises are popping up in the managed services market, and quite a few are successful.

Still, franchises aren’t for everyone. I had lunch the other day with a franchise consultant who helps people find a franchise that’s right for them. Here are some key thoughts from the conversation.

During our chat, we agreed that for the past half-decade or more, franchising has been driven to some degree (I think a large one) by middle-aged Baby Boomers who grew tired of their jobs in corporate America and found an easy way to buy themselves a job through the equity in their homes. They bought an unprecedented number of franchises, writing checks from easy-to-get equity lines of credit.

I knew some of those people personally–the ones who would have been better off spending $10,000 on a Club Med vacation, rather than $200,000 on a franchise, because all they really needed was a change of scenery for a while. Now, many of those people have closed their businesses because they did not find the success that their franchisor and their own fond wishes had promised them. Along with shuttered businesses, many have lost homes and/or their kids’ college savings.

I’m not one to look for silver linings in bad news. The stories I have heard are  harrowing. There’s no “Oh, well, it’s a learning experience” to be said when someone loses their house.

Real Players Enter the Market

The future landscape, which became a reality in the last month but has been taking shape all year, looks very different. My friend the franchise consultant is already seeing it in the people who come to him looking for a business to buy. The people who were going to buy a franchise out of boredom, or because they couldn’t find a job after a layoff, are gone. They are being replaced by people with maturity, management experience and cash.

It turns out that not everyone can or should own their own business. Entrepreneurship is not something everyone can do. That’s why, when I’m asked by prospective franchisees about whether the particular franchise I own might be good for them, I do everything I can to get them to run for the hills. If they’re crazy enough to be entrepreneurs, they don’t need encouragement from me. They’ll go ahead and do it anyway.

MSPmentor contributing blogger Mitch York coaches executives who are evolving into entrepreneurs. He is a veteran of high-tech media and an entrepreneur himself. Find York — and his personal blog — at www.e2ecoaching.com.

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Strategy

Related


  • Akamai Technologies Partners Migrating to New Channel Program
    Akamai partners will migrate to the new program over a six-month transition period.
  • Social media on smartphone, laptop
    Cloud Providers in the Channel Flee From Parler
    Amazon Web Services isn’t the only vendor to cut ties with the right-wing social media outlet.
  • Ready, Set, Go
    New, Changing Partner Programs: AWS, Tech Data, Avaya, Verizon
    Vendors and distributors thanked partners for their efforts in 2020 and geared up for 2021.
  • Business hands together, diversity
    Intel Partner Alliance Unifies All Programs, Provides New Opportunities
    The new program is designed to enhance Intel's relationship with valued partners.

7 comments

  1. Avatar jkilgore September 24, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
    Reply

    Great insight Mitch, hopefully I can offer a little more.

    Chip Reaves, CEO of Computer Troubleshooters (world’s largest IT solutions franchise), has definitely put together a go-to-market franchise for SMB managed services. How do I know (or be somewhat biased)? I used to work for him during the development and selection of their Managed Services offerings.

    Being a franchisee has tremendous benefits beyond the marketing, advertising, community, etc… It’s a tried and true model of what works and what doesn’t work. At Computer Troubleshooters I know they’ve gone through tremendous pains that a lot of Managed Services provider have – selecting the preferred vendors, RMM platforms, PSA solutions, pricing, and all the other things that take extreme diligence to navigate when starting a new business. On top of actually selecting those platforms, they’ve used the economy of scale to negotiate killer deals and provide them to the franchisees. With a very, very modest buy into a CT franchise it is definitely worth looking at if you are starting your own Managed Services business.

    Just my $0.02….

    John Kilgore
    Director, Managed Services
    Computer Service Partners, Inc.

  2. Avatar Joe Panettieri September 24, 2008 @ 12:58 pm
    Reply

    John: Good to hear your perspectives. It sounds like you have the focus and vision to be a franchisee. But I think Mitch is pointing out that many so-called entrepreneurs make the following error: Just because they lose a corporate job or hate their current position, they “assume” it might be time to become a franchisee.

    I remember when I had positions that I didn’t like. I always assumed the grass would be greener if I had my own business. But you have to find the “right” business (or franchise model) for your talents, rather than jump in blindly.

  3. Avatar mspsn September 25, 2008 @ 2:31 pm
    Reply

    Haha – agreed. The problem is that an overwhelming majority of SMB IT VARs/MSPs/SPs/Etc. came from a corporate job, cut the purse strings and hung out their shingle because they thought they could deliver services better than their boss. Whether they bought a franchise in an entrepreneurial seizure or whether they hung out their own shingle isn’t the dangerous part. You could lose your house by jumping into any form of business without proper planning and business management savvy, and even then the effects of economy, competition, financing, etc. can put you out of business quickly. A good franchise can be a great solution especially for an IT person who has no business background, or finance background, or management background. I never bought into a franchise because when I had my entrepreneurial seizure, I was too stubborn to look at a franchise, I thought I was smarter than that and could figure it all out on my own. 😉

    Amy Luby
    http://www.mspsn.com
    aluby at mspsn dot com

  4. Avatar Joe Panettieri September 25, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
    Reply

    Amy: To your point — sometimes it pays to be stubborn. Alas, some stubborn people flame out and never learn from their mistakes. Other stubborn people turn out to be Steve Jobs, Bill Gates … you get the picture.

    I hope your stubborn ways lead to continued success at MSPSN. I respect stubborn entrepreneurs.

  5. Avatar Mitch Yotk September 26, 2008 @ 6:47 pm
    Reply

    Glad to see my article sparked some good thinking. I think whether someone succeeds in a franchise has everything to do with whether the individual has great business instincts, which perhaps cannot be taught or read in a franchise operations manual. Franchisors try to make their franchises idiot-proof. And the best of them succeed – one word: McDonald’s. But when it comes to B2B it’s another story. For that, success depends on whether the franchise owner can look at client in the eye, have real credibility, and deliver consistently.

  6. Avatar Joe Panettieri September 26, 2008 @ 9:23 pm
    Reply

    Mitch: The old argument of “instincts” vs. “experience” is a fun one. I think we sharpen our instincts through experience.

    But it’s difficult to explain, because sometimes experience can lead to bad decisions. Sometimes we assume yesterday’s good decisions are still the same decisions we should make today. Meanwhile, markets and customer demands are ever-changing.

    For me, I can’t imagine buying into a franchise because I’m not good at following another person’s routine. I constantly create and recreate my own routines. There’s some upside — and some downside — to my approach. But I’ve learned to live with it. (And I hope my business partner has, too.)

  7. Avatar Amy Katz September 26, 2008 @ 9:34 pm
    Reply

    Joe: Your business partner is learning to live with it. Luckily for Nine Lives Media, our instincts tend to be similar, and when they are not, a healthy debate typically ends with a clear path forward.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • IBM Names CEO of New Managed Services Spinoff
  • Commvault Partners Get New Global Leader with Dell EMC Vet
  • Don't Wait for Fall's 'Homecoming' Channel Event — CP Virtual 2021 Is Coming Soon
  • Presidio Plans International Expansion with Arkphire Acquisition

Galleries

View all

New, Changing Partner Programs: AWS, Tech Data, Avaya, Verizon

January 11, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

Cyberattacks: Threat Hunters Conquer Unpredictability with 3 Measures

January 21, 2021

The Right Data Migration Tool Helps Schools Move to Cloud During COVID Crisis

January 19, 2021

Cloud-Based CRM: What SMBs Need to Know about Backup and Recovery

January 19, 2021

Webinars

View all

Who’s Behind the Mask? Hacker Personas Explained

January 26, 2021

Your Network Perimeter Has Changed

February 18, 2021

How Managed Hosting Providers Thrive with the Alternative Cloud

February 24, 2021

White Papers

View all

Why Subscription Business Model

January 15, 2021

The Ultimate MSP Guide to Sales Efficiency

January 14, 2021

Eight Reasons Why MSPs Need IT Industry-Specific Sales Tools

January 14, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Virtual

March 2, 2021 - March 4, 2021

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How SOAR Eliminates Security Challenges and Elevates Service Provider Revenues

January 6, 2021

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

FASTCHAT: How Old, Unpatched Technologies Are Creating New Security Threats for MSPs and Their Customers

December 3, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

#MSPs can inject predictability into #threathunting @Sophos #cybersecurity #ransomware dlvr.it/Rr4ffV https://t.co/Bztc2Yxwvc

January 22, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@RiskBased report shows decrease in #databreaches, jump in exposed records in 2020. dlvr.it/Rr4fcW https://t.co/PYiDMiJFbt

January 22, 2021
ChannelFutures

Legal experts say @VMware's #lawsuit against @nutanix's new CEO holds little weight. dlvr.it/Rr48FJ https://t.co/oLxPhgvgAt

January 21, 2021
ChannelFutures

bit.ly/2Y0kFZh twitter.com/Craig_Galbrait…

January 21, 2021
ChannelFutures

Our latest #Cybersecurity Roundup features @BitSight and @kovrrIns, @Vectra_AI and @AppOmniSecurity,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@solarwinds hackers target @Malwarebytes, impacting internal emails. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/RqzkZp https://t.co/aWqLjCCW9y

January 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@citrix $2.25 deal to acquire @wrike expands @CitrixPartners network into collaborative work management.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@Carbonite Migrate uses real-time replication to move workloads to #cloud with minimal risk and near-zero downtime… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

January 20, 2021

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Online
  • Channel Partners Events
  • MSP 501
  • MSSP Insider
  • IoT World Today
  • Webhostingtalk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X