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What do you think about buying a franchise right out of college?
I'm a college student and my parents are willing to buy a business for me (like a pizza franchise) but want me to work for a couple of years first. I would like to skip the grunt work and go right to being the boss. My grades are pretty good and I'm taking all of the business classes.

Asked by felixthedog
Posted: Wednesday, March 04, 2009  |  Found in Franchises

More answers by Jeff Elgin
Answer by Jeff Elgin
Buying a franchise right out of college so you can skip the grunt work and go right to "being the boss" sounds great in theory but it does present some challenges. The first of these is the assumption you seem to have that bosses don't do grunt work.

One of the joys of being the boss is that you have the control and responsibility for making things happen. You are indeed the CEO - but you're also the janitor or dishwasher or any other job that needs to be done at any given point in time. Being successful involves being willing to do any job in the business and often leading by example.

It's possible that your parents want you to work for a couple of years before providing the money for you to get a franchise in order to allow you a chance to gain some real world experience working for a living. It can be experience that will help you manage employees better when you become the boss and can also teach you lessons that will help you avoid expensive mistakes once you become the boss.
Jeff Elgin has almost 20 years of experience franchising, both as a franchisee and a senior franchise company executive. He's currently the CEO of FranChoice Inc., a company that provides free consulting to consumers looking for a franchise that best meets their needs.

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