An acronym I like to use in business is Riyot (REPENT IN YOUR OWN TIME), ie enter in to the wrong franchise or business in haste and it could end up being a costly and long lasting mistake.

Written by an experienced franchisee with over 25 year's experience, this is an impartial and candid point of view. Please read through the points below and try and evaluate yourself honestly - it could just save you thousands of pounds and some sleepless nights.

With any franchise business there is a great deal to consider, one thing many people fail to consider is themselves!

1)You need to have a strong desire to work for yourself ? think about why this is and what it is you think working for yourself would give you that regular employment doesn't (and vice versa). Also think about this in terms of the potential impact on family and friends eg long hours, financial commitment and pressure, no sick pay, no paid holidays etc

2)Have a strong interest in the business you are looking to enter. This is an important element of most successful endeavours in life and none more so than in franchising or working for yourself.

3)Be a person who does not rely on anyone other than themselves to resolve the daily issues of running their business - some franchisors are very good at supporting the franchisee, but if your franchisor is understaffed and overwhelmed with questions then do not expect too much daily support.

4)You will need to be totally dedicated to making the franchise a success no matter what happens. A franchise is not that different to any other small business ie the key to success is making a profit by selling services or products ? this requires patience, perseverance, prudence and a sense of purpose.

5)Successful franchisees are committed and put the interest of the business first above all else. The likelihood is you will be the first one at ?the office? and the person turning out the lights.

6)Be a person who has good business acumen capable of dealing all sorts of people in a professional manner. Owning a franchise you will need to wear every ?hat? at some time or another. Being salesman, bookkeeper, customer service, credit control, personnel and of course owner all come with the territory.

7)You need to be able to withstand the financial pressures of starting a business and can cope with the unexpected events. Starting any business is hard and you will have self doubts and some dark days and even darker nights. Watching money leak out of your bank account and not much coming back in is typical of how most franchises and businesses go in the first few months and often longer before you find the recipe for success.

8)Appreciate the benefits and drawbacks of entering into a franchise agreement. One of the big drawbacks is sharing profit with your franchisor, remember each month you franchisor will be paid a combination of a fixed amount and a percentage from the money you earn. While you may feel they deserve this in the first year, when you have learnt the business and are still paying them after 3 years this can become frustrating. Furthermore enforcing your franchisor delivers on every aspect of the agreement is not always easy.

9)Your franchisor should give you a good business framework, but within that you need to have a clear strategy of your own. Take all available advice, have a game plan to succeed and have an exit strategy.

10)As a potential franchisee consider a range of scenarios from great success through to some degree of failure. Outlined these scenarios to those that matter. You should not shy away from the realities of life and business.

If you can not cope with failure do not enter business