Regardless of business model, industry, or motivations, it's no secret that most aspiring business owners are interested in entrepreneurship to make money. But there are a host of options available when trying to develop your own wealth portfolio. After all, anyone considering business ownership has likely made money in other ways—traditional jobs, passive investmentsreal estate, private investment syndicates through friends and family, private deals or being a partner in independently owned businesses.

One option to consider lies in the franchise ownership. In fact, franchises can act like these income streams listed above, but can offer additional benefits. Let's explore how owning a franchise business compares to four alternative income streams: a corporate job, real estate investing, non-franchise business ownership, and passive investing.

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1. Exclusive work against the corporation

Most franchise owners have an employment history, often in Corporate America — and is a great asset, providing experience and business acumen. In terms of the number of working hours, the ability to work with a team and management skills, owning a franchise is comparable to a corporate position, with key differences. Primarily, the changes stem from four major pain points affecting corporate employees:

• Autonomy: It can be difficult to control your own destiny (results) in a corporate position, with many factors beyond your control.
• Flexibility: In a corporate position, you're often working on someone else's schedule, making it harder to manage your personal life.
• Purpose / passion: If your job isn't fulfilling or you're not comfortable selling accessories, it can be difficult to maintain an executive focus.
• Financial security: Corporate positions were once the safe and secure path to creating income and wealth; however, in the modern economy it becomes dangerous as you approach middle age and are still in middle management.

In these four areas, franchise ownership offers alternative options that allow more control both on a large scale and in everyday life.

2. Franchise versus investment in real estate

Similar to investing in real estate, franchising requires a certain level of initial costs and investments. Like rental properties, owning a franchise is a big responsibility that will require maintenance, ongoing costs and hands-on management.

However, franchising can often have a better return on investment than real estate. Consider one lounge suite exclusivity in which beauty professionals rent suites from you to run their businesses. In this scenario, you are responsible for the initial investment, lease improvement and filling the salon with beauty professionals. But after that point, you don't have much to do on a daily basis

Similar to real estate investing, your time in many franchise models can be leveraged, but unlike real estate, you're offering a unique service with higher barriers to entry, typically creating stronger returns on investment. Once the business is up and running, you'll typically enjoy high-level oversight and less day-to-day operations.

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3. Franchise vs. Non-Franchise Business Ownership

Whether you own a franchise or a non-franchise brand, business ownership is business ownership, right? Wrong.

Depending on your specific goals for having a business, each of these models has a variety of options to consider Key differences include level of control, available finances and time, branding and marketing, research and development opportunities, staff and training practices, and shared industry knowledge.

Franchise ownership means you are starting a new business, but not from the square. There is a tried and true framework for operating. For the right candidate, this is an ideal jumping off point. However, if you want control over the concept and the finer details, then a non-franchise business may be more suitable. Just remember to start a business from scratch LOT time for non-revenue generating things (logo, employee handbook, back office setup, etc). If you take the business-from-scratch approach, make sure you're prepared for a long period of growth.

4. Franchise versus passive investment portfolio

There is no business really passive — if you really want passive income, then consider buying stocks and bonds. While there are franchises that are passive, they take much more equity (consider a hotel chain). Of course, truly passive franchise models are not within the most realistic budgets.

That said, there is a middle ground. Successful franchise owners often find that time spent operating and managing the business is wasted over time. Most franchise models can ultimately be run by a general manager rather than the franchise owner. While it may have to be full-time at first, franchise owners who have built their platform of operations can grow to become semi-passive over time.

If you're in the process of evaluating your portfolio and find yourself looking for alternative options, then it's worth considering franchise ownership. By comparing franchises with other more traditional ways to make money, such as corporate work, real estate investing, non-franchise business ownership, and passive investing, you'll be able to make the best decisions that match your goals. your professional

At the end of the day, it's important to know your options to determine the best path forward. Who knows? You just might discover your next big career move.