How to find out: is this franchise a good fit for me?

Hi folks, 

Choosing what business to buy is a big decision. 

I help people do it every day. It’s something to consider carefully.

But there’s one factor that actually doesn’t matter nearly as much as people think:

“Am I good at this kind of business?”

Let’s unpack.

When someone says “Am I good at this kind of business?”, they’re asking: 

Don’t I have to be a plumber to own a plumbing business?

It’s a fair question. 

But the answer, in my opinion, is no. Because when you’re buying a franchise, you’re not applying for a job. You’re buying a system. 

The better question is “Can I provide what this business needs to win?”

Try to answer that question in two ways: skill fit, and personality fit.

Skill fit

Michael Girdley likes to say that 85% of business tastes like chicken, while 15% varies by industry.

So the skills we’re talking about here are not plumbing skills. 

They’re business skills. 

You need a skill set that aligns with whatever lever will drive revenue for the business. 

Let’s look at what that actually means in the real world:

• If it’s a B2B service business, the lever is outbound sales. If you're comfortable selling a service, managing reps, and playing the long game with corporate buyers, you’re in good shape.
  

• If it’s a B2C consumer brand (like med spas or fitness), the lever is lead generation. That means managing ad spend, conversion rates, customer experience.
  

• If it’s an ops-heavy field service business, the lever is dispatch and logistics. Are you a systems thinker? Can you manage crews and keep schedules tight?
  

• If it’s a manager-led retail business, the lever is team building. Recruiting, training, retaining good managers. Culture matters more than charisma here.

→ Related read: The 3 categories of franchises (and who does well in each)

Don’t have any of these skills? That doesn’t count you out… as long as you have the capacity to build these skills. Which one of these can you imagine yourself geeking out over?

Personality fit

This is a layer most people overlook. 

It’s not just what you can do… it’s about how you like to operate.

Do you enjoy building teams and mentoring people? Look for a franchise with a strong internal training system and a collaborative franchisee community.

Do you like to deep dive into metrics and data? Then avoid brands where the franchisor is vague or disorganized on ops and reporting.

Do you hate conflict and hard conversations? Then maybe skip the franchise that lives and dies by aggressive B2B cold calls.

The right franchise isn’t just one you can run. It’s one you won’t quietly resent six months in.

—

Skill and personality fit are far from the only factors you should weigh when choosing a franchise to buy. 

But if a business doesn’t fit you in one of these, consider that a big red flag.

Questions? Comments?

Hit reply and let me know.

Or, if you’re ready to buy a franchise ASAP, let’s get on a call.

Thanks for reading,

Connor

P.S. Want to dive deeper? Here are some other recent articles on how to prepare for ownership:

→ Should you even own a business?

→ 5 franchises to avoid like the plague

Ready for the next step? Here are 3 ways I can help you: