Franchising is a growing business plan in Oklahoma

You don’t have to be an entrepreneur, innovator or possessor of the next best idea since sliced bread to make a decent amount of dough.

Owning a franchise of a successful business is a viable career option for motivated and hardworking individuals, and some evidence points to Oklahoma City being a ripe market for franchise opportunities.

“It’s a good place to live, its lower cost of living, there’s a lot of business booming there so there are businesses that thrive,” said Sara Waskow, FranNet owner for the Dallas/Fort Worth and Oklahoma region.

Waskow owns a FranNet franchise, which works to help connect aspiring franchisees with fitting franchisers. Franchising is about more than french fries, she said, and there are many options in many industries for aspiring business owners. Home improvement, fitness centers and more are some of the many businesses seeking to expand a presence in Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City metro area as growth continues.

“A lot of the services we consider recessionresistant are the things that simplify life,” Waskow said. “Those are the types of industries that really want to be in Oklahoma City.”

As 2018 comes to a close and 2019 rolls in, some will look to take their careers in a different direction or supplement their income. Franchising in this market can serve both purposes, according to Waskow. Startup costs including franchise fees and salaries and insurance, etc., can be less than $100,000, she said.

“A lot of my clients are looking to give back and provide a needed service to the community,” Waskow said. “Sometimes people going to a job don’t feel that same gratification.”

On the other side of the franchise business model, Coolgreens CEO Robert Lee is expecting to nearly double the size of the business in the next six months, largely due to selling franchises.

“It’s a lot of work. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme,” Lee said.