Retail Food Group sales and leasing manager Sarah Kidman shares her top five factors to consider for when looking for franchise opportunities:

1. Brand
   One of the major benefits of a franchise is access to an established brand, giving franchisees a proven business model and immediate brand recognition for customers.
2. Training
   As a small business owner, there are a multitude of new skills to learn and tasks to complete. These can be varied as designing rosters, hiring staff and learning basic human resource skills to bookkeeping, customer service and marketing. This is a lot to have on your plate, but a franchise gives you access to comprehensive training to develop your skills before you start your business.
3. Support
   After initial training is completed, franchisees are offered expert support teams who are available to assist with marketing, operations and other business functions throughout the life of your franchise agreement.
4.  Passion 
   Many people think owning and operating a small business is hard – and they’re right! It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to be successful. Choose a franchise that makes products that you truly love; whether it’s freshly ground coffee, handmade pizza, traditionally baked bread or delicious cakes, your passion will be infectious with your new team and customers.
5.  Lifestyle
   Becoming your own boss is a great way to access a flexible and rewarding lifestyle, so make sure you choose a business that will allow you to do the things you want to do. Whether you’d prefer to work late nights at a pizza store, early mornings baking pastries or half days doing the coffee run in a mobile van, there are a wide range of options available.

 Retail Food Group is Australia’s largest multi-food franchise operator and will be showcasing its brands at the Franchising Expo held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on July 18-19.