The Entrepreneur’s Source Terry Powell on the New “Family Business”

A growing number of Baby Boomer parents and their recent college graduate children are pairing up and entering the franchise world together. “Family franchises” offer easy-to-follow systems and combines the many benefits of business ownership with a brand name, experience, proven operating system, and ongoing guidance and support provided by an established franchisor.

State of the Current Job Market

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average length of unemployment for people age 55 has continued to rise for the past year. Meanwhile, a recent analysis by The Associated Press found that 53.6 percent of those with bachelor’s degrees under age 25 were jobless or underemployed. The high unemployment rate of college graduates paired with the unwelcoming job market amongst Baby Boomers are just some of the factors that are driving these two unlikely demographics into business together.

The Entrepreneur’s Source Terry Powell on this Trend

Terry Powell, CEO and founder of The Entrepreneur’s Source, the nation’s leading career and franchise business coaching network, has seen this trend unfold.

“A vast majority of today’s unemployed baby boomers are seasoned executives with severance packages who are now looking for new ways to invest in their future. This trend, coupled with a bleak job market for today’s college graduates, has led more and more parents to partner with their children and invest in themselves by opening a franchise,” Powell said.

Franchising is a rewarding vehicle to entrepreneurship for parent-child partners because of its reliance upon accredited and proven systems. Franchising allows for parents and children to utilize easy-to-follow systems, a proven operating system, a recognized brand name and continual support by franchisors.

Parent-child teams don’t necessarily need to be a 50-50 combination. One of the business partners can hold more responsibility than the other to help avoid clashes. However, it is important that the parent-child pair finds the right concept that enables both business partners to utilize their best skills and former knowledge.

“Finding a franchise concept that allows everyone to leverage their skill set is imperative when identifying the right opportunity for a multigenerational partnership. Even if the parent isn’t fully engrained in the business – leaving their child to run the operations – they should still have an interest in the concept and be able to utilize their experience or skills to provide support,” Powell added. “When everyone is active in the business, we often find the parents handling jobs that require local connections while the children take care of day-to-day operations and online marketing.”

If you’re a parent looking to team up with your child or vice versa and want more information about this venture, contact an Entrepreneur’s Source business coaches to help to see if this practice falls within your realm.