Using a Franchise or Small Business to Diversify Your Portfolio of Investments

In this blog article, we’re going to tackle the issue of using a franchise or small business to diversify your portfolio of investments. As you’ll see, there are several advantages for doing so, the least of which is the creation of a figurative safety net. This safety net is designed to do two things:

• To prevent the depletion of wealth in the event of a severe downturn in the economy—something we all became familiar with beginning in 2008.
• To provide a fall-back source of income should your current job or position be eliminated.

While signs of recovery continue to aggregate, arming yourself with additional information will be a helpful exercise in diversification.

As an investor, if you have a healthy portfolio, you are always looking for ways to diversify your holdings. Owning a small business or franchise opportunity can be a smart addition which gives you the option to stay engaged in the semi-absentee model of operations while keeping your day job, so to speak. As we have covered before, the semi-absentee model allows you to run the business from afar, typically with a smooth “manage the manager” philosophy.

Through a diversification of your portfolio, you can also begin your journey into franchise ownership by purchasing it with relatively little (or no) debt. By utilizing your existing capital, you can liquidate at-risk assets for the purchase. In doing so, you have now created an additional income opportunity for yourself and a true safety net to guard against the depletion of liquidity-based wealth. We all know how wildly the stock market can fluctuate at times. And keep in mind — a business owned is a business that can one day be sold for a profit. Therein lies a true point of diversification for your portfolio.

It would be advantageous and highly recommended that you discuss such a potential move with your financial advisor, along with a highly trained franchise consultant. Both will be happy to discuss particular strategies which lessen your risk and even your tax-burden. If you are heavily vested in a 401k program, there are specific tax-free and penalty-free withdrawal options for starting a franchise such as through a ROBS (Rollover for Business Start-up) program, the 401k rollover method.

If you’ve arrived at the point of consideration of owning your own small business or franchise, perhaps it’s time for a review of your financial position in seeing just how this process can be a true diversification of your overall holdings.

Do you feel that you’re ready to get started? If this article has inspired you to investigate a franchise opportunity, there are  two different ways that you can get started:

• Sign up for a FREE webinar that is going to examine a semi-absentee fitness concept.  The webinar is on Wednesday, April 2nd from 2pm to 3pm.  For more information, click here.
• Let’s talk!  Contact me at 616-891-1374 or bbetser@frannet.com, and lets talk about your business and lifestyle goals.  All of my consultations and services are FREE.

EVENTS (click links for more information)
Apr 15, 2014 / Grand Rapids, MI
Business Ownership Options

May 01, 2014 / Grand Rapids, MI
Michigan Franchise Forum - Meet the Franchisors Expanding in Michigan

WEBINARS  (click links for more information)
Apr 02, 2014 / Online Webinar, US
Franchisor Spotlight: Recession-resistant franchise in a rapidly growing industry

Apr 16, 2014 / Online Seminar, US and Canada
Business Ownership Exploration Webinar

Apr 24, 2014 / Online Seminar, US and Canada
African-Americans: Getting the Answers to All Your Business Start-up Questions