There are compelling reasons for choosing the franchise option in preference to a stand-alone business. The most important of these is that many of the pitfalls of starting in business have been removed.

Someone else has already tested and measured all the variables for you. Everything has been set up, ready to go. And although you'll feel like you're out there "doing your own thing," you'll not be left to your own devices.

You'll have a well-constructed safety net there to catch you if you fall. You'll be able to concentrate your efforts on doing what it takes to generate cash flow without having your mind and energy diverted to deal with "housekeeping" or behind-the-scenes issues that do not directly influence the amount of business you attract.

Buying a franchise is a terrific way to get into business without the risks involved in starting one up for yourself. It is well known that the failure rate of businesses, especially during the establishment phase, is very high indeed.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, about one-third of new businesses fail in the first two years of operations, with about half surviving at least four years. The average failure rate of franchised businesses is less than five out of every 100.

A 1997 Gallup Organization study of franchise owners on their attitudes towards their franchise experience revealed that two of three respondents said they would not have been successful if they had tried to open the same business on their own. Isn't that interesting? Being a franchisee could be thought of as something like a cross between being self-employed and being an employee. You have the best of both worlds. You get to enjoy freedom, to be your own boss and to run your own show-yet with the security offered by being an employee. That's the beauty of it.

But it has to be pointed out that franchising is not entirely a bed of roses. Like anything else in life it has advantages as well as disadvantages, and it is up to you to weigh the pros and cons for yourself.

We all have different views about what level of risk we should take in business-some people are comfortable with higher levels of risk-taking than others. It all depends on your own particular situation.

So what do you have to weigh up when deciding whether the franchise option is the route to take? What kind of factors should you evaluate according to your own business plans and ambitions?

Let's think about some of the advantages first.

The first advantage of buying a franchise is the training you receive. You don't have to be a specialist in the field before you go into business for yourself.

Then there's the security offered by the franchisor. You're not alone. You will be able to tap into a wealth of knowledge and experience to help you overcome any challenges you're going to be confronted with along the way. And the level of risk you'll be operating with will be significantly reduced. You'll be able to start out in the business under the umbrella of an already well-established brand name, image and reputation. This won't apply, of course, if the franchise system itself is brand new. In that case, you should expect to buy in at considerably lower prices, because you will be taking a larger business risk.

You won't need as much working capital by buying a franchise because the system will already have been streamlined, and you'll be benefiting from the system's bulk buying power.

Another valuable advantage lies in the systems you'll be buying. You won't have to spend time and money developing them for yourself. And if business premises are involved, all the legalities, red tape and other bureaucratic requirements are taken care of.

National advertising and promotional campaigns are very expensive, but with a franchise, you'll get it all for a very small fee. This level of promotion is very powerful indeed, and hard to quantify.

You also get the benefits associated with the franchisor's patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and their ongoing research and development campaigns (if applicable). Any new developments will be passed on to you at the earliest opportunity. This often gives franchisees a real market advantage.

Ongoing market research is also usually shared with franchisees. You see, it's just as much in the franchisor's interest as it is in yours that you have a marketing edge.

Another advantage could be that you get to operate in an exclusive territory or sales area. Now this isn't always the case, but where it is, it can give you a greater share of the existing market.

And one final advantage that's well worth considering is finance. You see, banks have long recognized the advantages of franchise companies and have tailored financial packages for franchisees that are far more attractive than those commonly available to other business owners.

These positives need to be considered against some general negatives. Most franchisees will be operating under a set of rigid controls or operating requirements that form part of the Franchise Agreement.

That means you will not be free to do exactly what you please. Performance levels, standards and other constraints will apply. To thrive (and, in actual fact, to even survive), you will need to develop good communication and relationship skills. You will need to get along well with your franchisor.

You need to factor into your budgets the fact that you will be required to pay ongoing fees to your franchisor. These fees may be based on sales or turnover, or they could be set at a particular amount.

Many prospective franchisees will also be at a disadvantage when it comes to trying to assess the quality of the franchisor. How can you really go about this? Should you take their word for it, or should you conduct your own searches?

How do you verify their figures? How relevant are the stories they will tell you? You could ask existing franchisees, but how will you know who the most representative ones are?

Every franchise system has its high-flyers, its mediocre performers and its battlers. And if the truth be known, every system also has a core of disgruntled franchisees-those that blame everything but themselves for their situation.

The last thing you'd want is to make contact with one of these while carrying out your due diligence. Yet you probably wouldn't want to talk to a high-flyer either, as you'd probably walk away with unrealistic expectations. This is a very real problem to which there is no easy answer.

Another negative factor concerns how you go about selling your franchise. You see, most franchise agreements will have strict conditions relating to whom you can sell your business to. The prospective purchaser still needs to be acceptable to the franchisor and will have to pass the same tests or requirements as you did.

So while this may not influence how you run your business, it nevertheless is a restriction that limits your freedom. You do not have the final say.

This "loss in independence" can have another potentially harmful consequence, and it can, in the franchise system, lead to the franchisee becoming too reliant on the franchisor, even for day-to-day operational matters.

The franchisees can, over time, become lulled into a sense of false security which will, if left unchecked, rob them of their entrepreneurial spirit that led to the decision to buy the franchise.

And finally, a huge disadvantage lies in the fact that if the franchisor should go belly up, so will you. You might be running your franchise according to plan, but if the majority of others don't, you could pay the ultimate price.

These are some of the factors you need to weigh up before taking the plunge and signing on the bottom line. Remember, to succeed in franchising, it is imperative that you can work with the people within your system.