You’ve made the decision to invest in your future by purchasing a franchise, now you need to find the perfect match.

So what’s the best way to go about this?

Finding a franchise for sale is easy. What you must do is find the business opportunity that will meet your needs.

Perhaps you already have a brand in mind? Franchisees often buy into a business they are familiar with – they fall in love with the brand and everything it represents.

Even if you are clear about which franchise you want to align yourself too, it pays to do further research to ensure the reality of the business offer matches your ambitions and your expectations.

And if you don’t have a specific franchise in mind, in fact, you’ve just discovered the franchising option and want to find out more, well, there are plenty of ways to dig deeper and source the business that’s right for you.

Start online with franchise-specific websites such as www.franchisebusiness.com.au and spend some time searching through the information available – that includes articles, features and videos about the franchising concept and particular brands.

Use category listings to investigate which brands are selling in industries that interest you.

It’s interesting to look further afield too, and do some searches to see what other options are available – you might be surprised by what you discover.

You can turn to the franchise company websites to find out more – some of these provide very detailed information for franchise buyers, some have franchisee-specific websites.

Visit a franchise-dedicated expo. When you attend a franchising expo you have the opportunity to speak to franchisors or members of the head office teams for each brand – you’ll get a real sense of how the company does business from a brief conversation. You can also see how franchises present themselves to the market, and maybe meet some existing franchisees.

You can check the local newspapers for individual business locations for sale or choose to go to a broker who specialises in franchise sales.

And of course, hearing about great brands and opportunities from friends, colleagues and family members is always valuable – what is better than a personal recommendation?

For many franchise buyers, there isn’t one simple solution to finding a franchise. It takes effort across a number of channels to shortlist some good options that meet your requirements. Then it’s down to further research, your passion, your confidence in the franchise model and listening to legal and accounting advice, to direct you to the perfect choice