BiggerPockets Money Podcast · Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Alex Smirzlock highlights franchising as a 'de-risked' path for aspiring entrepreneurs who have saved capital but lack a specific business idea. He notes that franchising provides a proven playbook, a network of peers, and a higher success rate compared to starting an independent business from scratch.
“Franchising is for that individual that's developed skills around people management, maybe sales and marketing, maybe they're really good at operations. They have some skill set, but they haven't, you know, again, come up with some next Uber or next Facebook.”
“And franchising, I think is a really de-risked path to going and becoming an owner because you have a playbook, you have a group of peers that you can rely on and share notes with, you have a system that you know, for the most part proven.”
“which is a five-year success rate of 85% versus 50% for independent businesses.”