5 Struggles Entrepreneurs Face When Starting A Business
Many people dream of owning their own business, but only a small percentage of those embark on what is often an intimidating and assuredly risky path. One of the main reasons people back away from starting a business is the long list of items they need to learn before they can even open their doors.
Let’s look at some of the common struggles facing new business owners.
Pre-Opening Obstacles
When envisioning business ownership, people think of a busy store or office, employees and customers interacting, and a glowing sense of satisfaction at a job well done. It’s easy to skip over the concerns about legalities, taxes, insurance, and a host of other tedious details that are required to make business ownership possible.
Choosing A Business Structure
Before you can open your doors, you must start by choosing the right business structure. Choosing between a sole proprietorship, a partnership, an LLC, or a corporation has long-ranging implications. Making the wrong decision at this critical - and initial - juncture can impact future liability, taxes, and regulations that must be followed. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly, or without guidance from an attorney, accountant, or advisor.
Contracts and Agreements
From leases to vendor agreements to client contracts, the number of legal documents a new business owner must review and understand can be overwhelming. Having a trusted legal advisor is essential for new business owners. Overlooking key components or not understanding the implications of these agreements can leave a business and its owner unprotected.
Funding, Accounting & Financial Management
This is probably one of the most challenging aspects of business ownership. Just getting the funds together to start will often keep budding entrepreneurs from ever taking the leap into business ownership.
Initial funding can be acquired through loans or investors if self-funding isn’t an option. But it’s essential to have enough liquidity to keep a new business running for 18 months to 3 years before a profit will actually be realized.
During the start-up phase and throughout business ownership, managing cash flow, accounts receivable and payable, and basic overhead can be a drain on a business owner’s time. Having proper accounting systems in place and being able to correctly forecast expenses and income is a massive lift for most new business owners.
Ongoing Obstacles
Compliance - Employment, Tax, and Regulatory
The legal aspects of opening and running a business can weigh heavily on a new business owner who has little to no experience. Business owners must be aware of:
Labor laws
Employment regulations
Tax regulations - income, employment, sales tax, etc.
Licensing and permits
Industry-specific regulations
Failure to comply with any of these items can result in fines, lawsuits, and, in the worst-case scenario, business closure. And, this isn’t just a start-up problem; keeping on top of changes and maintaining the appropriate records and documentation is an ongoing concern.
Attracting Customers & Marketing
Once all of these fundamental decisions have been made, a new business owner needs to dig into the problem of attracting customers and establishing an effective marketing campaign. Understanding what your customers need from you and your product or service, how to reach them, and building a loyal customer base is not easy.
Most new business owners are passionate about what they do, but are not adept at marketing. Without an effective advertising and marketing plan and the finances needed to run it, grabbing the attention of customers and growing your business is infinitely more difficult.
How to Make Opening a Business Easier
All of these obstacles can easily become overwhelming and discourage someone new to business ownership from even starting. What many people looking into business ownership neglect to investigate are the opportunities available to them in the franchising industry.
Instead of facing these obstacles alone, recreating the wheel, and making rookie mistakes, entrepreneurs can buy into franchise ownership and receive the support and guidance that makes business ownership easier and less intimidating.
Franchisors support new business owners by providing assistance with funding, providing access to fully vetted tools and software systems, helping with marketing, and a whole host of other items that ease the transition into becoming a business owner.
Helping those interested in business ownership understand the many benefits of franchising will help grow individual brands and the industry as a whole.
How Franchisors Can Reach Entrepreneurs Before They Go It Alone
The window of opportunity to connect with a prospective franchisee is often narrow. Entrepreneurs who are actively researching business ownership are weighing their options — and the moment they commit to building something from scratch, the door begins to close. Franchisors who want to grow their brands need to meet these entrepreneurs early in their decision-making journey, and with a message that speaks directly to their pain points.
Speak to the Struggles, Not Just the Opportunity
Generic franchise marketing that leads with earnings potential and brand recognition will only get so far. The entrepreneurs most likely to convert are the ones who have already started feeling the weight of going it alone. Franchisors who address the very obstacles outlined above — legal complexity, funding stress, compliance confusion, and the challenge of building a customer base — will resonate far more deeply with this audience.
Content marketing is a powerful tool here. Blog posts, videos, and downloadable guides that honestly explore the difficulties of starting an independent business — and position franchising as the smarter alternative — draw in entrepreneurs who are actively searching for answers. Meeting them where their questions are is half the battle.
Use Education as the Entry Point
Most entrepreneurs don't start their journey looking for a franchise. They start looking for a business idea, a funding path, or a how-to guide. Franchisors who invest in educational content — explaining legal structures, walking through funding options, or breaking down what compliance really looks like — build credibility and trust before a sales conversation ever begins.
Webinars, franchise discovery days, and free consultations framed around "what it really takes to open a business" are highly effective at attracting entrepreneurially minded candidates who wouldn't have responded to a traditional franchise pitch.
Target the Right Moment with Digital Marketing
Digital advertising allows franchisors to reach entrepreneurs at exactly the right moment. Someone who has been researching LLC formation, small business loans, or how to write a business plan is already in the mindset of business ownership — and is a prime candidate for a franchise message that offers a simpler path.
Retargeting campaigns, search ads built around startup-related keywords, and social media content that draws parallels between the independent business journey and the franchise model can all be effective in capturing this audience's attention.
Let Franchisees Tell the Story
Nothing is more persuasive to a hesitant entrepreneur than hearing from someone who has already made the leap. Franchisee testimonials — especially from owners who considered starting a business independently before choosing a franchise — are among the most compelling assets a franchisor can deploy.
Video stories, written case studies, and franchisee spotlights that specifically address the "I almost did it on my own" narrative will resonate powerfully with prospective candidates who are standing at the same crossroads.
Make It Easy to Take the First Step
The moment an entrepreneur is ready to explore franchising, friction is their biggest enemy. A confusing website, a buried contact form, or a lengthy qualification process can send a motivated candidate back to their original plan. Franchisors should ensure that the path from curiosity to conversation is as simple and frictionless as possible — a clear call to action, a fast response time, and an initial conversation that feels informative rather than salesy.
Entrepreneurs are not looking to be sold. They are looking to solve a problem. Franchisors who position themselves as the solution to a problem the entrepreneur has already identified will consistently outperform those who simply promote the opportunity.
How Franchise Ninja Helps Brands Find the Right Prospects
Knowing that entrepreneurs are out there is one thing. Reaching them at the right moment — before they commit to going it alone — is another challenge entirely. Franchise Ninja is built specifically to help franchise brands do exactly that.
Person-Level Identification That Changes the Game
Most franchise development marketing casts a wide net and hopes the right candidates find their way in. Franchise Ninja takes a fundamentally different approach. By identifying the actual people visiting your franchise development website — not just traffic numbers, but real individuals — Franchise Ninja gives your development team the insight needed to follow up with prospects who have already shown interest in your brand.
When an entrepreneur lands on your site after researching business ownership, you'll know. And that changes everything about how quickly and effectively your team can engage.
Reach Prospects Wherever They Are
Franchise Ninja's person-level advertising capability means your brand can follow a prospect across the web after they visit your site — serving relevant ads that reinforce your message and keep your franchise opportunity top of mind. Rather than losing a warm lead because they weren't quite ready to fill out a form, you stay in front of them while they continue to weigh their options.
For entrepreneurs who are still on the fence between independent business ownership and franchising, this kind of consistent, targeted exposure can be the deciding factor.
Built for Franchise Development Teams
Franchise Ninja isn't a general marketing tool retrofitted for franchising — it was built from the ground up with franchise development in mind. The platform gives your team visibility into prospect behavior, supports faster and more informed follow-up, and integrates into the workflows your development team is already using.
The result is a shorter sales cycle, better-qualified candidates, and a pipeline that reflects real intent rather than guesswork.
Turn Website Visitors Into Conversations
Every entrepreneur who lands on your franchise development website and leaves without making contact represents a missed opportunity. Franchise Ninja helps close that gap by giving your team the data and tools to re-engage those visitors — turning anonymous traffic into actionable leads and, ultimately, into franchise conversations worth having.
If your brand is serious about reaching entrepreneurially minded prospects before they choose a different path, Franchise Ninja gives you the tools to make it happen.
FAQ
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A: Yes! This may seem counterintuitive, but talking about the struggles entrepreneurs will face when starting a business can help draw them to franchising. Helping potential business owners understand that franchising actually makes owning and operating a business easier can draw them to your brand.
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A: Create content that explains common obstacles faced by new business owners. Speak about hiring, marketing, and operational systems. These are common problems new business owners face. Show that your brand has existing solutions in place so that the new owner does not have to guess or recreate the wheel to succeed.
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A: Yes, many do explore both options. They often weigh factors such as risk, support systems, brand recognition, operational guidance, and speed to market. Your team should be prepared to explain how franchising addresses many of the obstacles independent startups face.
