whichfranchise.com Ethnic Minorities & Franchising
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Ethnic Minorities & Franchising
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Recent years have seen the types of retail businesses traditionally dominated by ethnic minorities significantly decline in number. One reason is that many people, especially those in the British Asian community, are moving away from traditional inherited family business formats and are looking instead for new ways to become successful entrepreneurs.
For some, franchising is an ideal option, providing a safer route to business with less chance of failure than an independent start-up. Indeed, last year 14% of the UK franchise community came from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Andy Hirst, Franchise Sales Manager at Domino's Pizza comments, "Anyone who combines a strong work ethic with a willingness to learn and an enterprising spirit is well-positioned to become very a successful franchisee. In our experience, entrepreneurs from ethnic minorities often have the added bonus of support from their wider family or community networks, providing an extremely solid foundation upon which to expand and take the business forward.
Arshad (36) is a British-born Pakistani who began his career at Domino's 18 years ago as a delivery driver in Luton. Today, he is a successful franchisee of three Domino's stores and has plans for further expansion in the future.
Arshad comments, "Even at a young age my goal in life was to run my own business and reap the rewards of my hard work and dedication. Whilst anyone has the potential to become a successful entrepreneur, my background certainly brought some advantages. My family network in particular has always been supportive and in return I've been able to give many of them opportunities to work with me. Knowing that I have such trusted individuals in place allows me to think about the wider business picture and the possibility of opening even more stores.
"In addition I couldn't have achieved what I have without being part of a franchise network - benefiting from industry-leading training and support from 'technology to brand'. Taking advantage of this and adding my own mix of hard work, ideas and local knowledge means I've realised my dreams, achieving more than I ever thought possible. I remain as committed as ever and am intent on building my business with plans already in place to try and open a fifth store later this year. My advice to anyone thinking about franchising, and in particular Domino's, is to go for it!"
