Entrepreneur.com: Millennials are Breaking into the Franchising Industry with Their Parents

Franchising can truly be a family business, especially as we come out of the recession with an emerging entrepreneurial group of Millennials who see less opportunity in the workforce. Many parents/child teams are turning to franchise ownership as an option - and they're thriving.

In a recent issue of Entrepreneur Startups magazine, the trend toward family ownership was explored, including expert insight from No Limit Agency Chief Development Strategist Sean Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald first got into franchising with his father when the two started Pickups Plus in the 90's, and he knows the value of keeping it in the family when going into industry.

“No one really wants to go into business alone, and ideally you would have a partner that you can trust, someone like family,” Fitzgerald told Entrepreneur. “Trust and honesty are the top reasons why a partnership works or not.”

However, Fitzgerald, who worked with hundreds of family franchisee prospects while at Wireless Zone, Quiznos, and BrightStar Care, added that there's more at stake than a business partnership dissolving when going into business with family.

“At the end of the day, if things don’t work out, it’s not just a business partnership that ends, it affects a family,” Fitzgerald added. “It can be disastrous for everyone. They need to set expectations, make sure everyone is doing this for the right reasons and create the right structures for success.”