Launching a business can be a daunting challenge, but franchises offer ready-to-launch businesses — provided the right concept can be paired with the right owner.

Blake Martin and the experts at FranNet of the Heartland go through a painstaking four- to six-month matching process with each and every one of their clients.

They ensure the clients have done their due diligence and also ensure a perfect match between a owner and their franchise.

FranNet uses its Proven Match Process, said Blake Martin, a franchise consultant for more than 34 years. The process determines whether the franchise business is the appropriate decision for a given operator.

“We’ve spent all of these years identifying and screening the top performing franchise systems across all these categories and then understanding with them what makes a really successful and fulfilled franchise owner within that particular system,” Martin said.

Martin started his own franchise within FranNet six years ago after a 22-year stint in developing franchises for a Senior Living Group. He said she gained so much experience developing franchises that he “drank his own Kool-Aid” and decided to go into the franchise business himself, helping guide others down their path to franchise ownership.

 “I’m a small business franchise owner myself,” Martin told The Daily Record. “The service I provide is by helping folks that are thinking about doing the same thing, whether it’s their first business or their 10th business.”

FranNet offers a multitude of business opportunities, including more than 90 categories such as food and beverage, fitness and assisted living locator groups. As a result, Martin and his team of experts know about the right opportunities for any potential franchisee.

When Martin works with his clients, he always takes the time necessary to get to know both their goals and why they are motivated to go into business.

Once a client expresses their interest in starting a franchise business, “we start the profiling process with them and build a blueprint for what does the ideal business look like for them,” Martin said. They take the client’s criteria and match it with franchises and what those companies are, in turn, looking for in terms of franchisees. This intensive “getting to know you” process is important because, Martin said.

“It helps me help them affirm what’s really motivating them to make a big life decision,” he said. “Understanding what’s going to motivate somebody to work through the challenges that helps them start out and grow a small business is incredibly important. It’s that ability to be able to see what they are working for, and it’s not usually the financial reward by itself that’s motivating folks  it’s probably some kind of lifestyle change, and people underestimate that until we bring it to the surface.”

FranNet needs this information to help determine what will keep the client motivated on the tough days of being a business owner, because there generally are some tough times starting and maintaining a franchise business.

Because of the company’s dedication, FranNet was selected as the Small Business of the Month for March by the Greater Omaha Chamber.

The rewards from his franchise have been great for Blake and his family. He feels gratified by the successes of his clients.

“Watching people succeed in the local marketplace and watching people overcome challenges people weren’t sure they could do on their own,” is a challenge FranNet is eager to accept, Martin said.

Because Martin has worked on both sides of the franchising process, FranNet offers an ideal place for anyone interested in opening a franchise of their own.

“I can explain to them what a day in the life looks like and the questions that I recommend asking because it’s been successful for myself and other clients,” Martin said.

For more about FranNet, visit frannet.com.