The quality most desirable for starting a business? Realistic expectations. Of course, you need plenty of skills, experience and support, not to mention energy, initiative and a strong work ethic, but you should also understand exactly what is necessary to succeed. Not only do you need a realistic perspective about what you can achieve and how quickly, you need a realistic assessment of your own attributes, your strengths and your weaknesses. If you realistically prepare for a ramp-up that could take up to a year or longer, you can sufficiently capitalize your business, while also covering your cost of living. Of course, with an independent startup, it is not possible to know exactly what you may face down the road as you tinker with your concept and deal with unexpected costs. This is where the advantage of a franchise can be most helpful, especially if you don’t have much experience with a particular business. A franchise comes with a complete breakdown of costs, so you know exactly what you’ll be getting into. If you can’t afford it, you don’t do it. As most everyone knows, one of the biggest causes of failure for new independent businesses is undercapitalization. With a franchise, you know all the costs before you invest a dime, plus you have a back office team behind you. Some franchise companies will help you assess your skills and experience to see if they’re a good fit with their business model, but others will be happy to bring you into the fold if you have the franchise fee and seem willing to learn their system. A franchise coach can help you assess both your skills and direct you to a list of select franchises with a good track record of success for people with your skill set. Ultimately, the responsibility is yours for vetting the business, as well as yourself. So it’s absolutely critical you figure out what types of activities as a business owner you are willing and capable of executing. Certainly, with a franchise, you can get into a business with which you have little or no experience. This is part of the attraction. But franchisees have to be comfortable working the franchise system as it’s been designed. So, for example, if you don’t like managing employees or can’t stand selling, you need to stay away from businesses that require these skills. Still, it’s not uncommon for people to become so excited about a particular business concept, they gloss over the work of the owner or fool themselves into thinking they can perform tasks that aren’t actually within their wheelhouse. A good franchise coach can help the budding entrepreneur put his or her feet back on the ground and find a business that matches his or her skills and interests.