If you’re researching franchise opportunities, what’s the first thing you do? If you’re like most entrepreneurs today, you head to Google and search for the best franchise to buy. In a matter of seconds, you’ll be poring over any number of “Best Franchise to Buy” rankings, with hundreds of brands listed methodically, based on a range of critical data points.

Make no mistake, these rankings are a great place to explore different franchises to buy. And as you research franchise opportunities in more detail, many of these lists can serve as valuable reference points.

But if you’re not careful about how you use these rankings, they can make it harder — not easier — to find your ideal franchise.

While these rankings appear definitive and objective, the very concept of a “best franchise” defies both of these qualities. If you’re searching for the best franchise to purchase, the answer will depend on your goals, your skills, and your situation. And the way you determine that answer will depend on how you choose to measure franchise opportunities against one another.

What ‘Best Franchise to Buy’ Rankings Miss

When you’re purchasing a franchise, you want to buy the best franchise you can. So it makes sense that, as you start researching, you’d start by looking at lists of the best franchise opportunities.

But as you look at these lists, it’s easy to lose sight of what you need from a franchise.

After all, you aren’t buying a business in a vacuum. You have a limited amount of resources to invest. You have specific strengths and weaknesses you’ll need to address. You have interests you’re passionate about, work habits crucial to your success, and a personal life that needs to be balanced against your business. Plus, you’re operating in a market with unique economic, demographic, and cultural factors.

As an entrepreneur, you’re already strongly aware of these considerations. But when you start looking at franchise rankings, it’s easy to lose sight of them.

Let’s say you have your eye on a specific franchise brand. But then, when you look at franchise rankings, you see that they’re outranked by two or three of their competitors. Suddenly, you get second thoughts.

On the one hand, your doubts may be justified. If you’ve only done preliminary research, you might have missed hidden problems or weaknesses.

On the other hand, these rankings weren’t calculated with you and your situation in mind. Instead, they’re been calculated for the “average” or “typical” franchisee.

It’s also worth noting that, no matter how objective or definitive these rankings appear, they’re all subjective to a significant degree. At the end of the day, even the most rigorous rankings are closer to ballpark figures.

Finding Your Best Franchise to Buy

Despite everything mentioned above, franchise rankings still serve an important function. They can help guide you toward a franchise you may not have considered before. Franchise rankings can also help provide insight into the franchise environment through franchisees’ rating of their own brand.

At Visiting Angels®, we know that everyone who is looking for a senior care franchise may not be right for our brand and franchise family. We are, however, proud to be ranked among the leading brands in many franchise surveys.

We’re currently ranked by the Franchise Business Review^® as the best franchise to buy in the senior services sector and one of the top three franchises to buy in America. We’re also one of the highest ranked home care brands in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500^® rankings.

Perhaps most importantly, we are ranked highest in franchisee satisfaction in the senior home care category by the Franchise Business Review. This rating means a lot to us because our franchisees are the heart of what we do.

For many of our franchisees, it is our values and vision that made us an ideal fit for their investment. If you share our brand values and our vision of caregiving, then we’re a strong candidate for your best franchise to buy.

Looking for the best franchise to buy? Learn more about franchise opportunities with Visiting Angels by calling us today at 800-365-4189 or contacting us online.