<p>Fact: Franchises and business opportunities are not the same.</p> <p>A common misconception within the entrepreneurial community is that franchises and business opportunities are virtually the same thing. While they share many similarities, it is important to understand their differences before investing in either a franchise or a business opportunity.</p> <p>Franchising a business means you will sign a franchise agreement with the company and enter into a partnership with them that will affect how you run the business, where you can exclusively operate, how long you hold the rights to run the business and will give you the ongoing support to accomplish this. On the other hand, a business opportunity allows you to buy into the business &ndash; but one you get started, you are basically on your own. Business opportunities usually are not as structured as a franchise operation; you are buying into the &ldquo;idea&rdquo; of the franchise, which includes the products and/or services it sells, the tried and tested business system and initial training. Business opportunities allow you to tap into existing market demand and a proven record of success.</p> <p>Some of the pros of running a business opportunity are their less restrictive nature in terms of operation, branding and territory restrictions, their low initial investment fees and lack of ongoing fees. However, remember that you don&rsquo;t get the ongoing support for a business opportunity, and that you need to conduct extra research with a business opportunity, since it may not have the same legal obligations as franchises do to disclose certain details about the business, like the financial health of the operation.</p> <p>Business opportunities are the perfect choice during a credit crunch, as they don&rsquo;t require large amounts of working capital. 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