Franchise vs. Brick-and-Mortar: Which Play Makes Sense in 2025?

Thinking about launching a business and torn between a recruiting franchise and a traditional brick-and-mortar concept like a gym, restaurant, coffee shop, or retail store? Let’s lay out the market pulse, startup costs, operating realities, and 2025 trends—so y’all can pick the path that fits your capital, risk profile, and goals.

We’ll keep this grounded in the U.S. numbers and comparisons you actually need, with a special lens on recruitment/staffing.

The quick take

  • Recruiting franchises are asset-light and typically home-based. Think lower CAPEX (often ~$50k–$250k) and faster launch cycles, with revenue from placement fees (direct hire/executive search) or bill-rate markups (temp/contract staffing).
  • Brick-and-mortar businesses (gyms, restaurants, coffee, retail) are asset-heavy. Build-outs, equipment, inventory, and larger teams mean CAPEX often runs 5–10× a recruiting launch, with longer time-to-open and tighter operating levers.

If you’re fixing to start quickly with less capital and you like B2B sales, recruiting is hard to beat. If your thesis is local presence, foot traffic, and an in-person customer experience, a gym or café can shine—but expect meaningfully higher investment and operational complexity.

First, what is the meaning of brick and mortar?

A brick-and-mortar business is a physical storefront: a brick and mortar shop, a brick and mortar café (or coffee bar), a brick and mortar restaurant, a brick-and-mortar bank branch, or other brick-and-mortar stores you can walk into. The upside is an in-person experience—tastings, community, “third place” vibes. The trade-off is the cost of space, build-out, inventory, and staff.

Plain-English check: what is a brick and mortar store? It’s simply a physical retail location where shopping happens face to face—brick and mortar shopping, not online.

Market pulse (2025)

  • Franchising overall: projected to grow ~+2.4% in 2025, outpacing the broader economy.
  • Staffing & recruiting (U.S.): a large market with activity rebounding in late 2025; ~12.7M temporary/contract workers were placed in 2023, and indexes show momentum into H2-2025.
  • Executive search (global): roughly $58.1B in 2025 with a healthy growth outlook through 2030.
  • Fitness (U.S.): membership at record levels (~77M in 2024) and growing into 2025.
  • Restaurants (U.S.): sales around ~$1.1T in 2025, but food and labor costs have surged over the past five years.

Read this as: recruitment operates in large, resilient B2B markets; fitness demand is strong; restaurants sell a lot but face sustained cost pressure.

What it costs to open (side-by-side)

Recruiting / Executive Search / Staffing (asset-light)

  • Executive search / recruiting franchises

    • MRINetwork: ~$44k–$96k total investment
    • Patrice & Associates (hospitality recruiting): ~$105k–$121k; can run from home
    • Gecko Hospitality: ~$49k–$85k
  • Staffing (temp/contract)

    • Express Employment Professionals: ~$131k–$241.7k (FDD 2025; $40k fee)
    • Spherion: fee $30k–$60k with detailed Item 7 ranges

Many systems include training, brand/marketing, and—critically for staffing—back-office support (payroll funding, insurance, compliance), which reduces friction versus going solo.

Gyms (brick-and-mortar, CAPEX-heavy)

  • Orangetheory Fitness: ~$822k–$1.38M (site not included)
  • Anytime Fitness: ~$94k–$524k (format/location dependent)
  • Planet Fitness: ~$1.25–$2.14M just in leasehold improvements, plus equipment/launch marketing

Restaurants & coffee (brick-and-mortar, CAPEX-heavy)

  • Vicious Biscuit example: ~$799k–$1.32M
  • General “open a restaurant” guidance: ~$95k–$2M+ depending on rent, build-out, permits
  • Coffee shop: ~$100k–$400k (format matters—kiosk vs. full café)
  • Coffee franchises: ranges such as $180k–$1.5M+ depending on brand and footprint

Bottom line on CAPEX: A recruiting franchise often needs ~$50k–$250k, while gyms/restaurants/coffee frequently land between ~$500k–$2M+ once you tally construction, equipment, and working capital.

How the money’s made (and what margins look like)

Recruiting & Executive Search (direct hire)

  • Contingency fees: typically ~20–30% of first-year base salary
  • Retained/executive: ~25–35% (often collected in thirds)
  • Guarantees: 30–90 days are common

Staffing (temp/contract)

  • Bill hourly rate to the client; pay hourly rate to the worker; the spread funds taxes, insurance, overhead, and profit.
  • Operating gross margins vary by segment; IT temp has historically sat in the mid-20s% range, while broader staffing often sees ~20–23%.

Gyms (brick-and-mortar)

  • Revenue from memberships and ancillary sales; high sensitivity to location, occupancy, and equipment amortization. Build-out and gear are major up-front line items.

Restaurants / Coffee (brick-and-mortar)

  • Big volumes, tighter net margins. Over ~5 years, food and labor costs climbed ~35% each, squeezing profit despite record sales. Execution (menu, throughput, waste, labor model) defines outcomes.

Read this as: Recruiting monetizes knowledge work and relationships with light physical overhead. Brick-and-mortar monetizes foot traffic and experience with heavy fixed costs.

Real-world performance snapshots (orientation, not guarantees)

  • Express Employment (staffing): offices >24 months report ~$5.38M average 2024 sales; ~$1.10M in the first year on average (FDD 2025).
  • Spherion (staffing): brand communications cite ~$5.6M average revenue / ~$1.2M gross margin for units ≥1 year.

Actuals vary by territory, mix, and execution—always vet the current Item 19.

2025 winds at your back (and headwinds)

Favorable for recruiting

  • Digital/remote-first models let you start home-based and sell nationally.
  • AI in TA and screening automation boost recruiter productivity, freeing time for advisory work and market mapping.

Brick-and-mortar: nuanced but active

  • Fitness: consumer demand and traffic are up; well-located formats benefit.
  • Restaurants/coffee: sales are strong, but cost inflation and local regulations keep pressure on profitability; the field is competitive.

When a brick-and-mortar store wins

If your strategy hinges on physical experience—trying products in person, a brick and mortar café as a community “third place,” a neighborhood brick and mortar restaurant with loyal repeaters, or even a brick and mortar bank branch in an underserved area—presence can be a moat. You’ll trade for higher CAPEX, longer time-to-open, and operational intensity (leases, build-out, permits, inventory, hourly staffing).

Best cases: A-plus location, strong local brand building, laser-tight ops, and a concept that benefits from in-person engagement.

When a recruiting franchise wins

  • Lower capital and faster ramp (some systems launch within weeks after training).
  • Asset-light and scalable: grow by clients and role families, not square footage.
  • System support: training, playbooks, brand, tech, and—in staffing—payroll/compliance back office.
  • Tailwinds from AI and automation that improve time-to-fill and recruiter throughput.

If your capital is < $300k and you enjoy B2B consultative sales, recruiting offers a cleaner fit. If you’re aiming for multi-unit local retail with ≥ $1M to deploy and you love operating teams on-site, a brick-and-mortar path might be your lane.

A practical decision guide

Choose recruiting if you want…

  • CAPEX-light entry and a home-based start
  • A business built on relationships, advisory, and data (not rent and build-outs)
  • Flex to scale by adding clients, industries, and geographies
  • System support (brand, tech, training, and in staffing, back-office)

Choose brick-and-mortar if you want…

  • A local, physical brand with experiential value (tastings, classes, community)
  • You’re comfortable with leases, build-out, equipment, inventory, and larger teams
  • You have the capital and appetite for tight operational controls
  • Your concept truly needs in-person presence to maximize revenue

Metroplex tip: if y’all are meeting on LBJ (I-635) or hopping up the Dallas North Tollway, bake real drive time into your site tours—no need to say “the 635” round here.

FAQ (fast, human answers)

What is a brick and mortar store, in one line?
 A physical storefront where customers shop in person—brick-and-mortar stores versus online.

Are brick-and-mortar stores dead?
 No. Retail and foodservice remain large, with moderating growth and cost pressure. The winners execute omnichannel well and run tight operations.

Is a brick and mortar coffee shop cheaper than a restaurant?
 Sometimes, but still brick-and-mortar: budgets commonly range from ~$100k–$400k (format dependent), and coffee franchises can run higher.

What about a brick and mortar business that’s a gym?
 Gyms can perform well with strong locations and sales systems, but expect hundreds of thousands to millions in CAPEX for build-out and equipment.

Where does a recruiting franchise fit in this picture?
 It’s asset-light with lower startup costs, often home-based, and scales via clients and talent pipelines rather than square footage.

Bottom line

If you’re weighing franchise vs. brick-and-mortar, start with capital, timeline, and your appetite for operations. Recruiting franchises deliver a faster, lighter path with B2B upside and supportive systems. Brick-and-mortar can be powerful when in-person experience is the product—just budget for higher CAPEX, longer builds, and narrow operating margins unless you execute exceptionally well.

Where Dimensional Search fits

If your north star is a scalable, advisory recruiting business, Dimensional Search brings together independently owned executive search firms with niche specialization, a high-contact Client Focused™ process, and the training/technology to ramp faster.

  • Entrepreneurs: Join Our Recruitment Network — launch with proven methodology, brand, and ongoing enablement.
  • Hiring leaders: Find Executive Talent Now — partner with niche recruiters to fill critical leadership roles.

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