The following is probably the most important reason why so many new businesses fail:

Let's pretend you're an employed baker/plumber/teacher. You are very good at your job, your customers love you and you just know you'd be successful with your own business. So, you start a new bakery/plumbery/education business with you as the featured employee, since, as we know, you are very good at what you do. But what you've done is trade one job that you are very good at for several jobs, only one of which you're good at. Instead of being able to concentrate on being the best baker/plumber/teacher in north Hometown, Anystate, you now are the accountant, manager, marketing director, Human Resources director, etc. etc., none of which you have experience in. You've just traded up for a whole bunch of jobs you have no passion for and no talent for! And paid a lot of money and taken a lot of risk to do so. Congratualations! Now, you don't have the time or energy leftover to do the job which you are really gifted to do.

A lot of new business owners try to "do it all" because it is cheaper. No one wants to hire a marketing person or a lawyer or have an accountant or bookkeeper work with them every payroll period - "how can I, I am so strapped for cash?"
 
YOU NEED TO!

No one has all the talents, skills, patience and time needed to do all the jobs a new business demands. That is probably the number 1 reason so many self-directed start-ups fail while the success rate for franchises is much higher. A franchise can make sure (by plan and by your contact with them) that you get a team to help you so you won't be tempted to do it on you own. Read the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of books or the E-Myth series by Michael Gerber - you need help to make your business successful. We currently have a bookkeeper and accountant, lawyers both for my franchise contract and another one for my lease contract, a leasing agent, and marketing help with our franchise headquarters to help our little business, along with the expertise of my GM, Clay, and me. We may actually need professional marketing help as well for our local market, but we haven't made that step yet.

Bottom line - it takes a team (or a village, as Hillary would say) for a start-up. If you don't believe it, ask the 960,000 failed small business out of each 1 million that try it.