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Reasons to Avoid Buying a Franchise

Written by: Sebastien Page

Article Overview: You’ll find an abundance of reasons for buying into a franchise being repeated here and there. Among these reasons of course is the alarmingly high rate of failure among small businesses, the freedom of working in franchising and the benefit of an established brand name and business plan. There’s also the added benefit of not having to start from absolutely nothing and having to claw your way to the top, as in small businesses. This all makes franchising sound like an extremely attractive prospect but not everything about it is as pleasant as you may think.

Reasons to Avoid Buying a Franchise

You’ll find an abundance of reasons for buying into a franchise being repeated here and there. Among these reasons of course is the alarmingly high rate of failure among small businesses, the freedom of working in franchising and the benefit of an established brand name and business plan. There’s also the added benefit of not having to start from absolutely nothing and having to claw your way to the top, as in small businesses. This all makes franchising sound like an extremely attractive prospect but not everything about it is as pleasant as you may think.

Let’s talk about the less attractive qualities of franchising, so you have the whole picture in front of you. Franchising includes contracts and agreements that may come across as being extremely restrictive, especially if you value your independence as an entrepreneur. You can only deal in products and services pre-approved by your franchiser. This is in accordance with the Confidential Operations Manual and the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC). You are also required to manage your business according to the rules and standards set forth by the franchiser. You will also be sharing a good portion of your profits with your franchiser in the form of royalties. This may all make enough sense to some, while others maybe resentful.

Additionally, after setting up shop, the franchise company you’re involved in may have some of their staff pay you a surprise visit. This visit may result in you being all but ordered to change your store or modify your business practices, something that will surely burden you with more expenses. These are just a handful of the commonest complaints, so think carefully before you make your move.

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Article Tags: abundance, according to the rules, added benefit, attractive prospect, attractive qualities, brand name, business plan, business practices, contracts, entrepreneur, failure, franchise company, franchiser, handful, profits, royalties, small businesses, surprise visit, ufoc, uniform franchise



Related Forum Posts
Re: Enticing Franchises - Top 9 List - All Franchise listed above are in millions of dollars. Do you have the list of Franchise in thousands
Re: Info for would be franchisers... - [quote="Sebastien":1d29sdv1]Like Franchise Times, Franchise Update is a very practical magazine. There is no blah blah, just straight facts that anyone in the franchise community can relate to. I just want to mention that all these magazines are NOT franchisee oriented. I mean these magazines are for franchise professionals. If you're looking to buy a franchise, you won't find much information in there. To answer your question, getting published in Franchise Times was fairly easy. I don't want to brag too much but I think I am known in the franchise industry. I was the marketing guy at Franchise.com for a few years before joining my new company, the World Franchising Network. So people know me and I have a very good relationship with Nancy Weingartner, the Managing Editor at Franchise Times. I was talking with her at the last Franchise Expo South in Miami and she mentioned she'd like me to be profiled. I was like "ok, sure!". I like this franchise executive profile thing in Franchise Times as it is rarely BS. People are usually really natural in there.[/quote:1d29sdv1] Thanks for the follow up Sebastien! And I can't say that I'm surprised that networking with the right people and managing your relationships with them properly are the keys to being published. I guess the old adage holds true of "it's not who you know, but who knows you" that's important.
how much for a franchise fee? - Dear Colleague There is no easy answer to this question. Things to consider: [list=] The sizeof the Franchise Clent base Expected Turnover Intellectual Property costs (recoup) Number of Franchises Number of employees Original Set up costs Franchise admin costs An example: A franchise that I was involved in setting was to a simple "lawn mowing/home repair" franchise. The Franchise included national/local advertising - preparation of client lists - general admin - central accounting etc The Franchise involved 300-500 clients - and an annual turnover of about $300,000 . The annual franchise fee was $30,000. Hope that this gives you some idea Take care Ian[/list]
Re: Franchise Surveys - Another good tool to researching a franchise is to speak with their existing franchisees. This contact information is included in most Franchise Disclosure Documents. In order to get a Franchise Disclosure Document or FDD as it is often referred to, you will have to complete a basic franchise application. The franchisor will then usually provide you with the FDD at that time. Included in that book of information is a list of the existing franchisees, the contract, the investment information etc... This information is required by Federal Law to be disclosed to your prior to making a purchase. So be sure to do your research and start with the Franchise Documents to get the initial information.
Re: 10 Reasons Who Startups Fail & Book Recommendations - Great post,but please edit the headline. I presume it is "10 Reasons Why Startups Fail & Book Recommendation


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