Use a Franchise Attorney When Investing In a Franchise!
Use a Franchise Attorney When Investing In a Franchise!
{ Legal disclaimer: Uncle Bob and Aunt Peggy are pseudonyms for any relative or close family friend that may also be attorneys. To all the Uncle Bob's and Aunt Peggy's...sorry.}
What I am trying to say is that when it comes to huge decisions such as investing in a business of your own, it may make sense to use specialists familiar with business ownership questions.
When you purchased your first house, did you look in the phone book for a Realtor? Or did you start asking around for names of the right people for your situation? Did you work with just any Realtor? Or did you work with one who was familiar with the area in which you were looking?
If you are going to write a check to a franchise company for $30k, start by doing things right throughout the entire process. I just did a seminar on franchising, and a nice lady came up to me beforehand, to ask a question. {Keyword here is beforehand}
Question: "Hi...I know it is probably too late, but my husband and I just purchased a franchise last week, and we think we made a mistake." I think we should have talked to you before we bought this franchise."
My response:" WOW! What type of franchise is it?"
Answer: "It is an advertising related franchise, where we would go out and sell advertising."
My response: "OK. So what is the problem you are experiencing?"
Answer: " The selling part of it is not what we expected."
My response: "Meaning?.."
Answer: "Folks don't seem to like advertising salespeople. This is not right for us.Can we get our money back?"
I hope this lady can recoup some of their investment. My suggestion to them was to go out and hire a salesperson right away! This nice lady sounded like she was prepared to write off her losses.... I hope that she and her husband re-think this, and find a way to make it work. They will not be getting a refund from the franchise company.
When it comes to small business/franchise ownership, I am constantly amazed by the people who invest in a franchise, without even talking to the current franchise owners of the franchise they just purchased!
If one knows the questions to ask, one can easily get the answers.
The point here is that if you are willing to invest your money into a business of your own, but you let the excitement of finally not having to work for anyone anymore get the best of you, mistakes will be made.
If you are thinking seriously of investing in a franchise of your own, and you are pretty far down the path, make an appointment with an attorney familiar with franchise agreements. The franchise contract itself is usually 20+ pages long, and filled with head scratching legalese. An attorney who is familiar with franchising can save you time, money, and future headaches. I am a franchise expert, and can barely understand the contracts that I see on a daily basis.
Do this part right, folks.
Use a Franchise Attorney When Investing In a Franchise - To learn more about this author, visit Joel Libava's Website.
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When it comes to all the legal intricacies of a franchise agreement, using relatives that are attorneys such as your Uncle Bob, or your Aunt Peggy may be a pitiful choice.
{ Legal disclaimer: Uncle Bob and Aunt Peggy are pseudonyms for any relative or close family friend that may also be attorneys. To all the Uncle Bob's and Aunt Peggy's...sorry.}
What I am trying to say is that when it comes to huge decisions such as investing in a business of your own, it may make sense to use specialists familiar with business ownership questions.
When you purchased your first house, did you look in the phone book for a Realtor? Or did you start asking around for names of the right people for your situation? Did you work with just any Realtor? Or did you work with one who was familiar with the area in which you were looking?
If you are going to write a check to a franchise company for $30k, start by doing things right throughout the entire process. I just did a seminar on franchising, and a nice lady came up to me beforehand, to ask a question. {Keyword here is beforehand}
Question: "Hi...I know it is probably too late, but my husband and I just purchased a franchise last week, and we think we made a mistake." I think we should have talked to you before we bought this franchise."
My response:" WOW! What type of franchise is it?"
Answer: "It is an advertising related franchise, where we would go out and sell advertising."
My response: "OK. So what is the problem you are experiencing?"
Answer: " The selling part of it is not what we expected."
My response: "Meaning?.."
Answer: "Folks don't seem to like advertising salespeople. This is not right for us.Can we get our money back?"
I hope this lady can recoup some of their investment. My suggestion to them was to go out and hire a salesperson right away! This nice lady sounded like she was prepared to write off her losses.... I hope that she and her husband re-think this, and find a way to make it work. They will not be getting a refund from the franchise company.
When it comes to small business/franchise ownership, I am constantly amazed by the people who invest in a franchise, without even talking to the current franchise owners of the franchise they just purchased!
If one knows the questions to ask, one can easily get the answers.
The point here is that if you are willing to invest your money into a business of your own, but you let the excitement of finally not having to work for anyone anymore get the best of you, mistakes will be made.
If you are thinking seriously of investing in a franchise of your own, and you are pretty far down the path, make an appointment with an attorney familiar with franchise agreements. The franchise contract itself is usually 20+ pages long, and filled with head scratching legalese. An attorney who is familiar with franchising can save you time, money, and future headaches. I am a franchise expert, and can barely understand the contracts that I see on a daily basis.
Do this part right, folks.
Use a Franchise Attorney When Investing In a Franchise - To learn more about this author, visit Joel Libava's Website.
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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