Tweet

What Information Franchises Want About Me and Why

Written by: Ken Hollowell

Article Overview: Know what a franchisor is going to want to know about you and why.

What Information Franchises Want About Me and Why

What Information Franchisees Want About Me and Why?

When you request more information on a franchise, or meet with a franchise consultant they will generally all want a great deal of information about you. Half of it can seem like a job application and the other half more like a bank loan, but try not to let it worry you as it's something we all have to do and for the most part, you will be dealing with professionals who respect your privacy.
Why does a franchise need all this information about me?
Easy. Not all franchises are for all people. In fact, owning a franchise period is not for everyone. All franchises are different and require different types of people to run them. Different personalities, skill sets, experience, goals and of course financial positions. Finding the right owners and operators is just as critical to a franchisor as choosing the right franchise is to you. Both parties are facing significant risks with each new franchise.
"But I'm the only one investing any money so I'm the only one taking a risk" - Not true!
While franchises do incur significant costs with each new franchise developed it is true that you the investor is the one that actually lays out most of the cash for your franchise but the success or failure of your franchise will have an impact on every other sister franchise across the country. With each transaction you are not only representing yourself and your franchise, but the entire brand and all it's franchises. If you receive bad service from a business that happens to be a franchise you generally assume that all of those franchises give the same level of service.
To this day there is a certain fast food restaurant that I won't set foot in based on 1 single experience from 1 meal in 1 single franchise. Because 1 of thousands of franchises failed to maintain a certain standard it has damaged the reputation of everyone of it's locations. Now that's a pretty strong example, but it demonstrates the point.
In addition to a customer's point of view, your success or failure with a given franchise will impact the overall perception of that franchise as a business opportunity. A franchise with many success stories sounds like a better investment than one with many stories of failure. It's important that franchises find people who resemble the types of people behind their successes.
So - when you start your franchise information research and quickly learn that most want as much information about you as you do they - don't be surprised and don't take it offensively. They just want to make sure they have the right fit and that you are someone who could potentially succeed with their particular unique system. When you do finally find your perfect franchise opportunity you will be grateful that they use the same scrutiny in developing future franchises to protect what is now, partly your brand.

Related Articles
  Franchising FAQs
  Finding a Franchise Online
  Low Cost Franchises Offer Way to Own Your Own Business
  What Information Does the Franchisor Want About Me?
  Reasons to Consider Franchising

Article Tags: franchise consultant, ken hollowell, our business, profran consultants



Related Forum Posts
franchisebrief.com good clean design - I actually really like the design - it's clean and not busy. The information is easy to find. You mentioned you didn't want to monetize from the site thru the use of adwords but what about JV'ing with all or most of the Franchises you are referring people to. Is that possible in the Franchise industry?
Re: Franchise Support. What is it to you? - To be honest I have never been a big believer in Franchises. Which of them did you have the best and worst experience with, when you called in as an "interested buyer"?
Re: What Sells Online? - I agree with topeyinka, Information products(how to's) are whats selling right now.
Clothing Franchises - I believe that there are quite a few franchises for larger brands such as Diesel, Lacoste and Bennetton etc... but I am not sure how these contracts work. In New Zealand, Canada & Switzerland Clothing Franchises are for smaller designer brands & Outdoor clothing -- such as Bivouac, the great Outdoors etc Ian
Information about doing franchise business in China - CHINA’S FRANCHISE LEGAL SYSTEM Introduction Franchises has a history of more than one hundred years in foreign countries, now it has developed to be a mature business mode, and it is widely used in many countries, especially the developed ones. Recently, franchises has been developing fast in China, covering more than sixty industries and trades such as catering, retailing, clothes-washing, indoor decorations and gym. However, the market order of franchises is chaotic in some industries and areas. There are also some illegal and criminal activities under the guise of franchises. Under such circumstances, several important laws have been promulgated to regulate the commercial franchising activities. Applicable Legislation The main legislative provisions governing the commercial franchising in the PRC are: the Measures on Administration of Commercial Franchises; and the Measures on Administration of Archival Filing of Commercial Franchises; and the Measures on Administration of Information Disclosure of Commercial Franchises Qualification for Franchisors According to the laws, the franchisors as those enterprises who own such business sources as registered trademarks, enterprise logos, patents and proprietary technology, and license these business sources to franchisees. Firstly, the franchisors shall be enterprises, excluding other economic organizations and individuals. Secondly, the trademarks which can be licensed to franchisees shall be registered trademarks. According to the Trademark Law, the trademarks, whether registered or not, are protected under the laws, though there is difference in the vigor and extents of protection. It seems that the Ministry of Commerce has restrictions in recognizing trademarks, since it only provides “own trademarks to be licensed to others” at large, which causes chaos in practice. In the cases relevant to franchising disputes which we provided legal service to, all of them involve the situation that the franchisors granted licenses of non-registered trademarks or the trademarks which were in application to others, and when there was infringement on trademarks, the franchisors were unable to prevent infringement on trademarks. Then the interests of the franchisees could not be realized. What’s more, franchising activities with non-registered trademarks also, to some extent, encourage commercial frauds. Thirdly, the logos, patents and proprietary technology of enterprises are included in the business sources to be licensed to others for the first time, which enlarges the application scope of franchises and will improve the development of franchises. Requirements to be Met in Carrying on Franchising Activities In addition to the condition that only the enterprises will be allowed to carry on franchising activities referred to above, the franchisors shall also have mature business modes, and are able to provide business guidance, technology support and training. The enterprises which copy the manuals, websites and enlisting documents of others, and have no service abilities for providing business guidance, technology support and training shall be excluded. What needs pointing out is that even these enterprises that are allowed to carry on business may face with the suits claiming them for unfair competition and infringements on intellectual properties. In addition, the Measures clearly request that the franchisors shall operate at least two directly operated shops, and the period of operation shall be more than 1 year, which aims to prevent frauds by the way of franchising. Information Disclosure Requirements and Regulation on Franchisors Information disclosure system is the core system of franchising. The laws provides that the franchisors shall establish and implement a perfect information disclosure system, and provide the relevant information and franchising contracts in written form, at least thirty days before execution of franchising contracts. It also sets out the specific provisions on the information which shall be provided by franchisors, including the basic conditions and commercial reputation records of the franchisors and their legal representatives, business sources owned by franchisors, abilities of franchisors to provide service to franchisees and management and supervision on business of franchisees, franchisee fees and the payments, and budgets for investment in franchising shops. To the franchisors that violate these provisions, the authorities in charge of commerce will order them to rectify, charge penalties and make public statements. Archival Filing and Public Announcement Systems To protect the franchisees’ lawful rights and interests, considering the asymmetric information between franchisors and franchisees, in addition to intensifying information disclosure requirements and regulating the activities of franchisors, the Measures also bring in the archival filing and public announcement systems. The Measures provides that the franchisors shall make a filing with the commerce administrative department within 15 days after the execution of franchising contracts for the first time. Anyone who intends to engage in any commercial franchise activities within a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall go through the archival filing formalities in the commerce administrative department of the people’s government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government where the franchisors are located. Anyone who intends to engage in any commercial franchise activities beyond a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall go through archival filing formalities in the commerce administrative department of the State Council. Any franchisor having been engaging in franchise activities before May 1, 2007 shall apply for archival filing at the commercial administrative department. The Ministry of Commerce has established the national network for archival filing work relating to commercial franchise. Any franchisor shall go through the archival formalities through the government website. The general public may obtain the following information through the government website of the Ministry of Commerce: (1)The registered trademark(s), enterprise mark(s), patent(s), know-how and other business resources of the franchisor; (2)The franchisor’s archival filing date; (3)The location of the legal business place, contact information and name of the legal representative of the franchisor; and (4)The location of the business place of the franchisee(s) within China. The authorities in charge of filing will cancel the archival filing if there is any following activities of franchisors, and make public announcement on the government website: (1) the business licenses of the franchisors have been withdrawn by the registration administrative authorities for illegal business; (2) the authorities in charge of filing receive judicial suggestion letter on cancellation of archival filing from the judiciary for illegal business by franchisors; (3) the franchisors conceal the relevant information or provide false information, which has been proved; (4) the franchisors carry on cancellation by themselves. In addition, the illegal activities of the franchisors will be announced to the public. By Erex Chen, a Chinese lawyer based in Shanghai.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Earn More Money - Easy Home Business Ideas

The Substance Abusing Employee

How To Become A Member of the Paparazzi

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.