Ask the right questions before you buy a franchise
Ask the right questions before you buy a franchise
1. Have any of your franchisees bought additional units? If so, how many?
2 . Who are the members of your training and support teams and can I meet them now?
3 . Can I get a ball-park estimate on my break-even and how long it might take me to reach that figure?
4 . Do you provide hands-on training in an existing store and/or my store?
5 . Will you provide me with a complete list of franchisees and their contact information?
6 . What makes your product or service special when compared to competitors?
7 . Will I be required to purchase supplies from you or a designated source - even if I find a better deal?
8 . What is the target market?
9 . At what stage is the market for your product: developing, stagnating, growing, or declining?
10. What happens if I want to sell my business in the future? Are there are restrictions?
11. Can you provide me with a true calculation of the start-up cost including working capital?
12. What happens if your product or service becomes obsolete?
Ask the right questions before you buy a franchise - To learn more about this author, visit Mary Tomzack's Website.
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You're in the market for a franchise and after months of reading brochures, watching slick videos, and poring over UFOCs, you've pared down the list of possibilities to two or three. Now what? It's time to meet with these franchisors and start asking questions. You may feel like you're already on information overload and the franchisors have been eager to spill their guts, so what more is there to know? Ask the right questions, listen closely to the responses, and you'll be surprised how much more there is to learn. The UFOC provides answers to many of these, but you should expect details and clarification.
1. Have any of your franchisees bought additional units? If so, how many?
2 . Who are the members of your training and support teams and can I meet them now?
3 . Can I get a ball-park estimate on my break-even and how long it might take me to reach that figure?
4 . Do you provide hands-on training in an existing store and/or my store?
5 . Will you provide me with a complete list of franchisees and their contact information?
6 . What makes your product or service special when compared to competitors?
7 . Will I be required to purchase supplies from you or a designated source - even if I find a better deal?
8 . What is the target market?
9 . At what stage is the market for your product: developing, stagnating, growing, or declining?
10. What happens if I want to sell my business in the future? Are there are restrictions?
11. Can you provide me with a true calculation of the start-up cost including working capital?
12. What happens if your product or service becomes obsolete?
Ask the right questions before you buy a franchise - To learn more about this author, visit Mary Tomzack'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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