For Franchise Buyers: What the UFOC Tells You
For Franchise Buyers: What the UFOC Tells You
Although the contents of the UFOC are prescribed, many franchisors will only present the minimum information needed to get by. So, to get an accurate assessment of the Franchisor, you will need to do some reading between the lines and ask a lot of additional questions.
The analysis of a Franchisor’s UFOC is too big a subject to cover in one article so let me just give you some important tips to keep in mind while you’re reading through the document. More of these follow in additional articles.
Tips
•Read the litigation section carefully, looking especially for an excessive number of law-suits by Franchisees. That might indicate that a Franchisor is not living up to its agreement. A real flag: Franchisors that are involved in class action suits and/or expulsions from securities associations.
•Franchisors are often adamant about the Franchisee’s use of their approved suppliers. The prudent franchise investor should compare alternate supply sources with the Franchisor’s approved ones for price and quality.
•Franchisors that offer financial assistance to prospective Franchisees provide a service. Just make sure that the terms and conditions of the system-sponsored financing are fair to the Franchisee.
•When you examine a company’s advertising program and strategy, look for clear-cut goals and effective use of funding. You don’t want to find out that most of the advertising dollars go toward attracting new Franchisees, not customers.
•Most major points of the franchise agreement will not be negotiated by the Franchisor, so if there’s something you cannot live with, be ready to walk away from the deal.
•Be very sure you’ve settled on the right franchise, because, once you have paid the fee, it’s doubtful you will get it back if you change your mind. Most fees are not-refundable.
•Don’t be enticed by Franchisor’s very low franchise fee. Find out what it covers. If training, support and marketing aren’t included in the initial fee, you can end up paying much more on a piecemeal basis than you would with a higher fee that includes all these things.
•Ask yourself this question when considering a royalty fee (especially one that seems high in comparison to other Franchisors): Does the franchise have such powerful name recognition that the high royalty is warranted?
•Find out if Franchisees are paying their royalties. It spells trouble if they aren’t. Either they’re not doing well enough to pay the fee or they’re not satisfied with the Franchisor’s support and services.
For Franchise Buyers What the UFOC Tells You - To learn more about this author, visit Mary Tomzack's Website.
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Each franchisor must produce a document called Uniform Franchise Circular (UFOC), which is submitted to the Federal Trade Commission. This document, with its 23 required items of information, is essential reading for any prospective Franchisee.
Although the contents of the UFOC are prescribed, many franchisors will only present the minimum information needed to get by. So, to get an accurate assessment of the Franchisor, you will need to do some reading between the lines and ask a lot of additional questions.
The analysis of a Franchisor’s UFOC is too big a subject to cover in one article so let me just give you some important tips to keep in mind while you’re reading through the document. More of these follow in additional articles.
Tips
•Read the litigation section carefully, looking especially for an excessive number of law-suits by Franchisees. That might indicate that a Franchisor is not living up to its agreement. A real flag: Franchisors that are involved in class action suits and/or expulsions from securities associations.
•Franchisors are often adamant about the Franchisee’s use of their approved suppliers. The prudent franchise investor should compare alternate supply sources with the Franchisor’s approved ones for price and quality.
•Franchisors that offer financial assistance to prospective Franchisees provide a service. Just make sure that the terms and conditions of the system-sponsored financing are fair to the Franchisee.
•When you examine a company’s advertising program and strategy, look for clear-cut goals and effective use of funding. You don’t want to find out that most of the advertising dollars go toward attracting new Franchisees, not customers.
•Most major points of the franchise agreement will not be negotiated by the Franchisor, so if there’s something you cannot live with, be ready to walk away from the deal.
•Be very sure you’ve settled on the right franchise, because, once you have paid the fee, it’s doubtful you will get it back if you change your mind. Most fees are not-refundable.
•Don’t be enticed by Franchisor’s very low franchise fee. Find out what it covers. If training, support and marketing aren’t included in the initial fee, you can end up paying much more on a piecemeal basis than you would with a higher fee that includes all these things.
•Ask yourself this question when considering a royalty fee (especially one that seems high in comparison to other Franchisors): Does the franchise have such powerful name recognition that the high royalty is warranted?
•Find out if Franchisees are paying their royalties. It spells trouble if they aren’t. Either they’re not doing well enough to pay the fee or they’re not satisfied with the Franchisor’s support and services.
For Franchise Buyers What the UFOC Tells You - 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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