How Do I Become a Franchise Owner

How Do I Become a Franchise Owner

 

The franchise market is full of opportunity and choices.  We recommend following these steps to identify and plan for your success as you enter the franchise marketplace.


1. Decide on the type of franchise you want to open. Food, cleaning and check cashing services are common franchise operations. Choose a field where you have some type of experience or expertise, as this is one of the qualifiers the parent company will use when evaluating your application. It’s also helpful to have some type of management experience.

2. Look up available franchise opportunities in your chosen industry on a franchise search website.

3. Examine the terms, conditions, and requirements for each franchise opportunity that you’re interested in exploring. Find out how much of an initial investment you need to qualify as well as credit requirements. 

4. Check the background of the franchisor (parent company) to find out more about its reputation. You can look up the business on Hoovers and the Better Business Bureau and contact the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers (AAFD)

5. Research the area where you want to open the franchise to determine if there is a genuine demand for that type of business. Franchises commonly research an area before offering an opportunity there, but it’s still helpful to do your own research as well. You can examine demographics data (income, homeowners, interests) for the area using a service like ZIP Skinny (see Resources) and conduct surveys in the community to gauge interest in products or services.

6. Submit an inquiry to become a franchise owner with the company. The inquiry is just a note (or call) to the company containing your contact information. In some cases, you’ll receive the application automatically, but in others, you might have to include the amount of funds you have available for investment to receive the application. Note the area where you want to establish your business. The franchisor sends information about the opportunity and the application.

7. Review the Franchise Disclosure Document with a franchise lawyer. This is a large document and you need to have someone looking at it who knows the industry.

8. Visit the headquarters of the franchise and make sure you are comfortable with the people that will be supporting you over the life of the franchise agreement. Usually a 10-year agreement

9. Call other franchisees and ask them their experience with the franchisor and are they happy with training support and how are they doing since they opened their doors.

10. Have an honest conversation with your family about the commitment to this endeavor and making sure everyone is ready to commit the time and the money.

11. Buy a franchise!

 

John Naylor

President

Elite Franchise Sales

http://elitefranchisesales.com