What I have Learned from 20 Years in Franchising
Learn from my mistakes and success- you never know where life can take you.
Not all franchise companies are the same – some are great … some are good … some are just “OK” … and, some are bad (some even worse than bad).
Good franchise companies don’t want to “sell” you a franchise –they want to “award” franchises to people whom they believe will become successful.
Most of the money a franchise company makes from franchisees year after year comes from royalties the franchisees pay. That’s why the prior statement is true.
Good franchises won’t allow franchisees to open in a location or market where the franchisees won’t be successful. That’s why the prior two statements are true.
Most people become interested in franchises they patronize … in other words, if they like eating at Subway, they want to own one, whether it’s right for them or not.
Most people who buy franchises never read the entire franchise agreement … yes, ridiculous, but nevertheless, true.
There are three main reasons why a franchise owner in any type of industry fails:
1.The franchisee isn’t a good match for the role of an owner
2.The franchisee runs out of money before becoming profitable
3.The franchisee doesn’t “follow the program”
The franchise company isn’t going to run the franchise owners’ businesses for them – franchise owners have to run their business.
The other “half” of the franchising motto, “Be in business for yourself, but not by yourself,” is all about your fellow franchisees – your automatic peer group.
Once people buy a franchise, they never want to work for anyone else again!
Before you actually sign “on the dotted line” of a franchise agreement, you have to stare a hole in the ceiling above your bed as you lay in a pool of sweat … but then, you sign.
If you stopped 100 people in Times Square in NYC and asked by show of hands how many of them would like to control their own destinies by owning their own businesses, all 100 hands would go up … if you then said, “Keep your hand up if you have done anything to investigate business ownership, all 100 hands would go down – it would take a thousand hands before one would remain up – that’s your hand because you are reading this!
Come to the Great American Franchise Expo and discover what brands are out there, and are truly worth your time and efforts. You never know what you may find.
