As the saying goes, with franchising you are in business ‘for yourself’ but not ‘by yourself.’ The advantages of a known brand and experienced support continues to draw new entrepreneurs to the franchise industry. Once you have made the decision to invest in a franchise, your research starts to find the franchise that suits you.
Researching franchises
Researching franchise opportunities is probably the most important activity in making your franchise investment decision. To make an informed decision, you must put in the time, get the information, assess it and reassess it to decide which franchise opportunity is right for you.
Current franchisees are your best source of researching a franchise.
No opinions are more valuable than those of a current franchisee. Franchisors are compelled by the Consumer Protection Act to provide prospective franchisees with a Disclosure documents, which will include a list of current franchisees that you are free to contact.
Current franchisees will give you the best indications of how their franchise is performing and the support that the franchisor provides. They can verify the effectiveness of the franchisor’s training, capital requirements, management philosophy and other questions that you may have.
This information will give you a reasonably clear perspective of the franchise you are considering and not only the best-case scenario.
Research beats guesswork every time!
Kevin Antonie
CEO
SA Franchise Brands
