5 Things to Take Into Account when Researching A Franchise

You can often read many horror stories online on the subject of those investing in a franchise and losing out as a rogue franchiser runs off together with their cash. It's true that this happens however on the other hand there are profitable franchisees working now with good lucrative businesses. It may look like some are fortunate and some are not, yet there are a number of routes you can consider throughout the buying process of the franchise business to minimise the possiblity of hitting on a 'rogue' franchisor and maximise the possiblity of you turning into one of the success stories.

Consider these 5 pointers when looking at a franchise business of interest.

1. Get the right opinions

Who better to talk to about if a franchise business is decent or not than those who have in reality operated it themselves. The world wide web is turning into a continually increasing voice when it comes down to service levels experienced by consumers on goods and services. A swift search on the web for the franchise system plus 'review' tagged on the end will typically give lots of results written by people who have experienced the franchise opportunity first hand, both good and bad. Getting a listing of current franchisees from the franchise opportunities you may be sincerely fascinated in is an additional way of getting some good insight as you travel along the buying route.

2. Backup & Training

Make sure you visit the head offices of any franchisor you consider. It will often offer you some good insight into their operation and as you're there you can check out any training facilities and documentation they have available. Again, its a significant question to ask their established franchisees, as a good franchisor will want to make available as much backup and training as necessary to provide their franchisees all the tools they need to succeed.

3. Reputation and Brand

Have you heard of the company? And what kind of reputation do they have? This is common sense in actual fact but its also worth considering that there are lots of smaller, lesser acknowledged brands which may well still have decent reptutation as a consequence are still worth considering. Not all franchisors have the capital to make their mark on TV or ad boards but this is not automatically a motive to ignore them if they can demonstrate a track record of industry status and integrity.

4. Banks Outlook

The franchise sections of the banks are a great place to find an impartial view of the franchise business you might be taking into consideration. It's likely the bank will usually be drawn in as part of the franchise venture as the majority of prospective franchisees will need to borrow capital to finance their new franchise business. The banks motivation to lend capital offers a hint of the self-confidence they maintain in any individual franchise. If the franchise business is well identified to them and has a decent track record they will often be keen to lend rather than a franchise that perhaps they have no experience of or has a poor track record in their experience. The latter clearly represents more risk to the bank and they will be more wary to lend.

5. Associations

The majority of countries have a franchise association of some kind that can offer some level of security when it comes  to looking at buying into a franchise business. Their task is to offer some trust in the franchise marketplace as the franchise businesses they approve mostly need to pass various basic checks to make sure they possess established systems and a track record of success. It's prudent to check with the franchise association in your country to see if the franchise you are thinking about is a member and if not has the franchise association heard of them and also what opinions they may present.

Lastly, your underlying impression can't be under-estimated! How do you feel when you first meet the franchisorthe faces behind the franchise opportunity. Do they draw out assurance and trust with you? Don't be fooled by promises of speedy, high earnings... on the contrary a franchisor who appears to have more down-to-earth method about building a stable long term business is probably a better preference. The personalities behind the franchise are the people you will be commiting to long term so could you see yourself working in conunction with them?