Quite possibly the biggest faux pas prospective franchisees make is not contacting several current franchisees The section of the franchise’s disclosure information that discusses past, current, or future franchisees is an indispensable tool for locating franchises in order to learn from them before you make your final decision. Discussing any concerns that you may have with existing franchisees is critical if you hope to be successful as a new franchisee. If you are given a tour that includes two or three franchisees, experts advise that you return to those franchisees at a later date and ask any questions that you could not mention while in front of the franchisor or franchise representatives. Another important factor is to find out whether the franchisor has introduced you to specific franchisees that have been financially rewarded for their assistance in soliciting new franchisees. Franchisees who have been paid for their help may be biased in their representation of the franchise as a whole. Other than the franchisees introduced to you by the franchisor, to get the true â€big picture†you should do the investigating necessary to contact others listed in the disclosure document who have no vested interest in soliciting prospective franchisees. While interviewing these other franchisees, be sure to ask them if the franchisor has a reputation for honest and fair franchise business practices. Also, ask their opinions of the current franchise disclosure agreement. Is it fair and accurate? Additionally, you can seek the help of these particular less-biased franchisees in verifying any other information that was not set forth in the disclosure ocument. When interviewing other franchisees, try to cover a large cross section of franchisees. The larger cross-section of franchisees that you can speak to, the etter view of the franchise opportunity you will get overall. For example, seek out those that are in different locations those that have one franchise as well as those that have multiple franchises; those who have many years of experience and those who are new; and those whose franchise is operating successfully as well as those who are not successful. When interviewing those franchisees that are struggling to be successful, attempt to determine the reasons why their business is experiencing problems. Specifically, ask if they feel that the franchisor exerts too much control or not enough. These may seem to be tough questions to ask, but be assured that it is far better to ask them now rather than avoiding them and setting your business up for immediate failure.
Please Rate this Article 5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
