The 3 Most Important Things Franchise Buyers Want in 2026

What do franchise buyers want in 2026?

What will make them send in a check to franchise headquarters?

What will make them not look for a new job-but become the owner of a franchise business in 2026?

Read this post to find out.

Key Takeaways

Today’s franchise buyers are looking for three fundamental things.

First, they want safety…not guarantees, but confidence they won’t lose their investment.

This means doing thorough research, asking franchisees tough questions about earnings, and gathering as many data points as possible.

Remember, past performance doesn’t guarantee future results in franchising any more than it does in mutual funds.

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Second, buyers want a trustworthy partnership with their franchisor.

They need assurance they won’t face inflated royalties, poor territories, inadequate support, or oversaturation in their market. The franchisor-franchisee relationship may not be a legal partnership, but it functions like one, and trust is essential.

Third, franchise buyers want a solid return on investment.

But calculating ROI in franchising isn’t straightforward. You need to factor in your initial investment, ongoing expenses, annual take-home income, and eventual sale price. Consider the lifestyle implications too, as working 12-hour days for five years might be acceptable if you can scale back later.

The real question isn’t whether a franchise offers good returns in general. It’s whether the specific opportunity aligns with your financial goals, lifestyle preferences, and long-term vision.

So, don’t settle. Get what you want from your franchise investment.

3 Important Things Franchise Buyers Want in 2026

1. Safety

Today’s franchise buyers are looking for safety. A fairly safe franchise opportunity. But how do they define safe?

To them, “safe” means they don’t feel they’ll lose their money if they buy the franchise they’re interested in. Makes sense. After all, who goes into a franchise business expecting to lose their investment? But here’s the thing.

In franchising, there’s no guarantee of success.

That’s because it’s a venture into the mostly unknown.

Here’s another way to look at it.

If you invest your money in a mutual fund, you can look at previous returns. But there’s no guarantee you’ll get those returns because…wait for it:

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. See more

Franchising is the same.

You can do the research, which must include asking franchisees the tough questions. Questions that need to include their earnings.

But even then, your earnings may not match their earnings.

As a matter of fact, they probably won’t.

Your job?

Get as many facts and data points that you can, and make your yes or no decision accordingly.

In the safest way possible.

Let’s continue talking about the 3 things franchise buyers want.

2. Franchise buyers want a partner they can trust

Here’s an important thing franchise buyers want in 2026: A partnership.

Although a franchisor-franchisee relationship isn’t a partnership in the legal sense, it is nevertheless a “partnership.”

With that in mind, check this out, from UpCounsel:

“While they operate on a completely different level, partnerships and franchises do share some similarities when it comes to business features.

For example, most franchise agreements will define the royalties and licensing fees that franchises must pay to the franchisor. Partnerships do something similar by defining limited and general partners as well as how much profit each partner will earn once the business is profitable.

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Partnerships also go a step further by detailing the specific functions of each partner and what areas of the business they are responsible for.”

Let’s get back into the ethics part of this partnership (in name only).

Today’s franchise buyer’s want to feel like they’re partners in this. That they’re not alone. Heck, isn’t that what people looking to be their own bosses-but with a blueprint to follow, want?

But they also want to feel that they won’t get screwed.

Read that again.

But screwed how?

• Royalties that turn out to be too high
• Securing a “great” territory that turns out to be lousy
• Not getting the needed support promised from headquarters
• Seeing too many franchises opening near their location
• Paying into the franchise marketing fund for no apparent reason

And more.

3. In 2026, franchise buyers want a good ROI

Going into 2026, franchise buyers want to make money. It’s important-as it should be. They want a good Return on Investment. On their investment. But what is a good return?

For example, if you invest $180,000 in a senior care franchise, and 9 years later you’re able to sell it for $950,000, is that a good return on your investment?

It depends on how much you had to invest in the ongoing expenses for those 9 years. And how much you took home each of those years.

My point?

It’s not that simple to figure out your ROI with a franchise.

Although there are tools online like break-even calculators and more.

Oh. Wait. Here’s a ROI calculator of sorts. Have at it.

With that in mind, if I was buying a franchise, here’s how I would look at things. And what would satisfy me as an Owner.

If I invested $200,000 in a franchise, and I could take home $120,000-$170,000 a year after my business breaks even, and I could sell it after 9-10 years for good money, I’d be a happy camper.

That said, there are other variables.

For instance, did I have to work 12+ hours a day, 6 days a week for the first 5 years to make that kind of money?

If I knew going in that I’d have to work those hours for a few years-then have the ability to back it off to 7-8 hours a day, I’d be good with that.

But as my friend Chris always says, “your mileage will vary.”

As in, it depends on what you want in a business.

And what you want to be doing in that business.

In your business.

Bottom line?

As Howard Bassuk says, “When you’re determining which franchise to own and operate, don’t settle. Get what you want.”

So, determine what is important to you as a franchise buyer.

Then, go after it.

FAQ’s