Note: This post was written when I was a Franchise Consultant. I don’t do that anymore.
With over 3,700 different business/franchise opportunities to choose from, there a a lot of mistakes to be made by folks who just do not know what they may be getting into.
I choose to work with those wishing to explore franchise opportunities in my local area, Northern Ohio. I work with local residents because I feel that I have more “skin” in the game this way. I know what works in Northern Ohio, and what won’t. {Usually}
I will not help my candidates get into anything in the franchise world that is deemed “hot“, because what is hot, usually gets cold quickly.
Anyway, there has been a lot of hype about the “Meal Prep” franchise concept, where you go into this franchised outfit, and cook a couple of weeks worth of meals to store in your freezer.
Since I am part of the “dual income we have no time to do anything crowd”, I thought of these 2 problems with the concept, when I was introduced a couple of years ago:
1. If one has no time to cook on weeknights, how would one find the time to spend 2-3 hours cooking meals? {Personally, there is no way I would spend a Saturday morning doing it!}
2. What if one has no large freezer? {We don’t}
Simple questions that should have been answered by these franchise company know- it -alls, and development consultants.
I have never presented these Meal Prep concepts to any of my local candidates, and never would.
Jim Coen, a fellow blogger,and franchise expert in New England, wrote a nice story on his blog about Meal prep today.Read
Some of you may think that my take on Meal Prep franchises are negative, but I speak from the heart, and from experience.
For more on my experiences with franchise concepts, and real stories of folks that I have helped find great concepts for, read Crain’s Cleveland Business this week, as I am featured in 2 different franchise stories.
And speaking of franchise concepts, have you heard about Lunch Box Wax?