Joel Libava
It comes down to this question: Is it yes or no on the franchise business you want to by?
Suppose that you’re alone at your desk staring at the 35 page franchise agreement (contract) you received from the franchisor via FedEx 2 days ago.
Correction: You’re not really staring at the legal agreement you’re thinking of signing. You’re staring at the enormity of what you may be about to do. It’s a bit disconcerting when you get down to it.
That’s because when you buy a franchise type of business, the franchisor kind of owns you for the next 10 years-if you sign on the dotted line. (10 years is the average term of a franchise agreement)
Think about it: You…the franchisee, is locked into the franchisors business system for a decade. Once you sign on as a franchisee, you are an owner. The franchise agreement doesn’t come with a rewind button. It is a legally-binding document. Playtime is over. Those visions you’ve been having of owning 6 or 7 franchise units-while wonderful…and full of heart-pumping excitement, don’t compare with what you’re feeling in your chest this very moment.
You’re Freaking Scared
You’re supposed to be. It’s completely normal. I don’t care how much money you have sitting in your brokerage account. Every single client I’ve worked with over the years has been nervous right before they made their yes or no decision to buy the franchise they’ve been looking into. It’s a big decision.
Now, franchisors don’t really own you. But, they do own the system. They own the idea…the concept. And, they own everything that’s proprietary. I’m not suggesting that it’s a bad thing. It just is. When you choose to go with the franchise model, you should know what you’re getting into-and what it actually means to be a franchisee.
(If you don’t, type in your info below so you can read my free online guide on franchising)
Is It Yes Or No On The Franchise You Want To Buy?
I’ve been getting my friend, Jim Blasingame’s weekly newsletter ever since he asked me to become a member of his Brain Trust-the largest community of small business experts in the world. It’s a great newsletter.
An article I read (Jim wrote it) in this week’s newsletter made me think of you-along with every other prospective franchise business owner around. Here’s part of it:
“When the next step can be determined by acquiring information, conducting due diligence takes care of that. Sometimes the next step involves the other party in a transaction, which can be handled by negotiations. Often, finding the capital to fund a project moves us to the launching point.
But ultimately, the time will come when there is nothing left to do but make the decision – go or no go. And that decision, my entrepreneur friend, will be all yours.”
Go or no go folks. It’s yes or no.
Did you notice the part about acquiring information…due diligence? I hope so. It’s the most important part of the franchise purchasing process. It’s also my major focus on in the articles I write here, the articles I write elsewhere, in my hardcover book, and my eBooks.
Because doing due diligence-in this case, doing great franchise research, makes your yes or no decision a little less scary.
There are a ton of great franchise opportunities to choose from these days.
If you make a good choice in a franchise…one backed with facts, success can be yours.
Are you ready?
