How to buy a franchise

How do you buy a franchise?

While it may seem simple at first, there are some things you may want to consider to ensure this purchase could be a home run for you.

• Use experts to help you with your search, funding and purchase
• Take your time, the right choice is better than a fast pick!
• Follow the process, make a good impression. This is a mutual investigation.
• Explore outside your initial preconceptions of what business you want to own
• Involve all decision makers in the investigation process

Let’s look at those in a little more detail

While most people hesitate to get expert advice in their job we have found that experts can be very valuable in the franchise search and purchase process. The least known expert available to franchise buyers are Franchise Consultants, you just met one… ME!

I and folks like me work with people searching for their perfect franchise. You could expect to go through some sort of information gathering process to learn about your likes, dislikes, skills, how you want to work and what you want to build so that we can look at franchises available in the market and match your criteria to those seen in the brand’s most successful franchisees.

With roughly 4,000 franchise brands out there it can be overwhelming to try to figure out which ones fit you best. The initial sorting process many candidates use is to look at all the companies they know to be franchises and which they frequent as customers. I can tell you that the life of a business owner is very different than the experience of being a customer. There are some outstanding businesses I frequent that I should never own. It is best for me, my goals and my family life if I remain a raving fan of those businesses.

Working with a Franchise Consultant should go well beyond just finding the matches; your consultant should be available to you at every step of the investigation process to answer general business questions, strategize and provide resources you may need to make the process easier or more complete.

Here is the great part, most franchise consultants are set up to provide you expertise but send the consulting bill to the franchisor if you move forward with them. We provide them some value in getting the right candidate to the right franchise.

In addition to Franchise Consultants, there are some amazing franchise specific funding companies out there that provide a myriad of resources for making your dream come true. They may offer options like SBA loans, conventional loans, equipment leases and specialized programs like retirement rollover funding where you can access your retirement funds without tax or penalty implications via a special application process that has been IRS approved (don’t just go empty your 401k or IRA!).