Franchise Are Smiling At You !… by neil smith

2/24/09

I'm finding more and more these days that in business, it’s rarely what you do (meaning what field you choose) which leads one to success, but rather how you do it.

Running a burger joint or a smoothie cart or driving a tool truck may not be your life’s dream, but there are many brilliant business people out there who have found ways to make franchising work for them, and then taken their success and multiplied it many times over to place themselves into a position of true wealth.

Is franchising for you? Noone can answer that for you except yourself, but hopefully the information presented here will help you on the path to a great business decision. Happy reading!

Getting started:

If you have been thinking about buying a franchise, but aren’t exactly sure where to start, a franchise expo may be a good jumping-off point.

A franchise expo is a flea market of sorts where companies set up booths designed to sell you a business. It is usually advisable to attend these things with the mindset of merely gathering ideas and information and taking good notes to conduct further research on your own, rather than being on a mission to purchase a major life investment in a day.

Be mindful that the people representing these opportunities are really nothing more than salespeople who are very motivated to get you to buy. You don’t want to be the victim of some carnival-barking used car salesman, so really, just use this as a research and discovery expedition.

Some important questions to ask of a franchise salesperson are:

* How many franchise locations currently exist and where are the locations?

* What type of support does the company offer?

* What requirements and policies does the company impose on its’ franchisers?

* How long has the company been in business?

* What are the costs and royalties associated with running this franchise?

Conducting A Background Check or… Looking Up Their Butts With A Microscope!

One thing you are going to want to get your hands on before considering any franchiser’s offer is the disclosure document or “Franchise Offering Circular.” This document tells you who the executives are and describes their backgrounds including the litigation background of the company as well as the executives’ personal criminal records.

The disclosure document will also answer most of the questions mentioned earlier in this article, financial history, and the Federal Trade Commission requires that the entity selling the franchise provide the prospective purchaser with this document at least 10 days prior to the sale.

Final Thoughts

As with any great life-impacting venture one may be considering, the best advice is always to proceed with caution, take your time, educate yourself and really do your research before making any major financial or personal commitments. If a franchise opportunity still appeals to you, be prepared for a lot of hard work, but also be prepared for some great rewards if you do your business right!

Please visit my website at http://www.letsgetahead.com for more great articles like this one!

tags: neil smith, neal smith, lets get ahead, let's get ahead, letsgetahead, franchise, buy a franchise, buying a franchise, how to buy a franchise, buy a business