Buying a Franchise - Step two

This is part two of our Buying a Franchise series. This step of the process is focused on asking questions in order to assist you in reducing your list of potential franchises down to a manageable level – it is impractical to move too far with more than three or four franchises in mind.

Take a good look at the your list of potential franchised businesses. Then ask yourself do you really see yourself operating any of those businesses for a period of years? Then, if the answer is yes, go on to ask yourself these questions:

• Does the business present well to you as a consumer?
• Do you understand the business?
• Have they proven their ability to secure quality locations or operate in multiple regions?
• Are current franchisees profitable?
• Are they seen in the media and portrayed well?
• Are current franchisees happy?
• What is the marketing and advertising program like?
• Do they have strong relationships with the banks?
• What is the quality of the management and leadership team?
• Do they have company owned operations?
• Do they listen to and learn from their current franchisees?
• Do they have a clear vision and growth plan?
• Do they have a good, solid growth history?
• How good is the induction and training program, especially if you are a novice in the product, service and/or business?
• How well developed are their management information systems?
• Do they have an operations and procedures manual?
• What level of ongoing support is provided?

Once you’ve answered these questions, and if you're happy to proceed you should continue the journey to buying a franchise. If you aren't happy with the answers for one franchise, you can take a step back and run through this process with another business in mind. Because it is your money and your time you are investing, it's best to be rigorous in your analysis of the opportunities.