Choosing to Buy a Franchise: Choose Carefully

Congratulations on making the decision to begin looking at becoming a franchisee. MSA suggests that you begin your exploration of franchising by becoming educated on the subject. There is a lot of information available online at websites like the International Franchise Association (www.franchise.org), which provides an online seminar about franchising. ​Our website ​provides an extensive Franchise Library of articles on many franchising topics that you may find interesting and informative.

Of course, MSA is partial to Franchising for Dummies, the must-read book that Michael Seid, MSA Managing Director, wrote with the late Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s International, as a primer to franchising for both franchisees and franchisors. All net proceeds from sales of that book go to charity. The recently published Franchise Management for Dummies, co-authored by Michael Seid and Joyce Mazero, is also an excellent resource for anyone interested in becoming a franchisee.

Once you have a good understanding of franchising, you are ready to begin your search for a franchise opportunity. To help you, MSA has developed the Making the Franchise Decision workbook below, which provides guidance and advice on the investigation and selection of a franchise that will meet your needs and expectations.

This free workbook is a tool for you to use in evaluating the different franchisors you will be looking at. It is not meant to give you the answer to your most important question: Which is the best opportunity for me? That is a wholly personal decision, since what is important to one potential franchisee may not be as important to another.

At its core, franchising is about the relationships between the franchisor and the franchisees. The franchisor provides the franchisee with leadership and support, and exercises some control over the franchising operations and the franchisee’s adherence to brand guidelines. In exchange, the franchisee usually pays the franchisor a one-time initial fee (called a franchise fee) and a continuing fee (known as a royalty). In franchising, the franchisor does not control the day-to-day affairs of the franchisee.

The job of the franchisor is to set and enforce brand standards; the job of the franchisee is to manage their business and staff to achieve those brand standards. When structured and managed properly, both franchisor and franchisee benefit financially from the relationship.

Good luck on your exploration of franchising. Take your time. This is an important decision for you and your family.