what do you think about offline franchise business?

All franchises are different.

What kind of franchise are you looking to get into? Look at Subway, they're everywhere! So they must be doing something right.

My mom owned a franchise for 27 years. At first she liked it, then towards the end she couldn't stand corporate (making money on everything... they would even tell how much to charge for a certain product and get the kick back). I understand everyone wants to make money, but don't "f" with your franchisees. sheesh!

is your mom still owning it now?

For subways, who is operating it now, your mom herself or the company?

Thx for the reply by the way

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. This is merely discussion based on my experience. Having been a senior manager with an Inc. Top 1000 franchisor, I can tell you all franchises are not created equal.

Subway is an excellent example of a franchisor that has gotten into trouble for dictating how its franchisees must spend money: all the napkins, cups, other supplies must be bought from head office at their prices; the facilities must be modernized by head office contractors at their price every so many years.

Moe's Southwestern Grill is another that has been in trouble with its franchisees. This happens all the time--franchisees suing franchisors.

When you buy a franchise, you are buying a business in a box. However, support from head office is different from one to another. Some just hand you the kit and say, "There you go"; others like the one I worked for will hold your hand and send a trainer out and have another at head office to help you. Some will help with marketing while others will not. Finding out is your due diligence process.

If you want to buy a business kit and don't really know how to run your own operation yet, franchising can be a good idea. But if you already know your stuff, you might not want to take on all the hassle that comes with having to follow the rules of a franchisor. The brand recognition can be very helpful. They cannot tell you how to run your business (hiring, firing, day to day operations), but they can dictate the vehicle wraps, marketing imagery, ingredients, supplies and much more.

When a franchisor gets larger, it will usually generate a franchisee council. This is a sort of union made up of elected, volunteered or appointed franchisees to represent their interests. They will meet and then discuss improvements and initiatives with the franchisor. The franchisor likes it because now they don't have to deal with every niggling complaint from each individual franchisee one at a time. I want to point out that you as a franchisee may be "victim" to the decisions of this franchisee council.

The franchise business is a dangerous one for the franchisor--more dangerous than most of them realize. You have to have an EXCELLENT franchise lawyer on your side when drafting the franchisee agreement, and they are very expensive. Franchisees are usually not aware or sophisticated enough to get their own competent lawyer (a family lawyer is not sufficient) to look over these agreements before signing. And the weaker franchisors often have their family lawyer look over their agreement before starting to sell. Big mistake.

Do not listen to franchise brokers beyond the basics. They are there to make money by selling you the opportunity; whether you fail or succeed is not their business. Some are good and some are unscrupulous, like anything else. If you must work with one, let them bring you opportunities but not push you into a golddarned thing. I have not worked with any franchise brokers I especially admired...or were particularly effective.

When looking for a franchise to invest in, the #1 thing to look at is How carefully does the franchisee screen its applicants?

Please note that it is illegal for a franchisor to discuss income claims with a franchisee before signing the agreement--they can speak to you in general terms but not give you hard numbers. Understand this going forward so you are not frustrated by it.

Our business, for instance, had a low franchise fee, about $60K all-in (not to make money--they would sometimes even take a small loss here), but we would not take a retiree in South Dakota with $60K in the bank. That was insufficient. They had to have business acumen and experience, a whole lot more money available, and fit the action-taker mold. They came to a Discovery Day where the president did about 6 hours of presentation on the market and opportunity, culture, products etc. and then selection went on from there.

The company was growing quickly and we had one or two Discovery Days a month from which we'd probably get a couple franchisees. Then the new franchisees would come back for a week of technical and operations training before opening their business. We also had a trainer to hold their hand and kick them in the butt for every step necessary for opening a business in their area...and a sales trainer to visit personally and get them in to see initial contacts. Finally, our organization handled the online marketing for all the franchisees...for a monthly fee.

This is the second thing to look for: How much support do you get?

And the third: What does it cost, truly? Ours had a low entry fee, but a high ongoing monthly fee based on gross revenue. This was to pay for the PPC marketing and technical support.

You really need to understand your local market, competition, how you are going to make money. Open another sandwich shop? Crowded market. Research thoroughly, look at local demographic trends and see who will be living there 5 years from now...age, income level, family size...and remember, you have 24 hours in a day. Don't buy yourself a job. Fully understand what you are getting into. A franchise is a business model that worked IN ONE LOCATION...it may not work in your market...Buyer Beware.

No, she got out of the franchise business 10 years ago, but she owned a Mr. Hero for 27 years (it's a Cleveland thing).

Corporate got greedy... and still are.

I was a franchisee in the pizza business. 3 stores. We did dine in, take out and delivery. I liked it. I still like the pizza business.

I came in here to say a bunch of stuff but don't need to. Jason did a really good job.

My wife was knee deep in a franchise company for 6 years. When the economy turned, some very poorly run markets in the mid-west closed their businesses while still owing product to customers. Many national TV shows ran stories on it, and franchisees that were not doing well dropped even further and closed. This ruined the brand and some franchisees lost millions of dollars. It's great to have the brand recognition that comes along with a franchise, but if the brand gets damaged then you can be in real trouble. Even if you ran your business responsibly.