Don’t Buy a Franchise Without Asking This Question

October 1, 2006

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Thinking of buying a franchise? Don’t part with a penny of your hard earned cash until you’ve asked the franchisor this question:
“Do you still own and run a prototype operation?” And, if the answer is no - run a mile.

Any successful franchisor will have at least one managed operation, which is running smoothly and successfully, before they even think about franchising their business. Then the business of all new franchisees can be modelled on that prototype.

Unfortunately, to raise a bit of cash, some franchisors will sell off their prototype. And this is a foolish move, as all businesses need to constantly improve their system, to be successful, and if the franchisor changes their system radically, and they no longer have a prototype, they are in trouble, and so are the franchisees, as there is no longer a clear system to follow.

Don’t buy into any excuses. If the prospective franchisor says they no longer needed their prototype, they need to take their blinkers off. And you need to start looking for a better business opportunity.

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