Franchises Offer Shortcuts, But Not Control

Q: I will be retiring this year at age 60 and intend to fulfill my lifelong dream of owning my own business. I'm too old to start from scratch, so I'm looking at several franchise opportunities, including fast food, auto parts, and an accounting service. What should I consider before choosing one? Anthony R.

A: Congratulations on the retirement, Anthony, and on the new business venture. As the old adage goes, when one door closes, a drive-through window often opens (or something like th ...
Author: Tim Knox
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Franchises : How to Find the Best Franchise Opportunity for You


If you are looking for a franchise opportunity, the choice is mind boggling. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of different types of franchise available for you to invest in, with the same variety in cost. Each have their own benefits and usually the more you pay the more potential to earn. You obviously want to select a profitable business venture so it is important that you thoroughly research.

The major benefit of starting a franchised business is that the business ...
Author: Nick Carter
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Franchise Buyers from Hell

I ran a franchise company for many years, a car wash franchise, and we use to get the most ridiculous franchise buyers who thought they wanted a franchise. It seems we had to deal with these Kookoo birds because they have consumer rights and the Federal Trade Commission, which looks over franchising goes out of their way to let these consumers get away with these tall tales.

We had a potential franchise buyer wish to buy a franchise in Peachtree, GA. He filled out our form and said he w ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise Buyers Lying On Forms

The Federal Trade Commission which governs the franchise industry thru the franchise rule, which enforces Franchise Disclosure laws seems to think that consumers need to be protected even when they lie. Often The FTC takes complaints from consumers who claim they had been ripped off or lied to from someone selling a Biz-OP or some corporation, which sells franchises. The Federal Trade Commission will not admit that at least two-thirds of the incoming complaints are made in falsehood by consum ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise Companies Come and Go

Each day we hear of companies entering the franchising industry. This is good news for America, right? Well, yes and know. Yes, because franchising is the closest thing to the spirit of free enterprise as any other method of doing business and because franchising offers small business people advantages that they would not normally have in pursuing their American Dream. However it is unfortunate but true that the average Franchisor failure rate is 5:1 in five years. Meaning they are gone out o ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise Company Operations Manual Sample Outline

Many companies wish to expand and a few wish to use franchising as a method of expansion. Not a bad idea, but one must consider the importance of the fine details. One book I recommend you read is the “E-Myth” by Gerber it is available at all the usual places. You see when going from a small business to a franchise company it is important to make sure you take out all the mistakes you have made in the past in building your small business and insure that your future franchisees never make thos ...
Author: Lance Winslow VI
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Franchise Disclosure Laws Give Upper Hand to Attorneys

In today’s franchising industry franchisors are forced to have excessive disclosure documents. Franchise Attorneys will collect this data to try to sue you. Every one knows you should never trust an Attorney; that also goes for any Franchise Attorney also. If you are in franchising you will of course need a few of these extorsionists to protect you from other suing franchise lawyers. Franchising Lawyers; 88% are incompetent, so be careful and do you home work. Many hardly know their rear ends ...
Author: Lance Winslow VII
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Franchise Disclosure Law and The Right To Privacy

The Federal Trade Commission enforces franchise company disclosure rules. They have developed a policy for the uniform franchise disclosure laws. The UFOC contains massive amounts of disclosure and often is 200 pages, most of which no one ever reads. It also contains all the franchisor’s present franchisee’s phone numbers. The potential franchise buyers want to call all the current franchisees and want to talk. Well many of these franchisees do not want people calling them. They do not want t ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise History
Franchise History

The history of franchising could be traced back to the beer industry where
many brewers allowed certain pubs to obtain leaseholds and sell their beer.
Indeed this practice is very common today, especially in the United Kingdom
where companies such as Punch Taverns offer an opportunity to would be
franchise owners who pay a lease on the property and work closely with the
owners at a local and national level.

In the early 1950's franchising suddenly s ...
Author: Kevin McNally
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Franchise Investing, Franchise Opportunities and Franchising Renewals

Have you considered buying a franchise instead of trying to start a business from scratch. Many franchise agreements are renewed every five or ten years, automatically. If you do not want to renew your franchise you need to let the franchisor know a little bit in advance as it generally states in the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC) The franchise Disclosure Document used in franchising. Most require that you out it writing so there is no question about your intent, some require this ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise Models For Less
I read an article from the Seattle Times this week about a Quiznos franchise that struggled for several weeks just to stay afloat after the owners disappeared. The manager and three employees stayed on with no pay in an attempt to salvage this sinking ship. Things got really bad when food vendors would no longer deliver on credit so the loyal employees were forced to pick up supplies, such as deli meat, from the local grocery store. See Article Here

Stories like this are not typical of f ...
Author: Jonathan R Taylor
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Franchise Opportunity Sellers Beware; franchise buyers lie on forms?

It seems completely absurd that franchise buyers lie about their financial position, available cash and abilities in order to buy a franchise. After spending 8 years setting up franchises around the nation and fielding inquiries I am appalled at the lack of integrity of the average business buyer. If you wonder why franchisors make franchise buyers fill out forms and ask lots of questions it is because 75% or more of every franchise inquiry to a franchise company is misrepresentative of their ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise Rule Making and Political Climate

Last Summer the Federal Trade Commission put forth a report for the Franchise Industry; 432 pages of study. This report asks Franchise Industry participants to comment on only certain aspects of franchising which were addressed between 1995 to 1999. It is good to see that the FTC is finally doing something after 10-years of sitting on their rear ends with a stick up their butts, however one has to ask what about the issues between 1999 and 2005. Thus this exercise is completely flawed if it’s ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise Rule Staff Report RF511003-1 at the FTC completely flawed

Having been in the franchising industry for some time now, I always find it fascinating when a regulator arbitrarily decides that we need more laws. As if we do not have enough laws impeding commerce there is always some regulator somewhere who says we need more rules. I cannot think of any reason why unless maybe the work for Al Queda and want to cripple America’s economic might; no maybe they do not work for the International Terrorists group. Maybe they just want to insure job security now ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise Rule, Thoughts For The Future

The Federal Trade Commission recently put forth a report to the franchse industry for comments to use in an upcoming rule-making event, which is sure to modify the current franchise rule. Many have been critical of additional rules in the industry, but none more critical than myself.

If the FTC really feels that these new rules will solve something then make them in a way that they can be universal and simplified. Review all the public comments and letters with regards to simplification ...
Author: Lance Winslow II
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Franchise Rule to be Revised; Why?

The FTC, Federal Trade Commission, is considering modifying the franchise rule. So far it has be a ten-year process; just imagine working that slow in your business? In 1995, 1997 and 1999 when the comments were first considered and taken in, which spans a ten-year period. When you combine those comments with this current rule making period they may have broken the record for the longest rule making session since voting on the slavery issue; one heck of a long rule making period by any means. ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise Sales and Use of Online Franchise Directories

Franchising Directory Sites-Paid Advertising, Lead Generation for Franchising

Franchising Directory Sites are not doing the Industry any good. Typically they charge a fee for advertising per month or charge per sales for the lead, there must be 50 such sites. Only a few are able to generate significant leads, which you as a franchisor must pay heavily for. Each day our Franchise Company gets hit up by these online companies pitching their great lead generation sites, we cannot get them ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise Sales; Recruiting of Laid Off Employees

Because of corporate downsizing, many people have been laid-off or voluntarily taken early retirement packages and/or incentives. This happens when times are good due to mergers and acquisitions or when the economy is in the dumps and corporations are working to cut payroll costs. Almost all of these people have absolutely had it with corporate life; they feel burned and unappreciated. They realize that there is no such thing as job security. If a franchiser sales team gets the lead in time, ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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Franchise Seller Definition in the Franchise Rule

Recently the Federal Trade Commission has attempted to report on the franchising industry in a 432 page report. On page 44 of the report they discuss the definition of “Franchise Seller,” which no one ever uses in the real world. The term we use in modern day franchising is; Franchisor.

Many years back it was determined that in fact all franchisor documents be made in plain English, yet when we use a term never used in plain English we negate that valuable ideal. Franchise Seller? First ...
Author: Lance Winslow VI
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Franchise Territories are Generally Delineated On a Map; Why?

If you own a mobile service or home based franchise your exclusive territory will be delineated on a map in the attachment of your franchise agreement. You will be assigned generally a single city, county or region and another franchisee or team member of the same system will not compete with your although may be right around the corner. You will only drive or be required to service clients as far as your exclusive territory boundaries. Unless of course there is no franchisee in the next city ...
Author: Lance Winslow
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