How to Perform Due Diligence During Your Search for the Right Franchise

As with any investment, it's important to do your research before making any type of financial commitment. The best place to start is by obtaining a franchisor's disclosure document. This document can also be referred to as a Franchise Offering Circular. While you can ask for this document at any time, the FTC specifically requires that you receive it at least ten business days before you're explicitly asked to pay any money or sign a contract.

When you do get the disclosure document, it's important to take your time and actually read the whole thing. If you encounter any provisions that you don't fully understand, be sure to bring it to the attention of a legal or other advisor who can clarify it for you. While it's always a good idea to review this type of document with a qualified professional, here are some details that will help you make sense of exactly what you're reading in this document:

Business Background

One of the basic components of a disclosure document is it will give you details about the past experience of the organization's executives. The important thing to keep in mind is not just the team's business experience, but how much experience they have with franchises. The other key factor is that a team with proven experience is going to be significantly less risky than a new franchise with an inexperienced management team.

Previous Litigation and Bankruptcy

Whether it's felony fraud or a civil action related to the franchise, you'll be able to find out if the franchise has a history of litigation. While there may be reasonable explanations for certain types of litigation, the presence of these issues can raise a red flag. The same is true if a franchisor or any members of its executive team have been involved in filing for bankruptcy.

Detailed Costs

One of the most common concerns people have about getting involved with a franchise is how much it's going to cost them. While it's not hard to find ballpark estimates online for how much different franchises cost, it's much more reassuring to get a detailed breakdown of exactly how much you'll be required to pay and for what. Fortunately, a franchisor's disclosure document provides that exact information. You'll be able to find out about all required and potential costs, including ongoing royalty payments, advertising payments, operating licenses, real estate improvements, training, legal fees, accounting advice, insurance and employee salaries.

Restrictions

While restrictions on suppliers, services, customers and territory are fairly common with franchises, it's important to really dive into the specifics to find out if there's any cause for concern that one or more restrictions may hinder the ability of your business to flourish.

Making the decision to invest in a franchise is a big step. Although there's at least some degree of risk with every type of investment, as long as you take the time to perform your due diligence and make the most of all the resources that are at your disposable, you will be able to find the franchise that's the right fit for your financial goals.

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What Makes a Great Franchise Opportunity?

As with any investment, it's important for the specific franchise you choose to be the right fit with your goals. In order to determine if a franchise is the right opportunity for you, it's crucial to evaluate a variety of factors. Some of the most significant factors are demand, competition and your personal abilities, as well as several others. To help you gain insight into what makes a franchise truly appealing, let's take a closer look at each of those factors:

Demand

In order for any business to succeed, there needs to be an existing demand for its products or services. While marketing can increase demand, you want there to already be people who are paying money for what the business offers. As you're analyzing demand, you'll want to see if it's consistent throughout the year, or if there are seasonal spikes. Keep in mind that spikes aren't necessarily a bad thing. Instead, you just need to be aware that those times of the year will be especially busy.

Competition

A common mistake made by people who are new to business is thinking that they should avoid entering a market with competitors. The reason that's a mistake is because the presence of competitors actually validates a market. That being said, it's important to carefully analyze the performance of any competitors, including both their strengths and weaknesses.

Your Own Ability

Different franchises require different things from their owners. For some franchises, the business operates as a one-person show. In that situation, you would have to be willing to work the front lines eight or more hours a day. For other franchises, you aren't the one performing the actual services. Instead, your role is to manage employees. A franchise that requires its owner to have this type role is ideal if you have past leadership experience.

Brand Strength

It's technically possible for a business to start selling franchises just a few years after the business gets started. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, it does lower the chances of the business having a strong brand. When you're evaluating opportunities, be sure to measure the strength of individual brands to help understand how much the name of the business brings to the table.

Support and Training

In addition to looking at the brand, you'll also want to investigate how much support and training you'll receive. When a franchise is to the point of having a well-developed system for components like marketing, it makes a world of difference in terms of getting your business up and running. Instead of having to learn a lot through trial and error, you'll be able to put your business on a proven path to success from the first day you start.

If you keep the above factors in mind during the process of evaluating franchise opportunities, you'll put yourself in the ideal position to make a decision that will put you on the path to professional fulfillment and financial independence.

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Owning a Franchise 101: Important Questions and Answers

If you're thinking about investing in a franchise, you're probably excited by the prospect of getting your own business up and running. However, since this is a major decision, you probably also have a lot of questions that you want answered. The first question many people have is why they should invest in a franchise instead of opening a business on their own. While there are actually quite a few possible answers to that question, the most compelling is that you're going to be using a proven model from Day One. Instead of struggling to get a business on the right track, you're going to have all the resources and support needed to succeed. This greatly increases the odds of seeing a substantial financial return in a timely manner.

How Much Does a Franchise Actually Cost?

Starting any business requires some investment of capital. In the case of a franchise, the specific amount can vary greatly depending on the exact franchise. However, the types of costs associated with owning a franchise are often quite similar. The most common categories are the initial franchise fee, startup costs, ongoing royalty payments and advertising fees. For a House Doctors handyman franchise, you can get a full breakdown of exactly what this investment costs by Contact us

What are the Ongoing Requirements of a Franchise?

It's common for franchises to have controls such as appearance standards and the exact territory where the business can operate. In addition to finding out all the requirements of a franchise, it's also important to get answers to the question of exactly how much ongoing training and support you'll receive as a franchisee.

Are You a Good Fit for a Franchise?

There are quite a few questions you can ask yourself to determine if you're a good fit for a franchise, as well as what type of franchise is going to work best for you. The questions you should ask yourself can be broken down into three primary categories. Those categories are your investment, abilities and goals. When looking at how much you want to invest, ask yourself how much you have available, how much you can lose, what type of credit you have, and how long you can sustain yourself without the business making a profit.

In terms of your abilities, ask yourself what skills you've gained from your career, as well as the type of specialized knowledge and technical abilities you possess. And for your goals, be honest with yourself when you ask how much you want to earn a year, what your professional interests are, how many hours you'll work a week, and whether you prefer to spend most of your time managing employees or interacting directly with customers.

By taking the time to asks lots of questions about specific franchise opportunities, as well as to ask yourself the questions outlined above, you will be able to figure out if a franchise is the right next step for your professional life.

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Remodeling franchise reasons for growth

With remodeling numbers up again the future looks bright for House Doctors our remodeling franchise. This post looks at why the growth is expected to continue in home improvements over the next few years and beyond in a market that is already worth well over 100 billion.

Baby boomers will fuel the growth for years to come

Did you know that around half of all the home improvements done in the US are for those 55 and over?

That statistic is even more important when you consider that this is one of the fastest growth sections of our society. By now you will have read the numbers that show 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 each day for the next 17 years. That is amazing growth and part of the reason for the good remodeling numbers.

Aging in place or modifying your home to live in it longer as you age is the fastest growing part of remodeling today. House Doctors remodeling franchisees do many aging in place type jobs like building ramps, widening doorways, installing walk in tubs, converting baths to showers and installing grab bars. Franchisees can look forward to continued strength in the market now and well into the future.

For more info please visit:- http://www.housedoctorshandymanfranchise.com/