Looking ahead to 2009, more people are expected to consider buying a franchise as the job market shrinks and unemployment grows.
To buy and operate a successful franchise requires more than just having the cash to pay for it. Potential franchisees must be prepared to do some hard yards to research and understand the business, the franchisor, and themselves in order to make the best possible decision.
Here are some key pointers:
What should I look out for?
This boils down to just three things; profitability, sustainability, and strong competent leadership. In good times, tough times, or anytime, these three criteria remain the same.Of course it’s rare that a franchisor will make representations about profitability or concede that their business is anything less than sustainable. It is rarer still that a franchisor would claim to have anything less than strong, competent leadership, so these concepts all need to be tested by a potential franchisee’s own research.
If a potential franchise buyer is not prepared to invest the time to properly research what they are buying, then they must accept some or all of the responsibility if the investment fails.