Resources

 Franchise Success - Ten Step Plan

1. Self Evaluation - what are you looking to achieve by owning a franchise business. What lifestyle works for you, work hours, employees, work from home or retail or in an office or mobile, etc. How much money can you truly afford to invest and what return will you need. 
2. Financing - This is not what it used to be. Talk with a franchise financing professional to get a true picture of your financing options.
3. Industry Category Research - start with learning about the various franchise industry categories, not with individual companies. Just put your focus on industry group and categories. If it matches your self evaluation, keep it if not cross the category off the list.
4. Industry Models - Recession Resistant - Now that you have a list of possible industry categories, ask yourself if you believe that the business would continue to grow regardless of the state of the economy? For example, senior care, hair cutting, damage restoration, food. Cross off the categories you believe are not recession resistant.
5. Franchise Company Targets - now that you have narrowed down the category list, try to select several companies in each category. It is now time to do some more research.
6. Preliminary Information on Franchisors - request information from the companies on our list. Once you have requested information on these companies, you will begin to receive information via email and phone contact. This may seem overwhelming at first, this is normal. Get back with all the franchisors and schedule specific dates/times to begin your evaluation of them. Remember, they are evaluating you too, so put your best foot forward. The end game is to have them all wanting to award you a franchise and then you can select the one you feel is the best for you.
7. Review FDD - Study up! This is a FTC mandated disclosure document. It contains extensive information about the franchise, which include the history of the executive team, any litigation the company has been involved in, the names and contact information for the current franchisees, and a copy of the franchise agreement/contract. Review this information in detail and get any questions you have answered before you proceed.
   
8. Call existing franchisees - this is a great source of information, the existing franchisees. Don't be shy, contact franchisees and ask them about their business, their lifestyle, what they think of the company, etc. This is a good way to evaluate the franchisor support system, if the startup cost projections are on target and how well the marketing materials are. 
9. Visit with the Franchisor - if everything is checking out ok, you are at the final steps to making your decision. Have all your questions ready and it is time to meet the people who you will be working with. These are the folks that will be helping you get your business ups and running. Again, keep in mind that they will be evaluating you as a potential franchisee at the same time, so this decision is a joint one.
   
10. Make your decision - it is time to make your final decision. If you have following the ten steps, you can feel confident that you have make your choice for the right reason, that the franchise matches your financial resources, provides you with the lifestyle you envisioned, leverages your skills and experience, provides a recession resistant opportunity, has mostly happy an successful franchisees and lastly has experiences and professional staff who will be helping you achieve your dream of business ownership success.

This years fast growing industries include:

• Home Services Franchise Opportunities
• Health & Fitness Franchise Opportunities
• Pet Franchise Opportunities
• Massage Franchise Opportunities
• Senior Care Franchise Opportunites