The Ultimate Guide to Responsible Franchising

Chapter 10Identifying Potential Franchise Options

Most franchise candidates begin their search and identify potential franchise options business the following five ways:

• They start with brands they know and love.
• They know someone who owns a franchise of a particular brand or has done well within a particular category of business.
• They visit a franchise portal (such as FranchiseGator, Franchise.com, or Entrepreneur.com).
• They research and learn about brands, industries, and categories on search engines, news, publications, podcasts, or other content streams.
• They work with a franchise broker (also known as a consultant).

There are pluses and minuses for each source of information, as discussed in this chapter.

The Brands You Know and Love

I wholeheartedly applaud looking at brands you already understand and shop regularly. However, you may run the risk of not looking deep enough into the mechanics of the business to determine fit. I see this often with franchise candidates who regularly eat at certain restaurants. They see the parking lot packed, the meal is presented well (there is an old saying, “First you eat with your eyes, then with your mouth”), the service is pleasant, and the overall customer experience brings you joy. But perhaps they don’t have restaurant operations experience and only evaluate the business from what experienced restaurateurs call “the front of the house,” meaning from in front of the counter where the customer enjoyment and business owner’s emotional ...