Franchise Pitfalls??

brian ireland

I was made redundant in December 09. From here on I want to work for myself.
The reason being, I believe if I had of put as much energy as I did in my last job into my own business I think i would be a millionaire bye now. Ok not a millionaire but very comfortable.

I was looking at a franchise opportunity today and it looks good and exciting. My problem is this is all new to me and i don't know the pitfalls. Where can I get help and advice that wont cost me the earth.
Thanks.
Brian IRl

BennyBlanko

Franchise's have been well discussed here previosly.

Go into search here, and type in Franchises,Franchising" etc? See how many posts pop up.

HTH's Brian, Good luck!

brian ireland

BennyBlanko wrote: »

Franchise's have been well discussed here previosly.

Go into search here, and type in Franchises,Franchising" etc? See how many posts pop up.

HTH's Brian, Good luck!

Done that before posting this and got nothing.
Today 23:15
by BennyBlanko
1 13 Entrepreneurial & Business Management

FC Barcelona Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
redout
Today 23:15
by aaronh007
1,065 30,548 Soccer

Sticky: Poll: Airsoft Doesn't Sleep (Off-topic MADNESS!!) ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
Gatling
Today 23:12
by MerryDespot
10,292 390,644 Airsoft

Sticky: Poll: Tralee Thread ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
Tomthepost
Today 22:43
by Purchase.ie
2,856 154,217 Kerry

Alien vs. Predator 3 - Alien Reveal Trailer ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
Ross_Mahon
Today 22:43
by Sisko
330 10,524 Games

Poll: Microwave and Time Machine forum ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
The-Rigger
Today 22:32
by Solitaire
735 40,882 The Cuckoo's Nest

Sporting Fingal FC ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
dsmythy
Today 22:31
by Pineapple stu
1,864 82,034 Dublin County North

The R&R "I hate that film" thread ( 1 2 3)
keefg
Today 22:12
by captainscarlet
85 2,998 Ranting & Raving

Onlive & the end of consoles? ( 1 2 3 4)
kaimera
Today 22:01
by Star Bingo
135 3,693 Games

Whats your big idea? ( 1 2)
Gary L
Today 21:37
by dentaku
59 1,580 Political Theory

New Low For Cork City FC (mod note #27) ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
gimmick
Today 21:27
by Roar
623 22,679 Soccer

Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread [mod warning post #9254,#11145 (see OP)] ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
therecklessone
Today 21:19
by MementoMori
19,158 553,365 Soccer

Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
therecklessone
Today 21:04
by kryogen
14,279 433,146 Soccer

General Retro Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
atavan-halen
Today 21:04
by Sera
5,658 117,694 Arcade & Retro

Sticky: Three Mobile Broadband -THE PROBLEMS M-M-MEGATHREAD! ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
delllat
Today 20:57
by fryup
7,413 595,361 Midband

Arsenal FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
therecklessone
Today 19:06
by jasonorr
4,224 107,042 Soccer

So, what you playing at the mo? Retro Edition ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
CiDeRmAn
Today 18:42
by Retr0gamer
931 19,523 Arcade & Retro

What have you watched recently? ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
MagicMarker
Today 17:58
by Giselle
1,743 60,598 Films

Picture Association ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)
**Timbuk2**


see my results. Whats am i doing wrong? Ie Search-show threads- francise- GO!

julies boy

i just came out of a franchise i lost 50k + and that was a liget franchise with all the bells and wisels going for it
i would count myself as srude and knowledgableand i still got stung
some of the contracts (written) can nul and void privious agrements
and to top it all off some frinchies are little more then a cons:cool:


when looking at a frinchise ask whats in it for them ,what is their cotubitation(is it a one off or on going suport)what some offer u could do yourself for a couple of grand and dont forget if it sounds to good to be true they would have done it themselves?:D
their is some good franchises out their but a lot more bad ones:rolleyes:

brian ireland

Thanks, They told me its hard work, so at least they are not trying to give the impression of easy money. I have read more negative things on the internet than possatives thats why I am looking from some real advise for fellow bordies who have gone down the Franchise road.
Thanks julies boy for your response.

bon ami

Franchising can be a great way to start a business but you really need to do your home work on the franchise. make sure you speak to exisiting franchisees. Ask for a list of existing & past franchisees and select a number to speak to. Only speak to Irish based franchisees not foreign. Access their filed accounts on www.cro.ie . Do the same for the master frnachisor. IF you don't know your way around a P&l or a balance Sheet get an accountant to analyse them for you. Above all be very cautious.

I am a franchisee who is successful but for 18 months I only took a small salary, I needed twice the investment I was told in order to survive and the franchisor's financial forecast were exagerated. A number of other franchisees have now failed despite the fact that when I spoke to them they sang its praises. Get a solicitor to review the franchise agreement before you sign and if you do sign up be prepared to work bloody hard.

Bandara

I think it would be beneficial to post up what franchise you are looking at.

If it's an existing franchise then it's not a secret, and I'd be confident you'll get a lot more benefit out of specific advice about the franchise as against the 'risk' of someone here actually doing it themself.

BennyBlanko

Hammertime wrote: »

I think it would be beneficial to post up what franchise you are looking at.

If it's an existing franchise then it's not a secret, and I'd be confident you'll get a lot more benefit out of specific advice about the franchise as against the 'risk' of someone here actually doing it themself.

+1, totally agree.

brian ireland

BennyBlanko wrote: »

+1, totally agree.

What did your friend with the 15k to invest go for?

BennyBlanko

brian ireland wrote: »

What did your friend with the 15k to invest go for?

Well, he's gone for a holiday first, I'll find out when he's back. He's going to have to do something as he can't sit around and do nothing.

Colm_purchase

Got to say that I was at the franchise show last Friday myself and the best idea I saw there was a puppet show for childrens parties.
Seriously I wasn't terribly impressed or inspired by what was on offer. Many edirectory type businesses that are stuck in the 90s as far as a business model goes.

BennyBlanko

Agreed, like how many Dog Grooming franchises are there out there....lol

To me Franchising is all about making money for the master.

Bandara

I find a lot of Irish people think that way Benny, to me that's a fundamental lack of understanding about franchising.

People here have this thing about making money for the parent company. Take a Spar for example, you can be handed the keys to a stare of the art store that had 450k spent on a fit out, the freehold cost maybe 2m, and Newhill just give you keys in return for a 80k personal guarantee letter 7% of your turnover (excluding agency) and tell you to go make money.

A good store well run will make you 150-200k a year. And your risk is minimal, if you encumbered yourself with the fit out cost and a mortgage you would not make that much.

kmick

7% of turnover is huge. Who in their right mind would agree to give %age points on Gross Profit. Thats madness?

Bandara

kmick wrote: »

7% of turnover is huge. Who in their right mind would agree to give %age points on Gross Profit. Thats madness?

I disagree, the ex-agency aspect is a very valid point in this also. I am sitting in a franhise I operate right now and I make far more money now than I would if I had a 5 million (whch is the value of the site) loan to repay.

I am doing a full refit next year and the parent will have to spend close to 300k on it. My contribution to this is nil.

It's horses for courses, I have both franchise and non franchise businesses and I see huge plusses in both. Anything that allows you clear 150k a year for a 55 hour week (with no penalties if it fails and goes bust) has to be considered a seriously attractive option.

Each to their own though.