What questions should I ask a franchisor?

You must have confidence in the Franchisor you choose and ask them questions about the business and the structure of the organisation at the early stages.

Check out the franchisors you've selected

• Is the franchisor financially sound?
• What is the director's background?
• What did they do previously and why did they go into franchising?
• Does a comprehensive operations manual support the training?
• Has the franchisor run outlets in similar areas to yours?
• How successful is the franchisor and existing franchisees?
• How thorough is the training at the start-up stage and thereafter?
• How many franchises have they opened in the last 12 months?
• How many applicants do they reject?

Talk to their existing franchise owners

You should visit existing franchisees to learn from their experiences and to find out their opinions on the services provided by the franchisor. Good franchisors will always allow you free access to any franchisees in their network and, in most cases, existing franchisees will be happy to talk things over with you.

Some of the questions you should ask are:

• Is your franchise profitable now?
• Is the franchisor aware of changes in the marketplace and quick to adapt?
• If there is illness, does the franchisor offer to help?
• What kind of ongoing support do you get?
• Did you get good training, systems and manuals?
• Is the franchisor keeping their end of the bargain?
• How long did it take to recoup your investment?
• Does the franchisor welcome suggestions from franchisees?