This outline is meant as a starting point for you to develop your list of questions. A detailed list of targets and questions are provided in the Entrepreneurial Insider’s section of this website. For full access, please reach out to me. Depending upon the franchise you are investigating, some of the questions below may not be relevant. You may also have other questions that are important to you. Please always remember these business owners are participating as a courtesy to you. Whether you get great feedback or not-so-great feedback, it is important for you to compare your operating style to the person with whom you are speaking, drawing your own conclusions.
Background and Opinions:
- What type of work did you do before you got into this franchise?
- Why did you leave that to go into this franchise?
- When did you open your franchise?
- How long did it take from signing a franchise agreement to being open for business?
- Why did you choose this franchise?
Initial Training & Opening Support:
- Did the initial training prepare you for opening your business?
- During your first year in business, did the franchise company support your business activities and results to the level of your expectations or need? Can you give an example?
- What do you think is the biggest mistake that a first-year franchise owner can make?
- What would cause a franchisee to fail?
Ongoing Support:
- Has the franchise company supported your business activities and results to the level of your expectations or need? Can you give an example?
- After initial training, what additional training exists? Is it regularly scheduled, at random, as needed, or a combination? What additional training have you undergone? What differences has that made?
- Is there enough/too much training? Is the franchise company flexible in giving more training to franchise owners who need/want it?
- Does the franchise company host franchisee annual meetings or teleconference calls?
Marketing:
- How does the franchisor contribute to your marketing efforts? What are the results of those marketing efforts?
- What programs for lead generation has the franchise company trained you on? Do you use the tactics they have trained you on? What are the results and costs of those tactics? Do you consider them worthwhile? What have you added locally to generate business?
- Do you have any strong competitors in your area? If so, who? What do you think are your major competitive advantages that set you apart?
Purchasing Power:
- Must you purchase any supplies, materials, etc. from the franchisor, or may you purchase locally?
- Are you allowed to purchase items from vendors outside the franchise company? Do you consider that good or bad? What makes you say that?
- Does the franchisor use the collective buying power of the entire franchise to obtain discounts on supplies and/or inventory beyond what the individual franchisees could achieve? Can you give an example?
Franchisor / Franchise Relations:
- Is the franchise company supportive and caring about you and your operations? What makes you say that?
- Is the home office competent? Do they act with your interests in mind? Why do you say that? (The answer will tell you this owner’s perception as to whether everyone at HQ is on the same page and performing as a team.)
Investment and Owners Role:
- How did you determine the location/territory you have?
- How much investment did it take you to get your business up and running? Did that include working capital? How much working capital did you budget? How long a period was that intended for?
- Currently, what is your hourly commitment to your business per week? Has the amount of time you work changed since the first few months you were open?
- Is your role in the business what you wanted/expected it to be? If not, how is it different?
Earnings:
Understanding earnings potential can be complex. I have developed a step-by-step process that is shared in the Entrepreneurial Insiders section of this website. Please call me at 443.977.8550 for access to this invaluable information.
Not every franchisee has the same financial results. It will be key to have a full picture of the results for top performers, average performers, and bottom performers. It becomes key to understand what separates higher performers from lower performers. What does each group have in common? And do your skills and work ethic align with the top performers. Obviously, this is key to finding the best fit.
Final Question:
If you had it to do over, would you decide to get into this business again? Why/why not?
Remember, validation is a part of the investigation process that offers a wonderful opportunity for you to get a feel for the culture, competence, and owner perception of the franchise company. It is also a chance for the franchise company to consider how their owners perceive you as a potential franchisee – so allow these conversations to reflect you, at your very best!
