Deciding If You Should Buy A Franchise

When it comes to buying a franchise, there are a lot of resources available. Few of them, however, will truly prepare you for the decision of whether or not to purchase a franchise. I found this out the hard way when my wife and I invested in our first franchise.

Investing in a new or existing franchise is different than buying an existing business and thus requires a different focus of evaluation. Although buying a book about small business ownership may be helpful, there are many franchise-specific issues and considerations that an investor should address before deciding to take the leap into franchise ownership.

Rick Bisio, one of the most successful franchise consultants in the industry, has recently released a book titled "The Educated Franchisee." In it, he distills the information he’s learned not only from being a franchisee, but also from coaching hundreds (perhaps thousands) of individuals through the process of deciding whether a franchise is right for them. There are many resources related to small business, but few truly capture the unique challenges of the decision to buy a franchise.

Bisio clearly has a grasp of the one of the most important considerations when looking at a franchise opportunity: “buying a franchise is not the destination, it is the vehicle.” With this in mind, the book aims to address the question of whether a franchise is the proper vehicle for achieving an individual’s personal and financial goals. At the end of the book, the reader should be able to answer the three crucial questions any serious investor should consider:

1. Is a franchise right for me?
2. How do I find the right franchise opportunity?
3. What should I expect out of franchise ownership?

If you’ve been considering small business ownership and are open to the idea of a franchise, I recommend you pick up a copy of "The Educated Franchisee." $20 is a small price to pay to ensure you are making the right decision to invest your time, energy and hard-earned dollars in a franchise business.

It’s also a no-risk scenario. Bisio is offering a 100% refund if the book doesn’t “[help] you decide which franchise opportunity [is] best for you or [educate] you whether buying a franchise [is] the right move.”