Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Franchise

Joel Libava of the always informative Franchise King Blog offers prospective franchisees with critical information in his post "Buying a Franchise? Here are 4 Don'ts". Reflecting on mistakes that should be avoided, Mr. Libava offers the following advice:

"Here are four [mistakes] that the not-so successful [franchisees] will do that you can learn from;

They'll choose the franchise opportunity that seems to be getting the most press. In other words, it's a hot franchise.
They will buy a franchise that is aligned with their hobby, or passion.
They buy what they feel is the perfect franchise, because they can't find a job.
They will forget asking really, really, important questions."

If you are considering the purchase of a franchise read Mr. Libava's post and his detailed articles on this topic.  One of the many issues addressed by Mr. Libava is the suitability of replacing a lost job with a franchise.  In our current economic climate this is an issue of extreme relevance and Mr. Libava offers some great insights.  In my article "Can (or Even Should) you Buy A Business or Franchise to Replace a Lost Job" I discuss some of the factors that you should be considering and discussing with your family members before making a leap into the world of small business and franchise ownership.

Finding the Right Franchise

One of the most difficult and critical tasks for prospective franchisees is finding the right franchise opportunity.  This is not an easy task and requires an analysis and evaluation of many factors.  While no franchise opportunity is "perfect", over at the excellent Franchise King Blog franchise consultant Joel Libava offers franchisees some great insight into the qualities of the "perfect franchise".  According to Mr. Libava the "perfect franchise" should offer the following:

• Major Brand Power;
• Constant Innovation from Management;
• Uniformity;
• Solid Training Program;
• Extremely profitable franchisees; and 
• An engaged [utilization] of Social Media

For the prospective franchisee, when evaluating a franchise opportunity give serious and thorough consideration to these factors. Ask questions and make sure that your evaluation goes beyond (well beyond) the franchisors sales literature.  For some additional information on selecting a franchise and "franchise due diligence" definitely check out the Franchise King Blog and the "Franchisee Due Diligence" section of the New York Franchise Law Blog