If I ask you that ‘Are you ready to start your business career?’ Yes! Is the most expected answer, and if I ask you again ‘Are you really sure that you are ready to handle all everything?’ This question will definitely make you question your decision.
Before you embark on your planned franchise journey, you should ensure that you have gathered enough information about the business you are investing in. If you have planned to invest in franchising business then make sure you extract all important information from the franchisor before you sign the agreement.
If you don’t have an idea what questions as a franchisee you need to ask your potential franchisor, then here are some of the most important aspects that you need to know about.
Would Your Business Help Me Achieve My Personal Goals?
Aligning personal goals with business goals is essential if you want to make a business successful. List down the personal goals you want to achieve in your business career and ask the franchisor that ‘would this business fulfill my personal aspirations?’
You should be able to explain what you are expecting from this franchising and how you see it benefiting your career, then only the franchisor will be able to tell you what to expect from it.
What Are The Values And Norms Of Your Business?
Every organization has a set of values and norms that define its existence. You need to have complete knowledge about them in order to understand if it supports your values and beliefs or not. If any of them contradict with you or would actually make it difficult for you to maintain it throughout your franchise, then sustaining it might become difficult in the long run.
Hence, working in and managing a like-minded environment is much easier than a place where ideas contradict. This is one of the main reason why franchising business fails.
How Much Money Would I Be Able To Earn?
Its human nature, we consider businesses that have a high-profit ratio and are a bit less risky. If the business is profitable, then we tend to consider it over other less profitable businesses. The anticipation of the profit ratio would increase your interest in investing in a new franchise UK.
Your franchisor would be able to answer this question keeping in mind the financial soundness of their business as well as the performance of current franchises. They will provide you with a Franchise Disclosure Document which contains a ‘19 section’, which is about ‘financial performance representations’.
In this section, you will find the details of the financial condition of the franchisor along with all current franchisees, giving you an idea of what the expenses and income would be like.
Would You Help Me In Financing The Franchise?
If you are short on investment, then low cost franchises are the best option. Look for some great businesses through Franchise UK to find the best. Elsewise, if you are ready to acquire franchises with some financial assistance then you should ask the franchisor beforehand.
If they are not able to help you in this case, you can ask them if they can recommend some financial lenders. For a clear understanding of how financing works, you can also ask ‘How the current franchisees gathered their respective investments’.
Do You Offer Any Financial Incentives?
You might miss out on a great offer just by not asking about it, so take a chance and ask if they provide some offers or financial deals. Some of the common offers are discounts, royalties for few months or franchise fee waiver.
Some businesses aim for expansion and to serve this purpose, they ask the potential franchisee to open up the franchise at a selected location, and for this, they might also offer some discounts. This is why it is advised that you ask as many questions as you want to, so you have sufficient information.
Would You Suggest An Ideal Location For Franchise?
Try to take their suggestion in every aspect because they are in the business from years and know all the pros and cons of it. Franchisors are the right people who will give you the correct insight into the business.
Most of the times they are familiar with areas that show potential for growth of the franchise, they can suggest you a number of places where you can start your franchise. This suggestion will save you from opening up in a place where there is no demand and no perspective of growth. Save yourself from potential risks by taking the advice of the franchisor.
In addition, franchisor will keep in mind the importance of location in terms of accessibility to connect with vendors. They would already have a strong relationship with their vendors and would connect them with you.
Hence, they will suggest a location that is best for both the potential customers and the vendors. Still, if your franchise in the small town, look at these
In Case Of Dispute, What Are Your Measures?
There is a possibility that you might end up in a disagreement or dispute in the future and for a smooth relation, you should have a pre-agreed method of solving issues. It is important to know that if the franchisor favors the involvement of a lawyer or considers entering into a mutual agreement around the table. This will tell you about how the franchisor will handle future disputes. This will also be an indicator of how well the franchisor understands the difference in opinions.
Do you have any Franchise Advisory Committee?
Whether it is about home based franchises, low cost franchises or part time franchises, any of them can formulate a franchise advisory committee. This committee acts as a medium that helps in the representation of the interests of all the franchisees.
This committee is essential to maintain the relationship between the franchisor and franchisees; they can bring up their issues on one platform and new franchisees can answer the most common queries in the initial startup year.
How important are your training programs?
Acquiring a franchise means that you are buying an already established business model that has its own set of practices, values, and culture. To fit in a pre-designed setup, you would need to go through training and this is why most of the franchisors offer such programs. The programs will be inclusive of all the operational task dealing methods, the requirement criteria, financial management and other affairs of the business.
Final Words
These were a few of the most common questions that will help you in establishing your decision regarding a particular franchise. You can ask any question that comes up in your mind and gets answers to all your queries.
Find the work-life balance you always wanted. Get in touch with Franchise UK for more information on how to become a franchisee.