The One Thing All Prospective Franchisees Need to Do

🕒 Estimated Reading Time: ~3 minutes

As a franchise ownership advisor for 20+ years, I've talked to just about every type of potential franchise owner there is from those with years of solid business experience to people newer to the world of business.

And while varying amounts of business experiences offer different advantages, there’s one mistake I commonly see. And it’s a mistake that must be avoided at all costs.

The Critical Mistake Prospective Franchisees Must Avoid Making

If you’re looking into franchise business ownership don’t make the mistake of not visiting one or two franchise locations in-person.

Why? In-person visits allow you to get beyond glossy marketing to understand true operations, support, and potentially, unit economics.

These face-to-face franchise location visits can be incredibly valuable for assessing the day-to-day realities of franchise ownership. In this case, what it’s like to own the specific business concept you’re considering.

5 Questions to Ask Franchisees When Visiting Their Franchise Businesses

However, an in-person visit is only beneficial if the right questions are asked of the franchisees who own the locations you visit. Would you like to know some specific questions you need to ask franchisees? Good! When you meet franchisees, ask them these questions to get to the heart of the matter.

1. What is your typical day like? Specifically, what tasks fill your time hour-by-hour? Try to get a list of specific activities the franchisee does daily. This will help you a lot. And, as you’ll experience, being there to see the daily flow in action will show you in real time what the day in the life of a franchisee will entail.
2. What are the top challenges you face regularly? The reason you’re asking franchisees this question is so you’ll know what some of the difficulties are, so you can prepare for them. In this case, the fewer surprises the better!
3. What ongoing support are you receiving from franchise headquarters? Do you get site visits from franchise personnel? Ongoing training? Owning a franchise means owning a business that typically includes lots of support from franchise headquarters. That’s why it is crucial for you to understand the level of support you should expect from your franchisor. And what better way to find out the specifics of that support is by asking the people who are (hopefully) getting it; the franchisees themselves. And believe me, they will tell you whether or not they feel adequately supported.
4. How do you market and advertise your franchise? And as of now, what works best? As a franchisee, you’ll be spending a good amount of money on marketing and advertising. Asking franchisees where their marketing dollars are going and why will give you a better understanding of what’s working to get customers.
5. What financial metrics do you track? What tools do you use for tracking? Getting an understanding of what goes on in the back end of the franchise business is crucial. While small business bookkeeping may not be the most exciting part of the franchise business, the numbers matter. So, ask how franchisees track their numbers. If you ask nicely enough, they may even let you view their redacted financial statements so you can get a real understanding of the franchising business’s performance.

The Importance of In-Person Visits

To conclude, visiting active franchisees can be an invaluable experience. And it’s an experience not to be missed. Not only will you have the ability to see the franchise business you’re interested in buying in action, but you can also ask the franchisees critical questions in real-time, face-to-face. In essence, it’s “field research.”

In my experience, most franchisees will be more than happy to share the ups and downs of franchise business ownership with you. You just need to come prepared with the right questions to ask. Like the ones I provided above.

The Franchise King®, Joel Libava, is a top franchise expert. He’s written over 2,000 different articles on franchise ownership and personally consults with people who are looking to buy a profitable franchise. Go here to find out how The Franchise King® can help you become your own boss.