No Rush
A lot of our time at Franchise Resales is spent in one-tone discussions with franchisees that are seeking advice about optimising the value of their businesses and planning their exit from their particular franchised network. The vast majority of these franchisees are seeking to realise the value of their investment in order to retire or, occasionally, a franchisee will be looking to sell in order to move on and acquire another franchise altogether.
Sometimes, however, the call comes from a franchisee who just doesn’t like the franchise they have bought or has been offered a position at an external company and wishes to return to the world of employment. In each of these situations it is very difficult to be able to offer a cost-efficient solution to the franchisee concerned. This is because the businesses involved has hardly got off the ground or have slipped in terms of financial performance as the owner’s focus has moved away from developing the franchise to pursue other interests.
In each case, a discussion with the franchisee wanting to sell usually indicates that they had not spent very much time investigating the world of franchising before committing to a franchise business. They may have not understood what it means to be a franchisee and had not established whether a particular brand, or franchise life in general, actually suited them.
Franchisors that are members of the bfa adhere to the bfa code of ethical conduct and spend considerable time in discussion with franchisees prior to allowing them to sign up and join their particular franchised network. They can, however, only do so much. It is up to the individual to apply a bit of due diligence to their investigations themselves.
Owning a franchise is not like having a job – there is usually little or no income available at the end of the month if sales are not generated. The success of a franchisee’s business depends almost entirely on the effort and energy expended by that franchisee. It may be that some leads and enquiries are generated through the franchisor’s central operation but, typically, franchisees are expected to generate their own sales turnover.
One way you can find out what it is like to be a franchisee is by attending the “Real Franchise Stories” panel discussions at The Franchise Exhibitions, held in Manchester, London and Birmingham. Here, you will be able to ask questions of current successful franchisees, to gain an insight into their franchising experience.
There is also the situation where a franchisee doesn’t like the day-to-day role that the business requires; it is difficult to be a motivated and enthusiastic driver of a business that you just don’t like doing. Our advice at Franchise Resales is always to take that extra bit of time and speak to as many existing franchisees as possible within the brand you are investigating before making the decision to join. A good way of seeing whether a particular business is for you is to look into a franchise resale business – to buy an existing franchise from its current owner.
A franchise resale; it has everything in place for a new owner to take over and develop further and, most importantly, the brand is already known in the local marketplace, meaning clients and business from day one. In other words, you will have a better idea of what you are getting into; the evidence is there in terms of trading history and business performance. Franchise resales are available in most business sectors. Many successful franchisees are now planning retirement and there are a growing number of franchise resales opportunities coming to market.
