Anyone here start/buy a franchise? Pros/cons

[WTR&PWR]

Anyone here start a franchise? What was your experience and what generic field? Curious if the juice is worth the squeeze to get me out of the corporate world and CA.

Any info is appreciated.

 

[JL95]

Dutchbros would be the move. As long as you are not opening in the central valley in CA. Whoever opens one in Murrieta or Temecula will be killing it. The elsinore one is nuts to butts at all times.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

Anyone here start a franchise? What was your experience and what generic field? Curious if the juice is worth the squeeze to get me out of the corporate world and CA.

Any info is appreciated.

I bought a Franchise and launched in August 2022. We are a restoration company (Water/Fire/Mold).

If I knew what I know now as to how it would all unfold and how I basically get ZERO help from corporate, I would have just started my own company. We are getting screwed right now with this company, but it's partly my fault for not asking better questions and doing more due diligence.

Feel free to shoot me a call and I can provide you with more insight, as well as what to look for when considering a franchise. I have learned a lot in this process and feel like a franchise system is a great way to go when starting a business, just have to make sure to pick the right one.

Shooting you a PM with my number.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

Dutchbros would be the move. As long as you are not opening in the central valley in CA. Whoever opens one in Murrieta or Temecula will be killing it. The elsinore one is nuts to butts at all times.

$500k Net Worth for them that can't be RE Equity, also $150k cash on hand. Franchise fee is low and royalties at 5% aren't that bad. The initial investment for the build out has got to be steep though. Would do really well in Murrieta/Temecula. Just got to find the right spot.

There is a guy who had a mobile coffee shop that posts up at the 15 and Clinton Keith by the Chevron and constantly has a line of cars.

 

[hallett21]

I bought a Franchise and launched in August 2022. We are a restoration company (Water/Fire/Mold).

If I knew what I know now as to how it would all unfold and how I basically get ZERO help from corporate, I would have just started my own company. We are getting screwed right now with this company, but it's partly my fault for not asking better questions and doing more due diligence.

Feel free to shoot me a call and I can provide you with more insight, as well as what to look for when considering a franchise. I have learned a lot in this process and feel like a franchise system is a great way to go when starting a business, just have to make sure to pick the right one.

Shooting you a PM with my number.

Damn sorry to hear. Hopefully the provided leads outweigh the problems.


The only thing that would scare me about a franchise is today’s political/social media climate. One wrong tweet etc from corporate and you could be hurting.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

Damn sorry to hear. Hopefully the provided leads outweigh the problems.


The only thing that would scare me about a franchise is today’s political/social media climate. One wrong tweet etc from corporate and you could be hurting.

That's the issue, no provided leads whatsoever. Have never got one job from them. Been building it all myself through my sphere, Google and paid lead services.

No national marketing, nothing. For what I have done since launch out here, we could have easily saved the $300k we have into it + royalties and started our own company from scratch.

 

[TPC]

Waffle House in Las Vegas would be colossal.

Occasionally see a friend that held 2 Chuys franchises.
He felt the franchise fees are what killed him. He learned a lot, but said best to avoid that. It pushed the overhead to a slim margin of profit.
I think Culvers is aware of that and is the lowest in the industry if any, or was at one time.
Culvers worth a look.

 

[ChumpChange]

I’ve worked with a few of them. Did franchise finance for one of my previous employers.

Buddy just purchased the rights to twelve locations of a new concept. Have worked with him from the beginning. HQ is very involved.

Had friends who were some is the first for Quiznos way back in the day. Three locations. They wanted out.

You have to be cut out for it. Have a great attorney who specializes in the field. I have a few of them.

Some of the ones I’ve seen:
Taco Bell
Subway
Quiznos
Sauna Houses
Orange Theory

Probably more but I just woke up.

 

[HBCraig]

Dutchbros would be the move. As long as you are not opening in the central valley in CA. Whoever opens one in Murrieta or Temecula will be killing it. The elsinore one is nuts to butts at all times.

I tried this. They make you work there for a year prior to purchasing. That was a deal breaker for me.

 

[schweeng]

I have thought about doing it with my restaurant.... little sushi size seafood and poke restaurant in Santa Clarita... we have won best seafood 10yrs straight in a town in excess of 200,000 people... from that standpoint I'm very proud of it. Almost daily I am asked to open one in whatever city the customer is from..

I'm 55 and want to do it but also don't want to give up my current life... ( my wife and I get to travel and boat often in Havasu)....

I'd love to find someone who loves my concept and wants to run with it..... I'd be more than happy to partner is some form or fassion......

for Instagram
fishtailgrill

 

[Ziggy]

Franchises can both help & hinder your personal growth depending who/what it is........or who at corporate might only be interested in feathering their own cap.

 

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

This is a post worth reading! I think we have all thought about it.

 

[dribble]

My stepson owns a Grocery Outlet in Oroville. His first store was a low producer in Sacramento. He made a bunch of improvements and he ended up with a better store. He netting about 350K a year. A few years back he wanted to build a produce display at the entry so my GF designed it and we built it in my garage. A couple of other franchisees wanted one but this thing was such a PIA that we didn’t want to do it again. It bought him big points with corporate though.

 

[pixrthis]

I met a guy at a drag race who owns three Taco Bell’s in Idaho and he lives in Nashville. That’s his main source of income and based on what he spends it appears to have created a great life style.

 

[Done-it-again]

That's the issue, no provided leads whatsoever. Have never got one job from them. Been building it all myself through my sphere, Google and paid lead services.

No national marketing, nothing. For what I have done since launch out here, we could have easily saved the $300k we have into it + royalties and started our own company from scratch.

This was the case of a restoration company we were contractors for on their garments rail system. We did about a dozen locations who bought into it, basically they were already cleansers trying to expand to restoring garments/shoes/linens, anything that could be cleaned they would and store till the house was finished...

Buying in only got them the special process, but no leads and they had to find their own. Basically they needed to sell their services to insurance companies to get those contracts. But that deemed to be a difficult process by the individual business and a lot of them closed shop 5-8 yrs later.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

This was the case of a restoration company we were contractors for on their garments rail system. We did about a dozen locations who bought into it, basically they were already cleansers trying to expand to restoring garments/shoes/linens, anything that could be cleaned they would and store till the house was finished...

Buying in only got them the special process, but no leads and they had to find their own. Basically they needed to sell their services to insurance companies to get those contracts. But that deemed to be a difficult process by the individual business and a lot of them closed shop 5-8 yrs later.

That is a super niche part of this business so not surprised that they struggled to get off the ground. We will continue to grow the longer we are in business. We get a lot of referrals from previous customers now and my sphere in Real Estate. I also have a few insurance agents, plumbers and property managers that regularly refer us work but that is all from my relationships. Corporate doesn't do crap for us but still has their hand out every week for our royalties......

 

[DoughBallin14]

$500k Net Worth for them that can't be RE Equity, also $150k cash on hand. Franchise fee is low and royalties at 5% aren't that bad. The initial investment for the build out has got to be steep though. Would do really well in Murrieta/Temecula. Just got to find the right spot.

There is a guy who had a mobile coffee shop that posts up at the 15 and Clinton Keith by the Chevron and constantly has a line of cars.

My wife is definitely one of those cars in that line for coffee almost every morning haha. I think its Rizz or Rizzo coffee something like that but word from them is they bought that plot of land and are planning on building a real shop there along with a spot for kennys strawberries as well.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

My wife is definitely one of those cars in that line for coffee almost every morning haha. I think its Rizz or Rizzo coffee something like that but word from them is they bought that plot of land and are planning on building a real shop there along with a spot for kennys strawberries as well.

Yeah it is Rizzo Coffee. It's really good and the folks running it are super nice. That plot of land probably wasn't cheap!!!

 

[Havasu blue label]

Anyone here start a franchise? What was your experience and what generic field? Curious if the juice is worth the squeeze to get me out of the corporate world and CA.

Any info is appreciated.

Pm me I looking to start one

 

[nameisbond]

My knowledge is limited but from what I've seen. The key is to get the master franchise rights for an area or in the one I know get the rights for an entire country. My dad was a stock broker and someone with the Canadian rights to a certain business wanted to take the Canadian company public. The US company nixed the idea of going public. The guy with the master rights to Canada is now very wealthy. You get rich with the more locations you can secure.

 

[Cole Trickle]

Typically the people that sell the franchises are the only ones that make $$$. (There are exceptions)

My mom started a wine store and the the fees for what they give you are terrible. Location is everything and eventually I think all the CA franchises went out of business within 5 years. She ended up having to file BK and she said it cost her hundreds of thousand to work for free for years.

Start something organic...It would kill me to keep paying a % forever.

 

[Waterjunky]

Been thinking of this also.....
I think the ticket is to have several and get good managers working at each location.

 

[fat rat]

I bought into a franchise back in 1994, it was a furniture restoration company (Furniture Medic). It was a 10k startup. Plus a new van labeled with company logo and other equipment I bought from them. I had woodworking skills but not restoration and finishing. In the beginning I struggled, I kept focus on my skills. I eventually master my skills, just a lot of trial and error.

The company had a 2 week crash course, focusing on touch up and repair. They had a couple 3-4 national accounts, mostly furniture warranty work. The brand gave me confidence and living in a populated area helped out a lot. After my contract was over (10year) we continued in the business under a different name and it was very successful for another 10 years until my retirement (I was 58 years when I retired).

Pros, low start up, national recognition, possible more national accounts and a good network of other owners.

The Cons, after your initial 10 years the new contract was they wanted almost 10% cut of gross and you had to buy your materials from them.

Would i do it again…..probably!

 

[samsah33]

I've looked into them in the past, and the franchise fees and marketing fees (or whatever they want to call them, but a fee is a fee is a fee...) are always right off the top, so even if the biz is losing money, the franchisor gets theirs. There's also limitations on what you can do with the biz, which means if you want to branch out in other areas, then you would need to do so outside of the constraints of the agreement, which might run into the area of non-compete (eg maybe cannot sell coffee & donuts if its a fro-yo franchise). I think the people that do really well are the ones that own multiple franchises, I don't think anyone is buying an M41 off a single Subway, but once you get a couple franchises under your belt, then that's when they start to pay off.

 

[BabyRay]

My accountant’s husband operates several Subway stores. He bought stores that were already operating, but with low profit margins. He started doing things like weighing the meat portions, hiring new managers, and installing cameras so he could monitor remotely. He seems quite happy with the results.

 

[Done-it-again]

Been thinking of this also.....
I think the ticket is to have several and get good managers working at each location.

Getting good people to manage, that's funny shit..

 

[lbhsbz]

That's the issue, no provided leads whatsoever. Have never got one job from them. Been building it all myself through my sphere, Google and paid lead services.

No national marketing, nothing. For what I have done since launch out here, we could have easily saved the $300k we have into it + royalties and started our own company from scratch.

Curious as to what the contract says you'll get from them in return for what you pay them? I'd figure if they haven't done shit, they're in breach of contract

 

[traquer]

I think it depends, I'd only do it if it was something that worked off of brand name alone, like a Mcdonalds...

Something like coffee, no way. Just make your own and do it your way. All coffee places suck for different reasons, and people always want to try a new place IMO. Maybe it's cuter baristas, maybe it's 3x faster drive through, maybe it's a buck cheaper, maybe it's even decent coffee, many different things but I don't think people are that loyal to coffee. I might be dead wrong though.

Oh and the best solution of course is for YOU to be the franchiser. Such as the mobile sauna guy on here. I bet within a few years he'll want to have more of his own trucks, then after that perhaps franchise it. Franchising is good because it really opens the door to a bigger and easier sale of the company down the line

 

[bowtiejunkie]

This was 2005, but my accounting contact at a client in Boise, ID had 3 Subway franchises. Had just got the 3rd up and going, but determined once that was up to speed he'd have enough income to replace his day job and then would just manage the 3 Subway stores.

 

[JL95]

$500k Net Worth for them that can't be RE Equity, also $150k cash on hand. Franchise fee is low and royalties at 5% aren't that bad. The initial investment for the build out has got to be steep though. Would do really well in Murrieta/Temecula. Just got to find the right spot.

There is a guy who had a mobile coffee shop that posts up at the 15 and Clinton Keith by the Chevron and constantly has a line of ca

My wife is definitely one of those cars in that line for coffee almost every morning haha. I think its Rizz or Rizzo coffee something like that but word from them is they bought that plot of land and are planning on building a real shop there along with a spot for kennys strawberries as well.

We bid a job for that plot of land being turned into apartments or homes about 2 years back. Had the whole thing planned out.

 

[BHC Vic]

They just put a Dutch bros in Norco in possibly the worst place they could have picked. Going to be interesting. I don’t even go into that strip because of how tight it is. Not truck friendly

 

[Activated]

They just put a Dutch bros in Norco in possibly the worst place they could have picked. Going to be interesting. I don’t even go into that strip because of how tight it is. Not truck friendly

Dutch Bros might be one of the few franchises were location doesn’t matter much. They always seem to have a line of cars.

 

[BHC Vic]

Dutch Bros might be one of the few franchises were location doesn’t matter much. They always seem to have a line of cars.

There’s no where for the line of cars at this one except hamner

 

[attitude]

They just put a Dutch bros in Norco in possibly the worst place they could have picked. Going to be interesting. I don’t even go into that strip because of how tight it is. Not truck friendly

That parking lot already sucks, and now Hamner will be screwed too lol.

 

[Your ad here]

Why don't you just start your own business with your own rules, within the government regulation? Sidewalk food vendors was a hot topic here earlier this year and plenty of members here buy from them.
It goes over my head why someone would buy into a franchise and be bound (hand cuffed) by the franchises rules.

 

[C-Ya]

Here is another opportunity if you are willing to do a lot of reading……..

I learned this sentence in college.

”Every time a law is passed, somebody is made a millionaire “

Examples would be:

Handicapped parking spaces and signs became mandatory in late eighties.

Recharging fire extinguishers once a year became law in the mid eighties.

A typical bill is over 1300 pages. When it passes, their are opportunities galore, for those that are willing to read it in its entirety, then also be able to spot the business opportunities.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Orange Juice]

EV Chargers.

Nevi

Blink guides commercial locations through the process and provides the most flexible and comprehensive solutions, network, and business model.

blinkcharging.com

 

[Ziggy]

Curious as to what the contract says you'll get from them in return for what you pay them? I'd figure if they haven't done shit, they're in breach of contract

You predominantly get "name recognition" & loss leader regional/national ads.
Corporate Identity was usually my most expensive cost. BMW was notorious for making slight(sometimes not so slight) changes to their logos, floor or ceiling colors and/or styles, etc., etc., etc.....then the demand to update it within a year or two flushing me of tens of thousands $$$. Rinse-repeat in another 5-10 years.
Viscious cycle.

 

[wfowahoo]

Did Mac Tools for 35 years. Turned out pretty good. Long hours. If you got to be at kids little league game at 5 forget it.

 

[poncho]

Did Mac Tools for 35 years. Turned out pretty good. Long hours. If you got to be at kids little league game at 5 forget it.

Good friend was a Snap On guy, he parked his truck at my place while his home was being built. He was in the van at 6am everyday and usually till around 7pm or later at night. Made Hella good money but he put the time in.

 

[LuauLounge]

Notice how a recurring theme is finding a good manager.
As a franchisee, if someone doesn’t show up to make sandwiches, you do.

 

[TimeBandit]

Good friend was a Snap On guy, he parked his truck at my place while his home was being built. He was in the van at 6am everyday and usually till around 7pm or later at night. Made Hella good money but he put the time in.

I would say RUN from any of the tool company franchise "opportunities", I know at least 10 failed tool dealers, maybe more.

Do your homework on whatever franchise you may be interested in, actually call MANY current franchise owners and ask if they would do it again, Yes or No.

That saved a good friend from an automotive franchise, all current owners said RUN!

 

[poncho]

Being on both sides of this I would say RUN from any of the tool company franchise "opportunities", I know at least 10 failed tool dealers, maybe more.

This was back in the early 90's through late 2000's, he saw the writing on the wall and sold the package for very good money.

 

[f12517]

Did Mac Tools for 35 years. Turned out pretty good. Long hours. If you got to be at kids little league game at 5 forget it.

Not these days. My snap-on rep only works 4 days a week and my Mac Tools guy only wants to come by every couple of weeks.

 

[f12517]

Being in a small family business and having been offered a few different franchise opportunities, it becomes apparent that all you're doing is buying yourself a paycheck. If you already know how to run a business you don't need a franchise. You're paying someone else to tell you how to run your business, where to buy your products, how much you can charge, etc, etc, etc. You end up with little control over your costs and margins because they are controlling both. There's a reason why most fast food franchisee's own several units. Its the only way they can make money.

 

[whiteworks]

A friend of mine has a couple broken yolks, his back ground is accounting and specifically accounting for franchise owners. All of his accounting clients have multiple franchise food locations, he can tell if a shake machine is down at a del taco by looking at the numbers. A good franchise operation will have everything in place for you to succeed and not allow you to move forward until all the metrics line up for their business model. On top of that the reason that most people have multiple locations of this sort of thing is they get priority based on proven success.

The reality is there is a guy on RDP with 20 locations of some sort of franchise and he’s gonna keep his mouth shut and hustle moving right along

 

[stoker]

I was a partner on a couple of fast food places, never again!

 

[Ace in the Hole]

I looked very very hard at Big~O, talked to @LakeMead Boater at length many times about his experience. Looked at batteries plus and others, some great options out there just haven’t found the one for me…

 

[EmpirE231]

They just put a Dutch bros in Norco in possibly the worst place they could have picked. Going to be interesting. I don’t even go into that strip because of how tight it is. Not truck friendly

right down the street from Starbucks. I'm sure they are hoping to pick off some of their clientele. Lots of hotels going up in that area right now, city must be planning on something happening to be needing that much hospitality? we're at Silverlake's for soccer 2-3x per week, and that hotel that they put in right next to the field is huge.

 

[lbhsbz]

Good friend was a Snap On guy, he parked his truck at my place while his home was being built. He was in the van at 6am everyday and usually till around 7pm or later at night. Made Hella good money but he put the time in.

Funny…putting in the effort seems to work regardless of the field.