You’re up to the due diligence stage of buying a franchise. At this point, we recommend contacting a number of existing franchisees to ask them questions about their time in the system.
I suggest at least five topics for conversation, such as:
- Are you happy with the support from your franchisor?
- Is the performance of the store what you expected?
- If you had your time over, would you still join the system?
- Would you recommend family and friends join the system?
- Overall, are you happy with your investment choice and business systems?
You’ll find people are generally honest in their responses – it makes no difference to them if you buy into the system or not. Just remember that, when you receive the feedback – whether it’s positive or negative – to balance your opinion and remember that attitudes are shaped by personal journey.