Q&A: Should I buy an existing franchise?

Notes from Chris

Episode 1135

When I was 17 one of my entrepreneurial dreams was to open a MailBoxes Etc. franchise … I surveyed the owners using AOL email addresses I found online, and asked them all kinds of cheeky questions like “How much money did they make from their franchise?” (Funny how things come full circle…)

As a recall, about a third of them actually wrote me back.

Then I grew up and did other things, realizing first of all that I didn’t have the capital (aka money) to buy my own MBE license—more on that in a bit—but also I found something that was better.

Still, franchises are everywhere. Might there be a good reason to buy into one? As you’ll hear, there might be … but there are also some pretty good reasons not to.

I’m looking for something that is proven and established, I’m wondering if I should consider opening a franchise store. There’s a Subway sandwich shop on every corner, and a Cold Stone Creamery in every shopping center. This just feels safer than trying to start my own thing, but maybe I’m missing something. What are the advantages and disadvantages of going this route?

 

Listen to today's episode to learn more...

 

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SEE ALSO:

• Saddles for Pet Chickens: Get Ready to Wing It!: How a woman created a specialized product business in a very unconventional industry with almost $0 in manufacturing costs.
• Global Supply Chain Adventures: American Ships Brazilian Hair to Liberia: This shipping executive’s foreign friends struggled to get their hands on the American goods he took for granted. His new business now delivers thousands of packages a month to countries like Liberia and Hungary.
• Jiu-Jitsu Instructor Pins Down Mobile Workout Tool: An unconventional workout tool becomes a hit on Kickstarter, then goes on to earn $20,000 a month for its creator.

Yours in the revolution,