Franchising and Intellectual Property
Malcolm invests in a franchise, builds his business for a decade, and then the franchise relationship ends. Malcolm makes some changes — the color of the uniforms his staff wears, the shape and font of the logo, and the name of the business — and carries on his business…
Franchise Lessons from an All-day Breakfast
Just one famous franchise serves one third of all the fast food breakfasts: McDonald’s. But only until 10:30. How many Egg McMuffin fans have arrived at their local McDonald’s at 10:40, far too early for a burger, and left empty-handed? Apparently a lot, to judge from the number of complaints…
Is It Time To Buy A Franchise?
Laurie was heading briskly to her car when she answered a phone call from her friend Angela, but very soon she had stopped in her tracks. “Trevor called me and said they wanted to sell and I should decide today,” Angela said, sounding worried, “but I’m so busy! I have…
Choosing a Franchise: Goods or Services?
Are you passionate about puppies? Do you dote on doughnuts? Often, the choice of which franchise business you should invest in comes down to the industry it’s in. You care about cars, so you naturally think of an automotive franchise, or you have experience with e-cigarettes so you head for…
How to Organize Your Search for a Franchise
In the new Netflix show Frankie and Grace, Frankie explains how she and her husband decided to say yes to everything one night and ended up buying a Del Taco franchise. “How did that happen?” her friend Grace asks. “Someone asked us, ‘You wanna buy a Del Taco franchise?'” explains…
Why Franchise?
Why do companies decide to franchise their business? The most obvious reason is that it allows a company to grow their business without taking all of the financial risk. Instead of investing in a new location and hiring a manager, bearing all the costs of building and growing their new…
Restaurant Franchise Scorecards
A decade ago, Dateline did an intensive study of franchise restaurants’ health inspection reports. They chose 100 restaurants each from ten leading franchise restaurant chains across 38 states and analyzed 18 months’ worth of their health inspection reports.They looked specifically at critical violations. Critical violations are issues that could result…
Taco Bell Breaks the Fast Food Franchise Mold
Taco Bell’s new Taco Bell Cantina restaurants are not following the fast food crowd. They’re serving alcohol, they have murals by local painters gussying up their walls, they have no drive-through window, and franchisees are setting prices and choosing menu items. They’re offering open kitchens and plating foods in a…
Franchisee Conferences: What’s the Value?
Snap-On’s franchisee conference brought more than 8,000 franchisees together in Washington, D.C. this year. They roamed through a product expo, attended seminars on how to improve their businesses, and got hands-on training for new techniques. Many franchisors offer this kind of event annually. Is it worth going? Is it worth…
McWhopper for Franchise Peace Day Efforts
Burger King made a proposition to McDonald’s: a cooperative burger to commemorate September 21st, National Peace Day. The concept is simple. One of the most intense rivalries in the world makes an extremely public gesture of friendship. At one pop-up location, in Atlanta, Georgia, halfway between the two companies’ main…