Welcome to Part II of our double blog edition, “What to Expect When You Meet With Us”. Last week, in Part I, we covered the initial steps of our FranNet consultation process, largely dedicated to having you fill out your own personal Entrepreneurial Readiness Profile.
This blog edition covers what happens when we review and discuss the results of your personal profile. Branded as FranNet’s Entrepreneurial Profile, there are four sections to fill out, where you get the opportunity to provide us with the following:
- Your personal values
- Your personal motivations
- Your personal work style
- Your investment tolerance
FranNet uses an algorithm to find suitable matches that closely mirror your preferences. The result is a short list of franchise concepts that align with the entrepreneur profile you’ve completed. The number of brands we present can vary, but you can expect a handful of business models to review and investigate.
Many of our clients do express surprise at a result or two—which is totally commonplace. It’s not unusual to hear “Really? A [insert industry category] business? I would have never picked that franchise concept.” But here’s where we provide a word of caution. The concepts returned as a result of your Entrepreneurial Profile don’t always align with your interests—but rather your preferences. We consistently encourage our clients to keep an open mind when it comes to considering your franchise options. That’s because you don’t have to love a product or service to capitalize on it. The business itself is simply the vehicle that helps you achieve business ownership. It doesn’t necessarily require an emotional connection to the concept.
Once you’ve decided to pursue the due diligence process with your choice of finalists, you’ll begin conversations with representatives of each brand. They will provide you with an overview of the business model, including the Franchise Disclosure Document, or FDD. Governed by the Federal Trade Commission, it requires candidates to utilize a 14-day waiting period before taking any actionable steps to move forward. This means you can take your time in carefully reviewing the franchise concept’s details, financial figures, and the roles and responsibilities of franchisor and franchisee alike.
Once you’ve completed this step and make an informed decision to move on (or not), you’ll begin conversations with existing franchisees in the system. These one-on-one conversations are not monitored, meaning you can ask them whatever you want. This stage is called validation.
Assuming you like what you hear, it’s time to really do your due diligence in making sure that your preferred choice matches up with your financial capabilities and tolerances. It’s highly advisable to bring in legal and accounting professionals to go over the franchise agreement with you, thus providing the peace of mind you’ll need for the next critical step.
The final stage of the franchise investigative process is the Discovery Day, an opportunity for you to meet directly with the brand representatives from corporate and possibly a franchisee or two. Some are done in person, others virtually, depending upon the necessary pandemic precautions.
Once Discovery Day is completed, you’ll have one final choice to make. Move forward or move on. And while we’re happy to give you our advice and recommendation, this decision—like every other stage—is solely yours. You’ll never face any outside pressure to sign on the dotted line. If everything is a go and you do sign your franchise agreements, congratulations will definitely be in order. After all, you’ve completed the franchise investigative process and now own a business of your own.
Great job, Boss!