All Insights

Home > All Insights

Should You Franchise Your Restaurant?

Some of the best-known franchises are restaurants. McDonald’s, Subway, Domino’s, Wendy’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and others have thousands of locations. If you have a popular restaurant, you may be thinking of expanding to multiple locations. While you can choose to take...

What Ongoing Legal Compliance is Necessary for Your Franchise?

Your franchise has launched, and you are actively marketing and selling to franchisees in compliance with all applicable laws. There is no more need for legal advice or so you think. However, under federal and state franchise laws, there are ongoing registration and...

Franchising Your Gym or Fitness Center

As we start the new year, many people are thinking about getting fit as their resolution for 2020. The health and fitness industry in the U.S. generates more than $30 billion in revenue and is growing every year. A big part of that revenue is driven by franchises....

What Should Be Included in the Franchise Operations Manual?

Item 11 of the Franchise Disclosure Document is where franchisors are required to outline their obligations to help support franchisees before and after operations begin. Part of this assistance involves loaning the franchisee a copy of the franchisor’s operations...

How Do you Determine the Initial Investment for Item 7

Item 7 of the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) requires franchisors to set out in a prescribed tabular format a franchisee’s estimated initial investment – i.e., all the expenses required by the franchise agreement and all other costs necessary for a franchisee to...

What Franchise Model Should You Use?

There are 4 main types of franchise models for business format franchising: Single Unit, Multi-Unit Development, Conversion, and Master Franchise. We discuss the benefits of each for a prospective franchisor.

What Business Terms Will You Offer Franchisees?

The Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) provides a significant amount of information about the franchisor and franchise system as noted previously. Among the most important items in the FDD are the business terms between the franchisor and franchisee. These are...

How Do You Start the Franchising Process?

Once you have decided to expand your business through franchising, one of the next steps is to create the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). The FDD contains information about the franchisor and the franchise system. The Federal Trade Commission and state regulators...

Are You Ready to Be a Franchisor?

Once you have decided that you have a “franchise-able” concept, next you must determine whether franchising is the right step for you. Becoming a franchisor requires a substantial investment of time and money, but the rewards can be well worth it. Before you move...

Should You Franchise Your Business?

You have a successful business and are wondering if franchising makes sense. While there are many well-known and profitable companies, few become franchises. For every McDonald’s, Hertz, Choice Hotel, there are probably millions of businesses that could not and should...

What Does It Cost to Open a Franchise?

Opening a franchise may seem less risky than starting another type of business, but like all new businesses, it can require a significant upfront investment. Running out of money is a big reason why businesses fail. If you are thinking about buying a franchise, you...

Should You Consider a Marijuana Franchise?

Over the last few years, public opinion has been moving toward legalizing at least some use of marijuana. Currently, thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have passed laws decriminalizing marijuana in specific instances. Most of these states allow medical...

What You Need to Know About Franchise Fees and Payments

Before you buy a franchise, it is important to understand what costs will be associated with starting and maintaining the franchise. The franchise disclosure document (FDD) contains information about what fees you must pay to the franchisor and other third-parties....

Restaurants Face New Bans on Plastic Utensils, Straws and Styrofoam

Over the last 2 years, a growing list of U.S. cities have worked to pass laws to ban the use of plastic utensils, straws, and Styrofoam containers. On May 1st, Maine became the first state to ban single-use food and drink containers made of polystyrene foam (aka...

Can Franchisees Terminate a Franchise Agreement?

Franchisees often do not pay much attention to termination clauses in their franchise agreements. A franchisee is often excited to buy the franchise and imagines that all will go well, so there will not be a need to consider terminating the agreement. The more likely...

Celebrating your fiscal year-end? Remember to update your FDD!

Updating FDDs everywhere You just celebrated the end of 2018. Did you close your franchise system’s fiscal year the same day? December 31, 2018, is a typical fiscal year-end date for most companies – franchises included. But whatever day your business year ends, a...

Are you ready to renew your franchise agreement?

Time flies. Wasn’t it only yesterday that you signed your original franchise agreement? But now it’s five, 10, 15, or 20 years later and it is time to renew…or not. Most franchise agreements include a renewal option, but unless you meet certain conditions, that...

11 Questions to Ask a Potential Franchisee

As a franchisor, you know that clear communication matters. This is particularly important when one is considering entering into a relationship with a potential franchisee. So, consider making a face-to-face or video call interview a part of the franchise sales...

7 Common Franchisor Problems

The franchise structure can give you a leg up in building your business. But if you are not prepared to face the following common problems, they could easily derail your company. A franchise owner must know how to handle finances, taxes, people and day-to-day...

How do businesses develop?

Are you considering starting a business? Want to know what that process can be like? The good news is that you can benefit from the experience of those who have gone before you. According to an article in Inc.com, there are seven stages of growth for every business....

Independent Franchisee Association for McDonald’s Franchisees

In an earlier blog post, we wrote about the benefits to franchisees in forming an association and outlined how to go about doing so. Recently, a group of McDonald’s franchisees did just that. According to a recent article by Nancy Luna in Nation’s Restaurant...

What do you need to know before you sell your business?

How-to prepare your business for sale Before you can sell your business, your paperwork must be in order. This means compiling your company’s financial information, vendor contracts, customer information, employee job responsibilities, etc. Depending on your...

Court Says Servers and Bartenders are Entitled to Full Minimum Wage

Whether you operate a standalone diner or multiple, fast casual restaurant franchises, pay attention to this potential wage exposure. Do you have to pay servers minimum wage? Maybe. A federal appeals court in California has determined that servers, bartenders and...

What do franchisees need to know about leases?

What do franchisees need to know about real estate? What do franchisees need to know about leases? Plenty. You’ve bought a franchise and have attended the franchisor’s training. You have located what you believe will be the perfect location for your business. The landlord has presented you with a lease for your new space. Now […]

The 23 Items In Your Franchise Disclosure Document

Thinking about expanding through franchising? Then, one of the first things you will need to do is have a franchise disclosure document (FDD) prepared. Second, you will have to register that FDD in the states that require registration, and then, as a franchisor, you...

Is your franchise system a “no poaching zone?”

New York Times Reporter Rachel Adams recently wrote about a group of states attorneys general investigating whether some fast food franchisors were forbidding franchisees from hiring the employees of others in the same system. The attorneys general, including those...

What laws apply when terminating a franchise?

In our previous blog, we discussed disclosure laws. Today, let’s take a closer look at “franchise relationship laws.” What does “franchise relationship” mean? Picking up from Blog Part One, it must be understood that franchise laws and regulations were enacted to...

What laws apply when selling a franchise?

Selling a franchise? Be prepared because when it comes to selling a franchise, there are many laws regulating every sale. First to consider are the disclosure laws. What is full disclosure? Before selling even a single franchise in the United States, every franchisor...

Is McDonald’s responsible for franchisees’ labor risks?

Are the employees of your franchisee your employees too? That’s the question National Labor Relations Board General (NLRB) Counsel Peter Robb sought to avoid when he proposed the March 19, 2018 settlement agreed to by McDonald’s. The answer could have had broad impact...

How strong is the franchise sector?

Pretty darn strong! According to the 2018 Franchise Business Outlook Report issued by the International Franchise Association (IFA), the franchise sector is expected to grow faster than the rest of the U.S. economy. In 2018, franchise establishments are expected to...

How much does food waste cost your restaurant?

Whether you are a single store or multi-location franchise restaurant operation, food waste is costing you money. Lots of money. That’s according to a report by non-profit ReFED, a collaboration of over 50 businesses, nonprofit, foundation and government leaders,...

How-to grow your business with “other people’s money”

You’ve got a great business. You may even have a budding multi-store operation. You’re ready to move into the big time. Great! But one thing is holding you back: Cash. Or the lack thereof. Can you grow a business without much capital? Seems like an easy, “nope!” But...

Convenience and the Difficulties with Delivery (Restaurant Franchises)

These days, restaurant consumers have come to expect convenience and are increasing their demand for delivery options. More and more, they are demanding speed and reliability. For restaurants in the business of food service, the issue of delivery can no longer remain on the back burner. As discussed, in an article by Ron Ruggles in […]

Do You Need a Franchise Owners’ Agreement?

You are a successful restaurateur, managing and running multiple eateries in multiple locations for several years. You started with a single location. It opened and was a hit. So you opened a second restaurant in a different location which turned out to be just as...

Are you selling franchises or partnerships?

Part 2 of 2 You are a successful restaurateur, managing and running multiple eateries in multiple locations for several years. You started with a single location. It opened and was a hit. So you opened a second restaurant in a different location which turned out to be...