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 on the work yourself, open more restaurants, and hire managers to run them, you […]
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 filing obligations. These include the following: Annual Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) Updates […]
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. Entrepreneur’s 2019 Franchise List includes five fitness brands in […]
How Can You Ensure Compliance with Franchise Sales Laws?
Franchise sales laws are highly specific. It is essential to have the assistance of an experienced franchise attorney to help ensure compliance.
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 manual (“Operations Manual”). The Operations Manual is a detailed document containing information on the standards and […]
Should You Make Financial Performance Representations to Potential Franchisees?
Before deciding whether to make financial performance representations, franchisors should consider these things.
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 commence business. These costs go beyond the fees in Item 5-Initial Franchise Fees […]
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 encompassed in Items 5, 6, and 12 of the FDD, which set forth the fees and […]