Discussion
Good, bad, indifferent?
Is a franchise a good way to earn a living? I'm just considering all my options and I'm pondering running a Franchise amongst many other ideas.
As I've no business knowledge as such I'm erring towards thinking it would be a bad choice for me but I would at least like to consider it.
What are the pros and cons and what sort of level of investment is likely?
Any pointers greatly received.
Is a franchise a good way to earn a living? I'm just considering all my options and I'm pondering running a Franchise amongst many other ideas.
As I've no business knowledge as such I'm erring towards thinking it would be a bad choice for me but I would at least like to consider it.
What are the pros and cons and what sort of level of investment is likely?
Any pointers greatly received.
Once got told that taking out a MacLoan to open a MacFranchise was about the quickest way of becoming a millionaire there was. Not sure if this still stands, and when I looked into it, you had to tie yourself in for a good few years. This was back when we spotted Leighton Buzzard didn't have a MaccyD's, though, so there clearly areas ripe for the picking...
MyJobsGoing said:
McD's is £150-500K for a franchise, 9 months of unpaid training, a twenty year commitment plus a need for a proven record in management of some description....
Next 
Next But they give you (or at least did back then) a MacLoan to finance it with. If it wasn't profitable, people wouldn't do it...
J_S_G said:
MyJobsGoing said:
McD's is £150-500K for a franchise, 9 months of unpaid training, a twenty year commitment plus a need for a proven record in management of some description....
Next
Next But they give you (or at least did back then) a MacLoan to finance it with. If it wasn't profitable, people wouldn't do it...
The money's there for the making, not the taking seems to be the gist...
I'm sure it could be profitable for the right person but I need to be realistic about the skills I currently posess and what I really want to be doing for the next twenty years or so... I struggle to manage myself effectively, let alone others.
I dont know how true but I heard that for MacD's the money to set it up must be yours - cant be from the bank etc , you must have no other business commitments, and also it cant be a partnership....
Like I say not sure how true but they sound very very strict!!
When will they start franchising Tescos?
Like I say not sure how true but they sound very very strict!!
When will they start franchising Tescos?
Edited by sam_r on Friday 13th October 15:09
sam_r said:
I dont know how true but I heard that for MacD's the money to set it up must be yours - cant be from the bank etc , you must have no other business commitments, and also it cant be a partnership....
Like I say not sure how true but they sound very very strict!!
When will they start franchising Tescos?
Like I say not sure how true but they sound very very strict!!
When will they start franchising Tescos?
You're definitely right about the business commitments and the "no partnerships" rules... that's what made me & a good friend walk away from it (then the Leighton Buzzard one sprung up a few months later!) As for the money up front - there were definitely loans to be had to fund that (at the time)...
If, as you say, you have trouble managing yourself effectively let alone others, forget any business that's operationally intensive.
MyJobsGoing said:
You are beginning to get like Prince with all your name changes! Subway is very possibly one of the best franchised businesses around at the moment; they are certainly cannibalising sales in McDs and Burger King as people switch to 'sANdwiches made in front of you'... £40k sounds a bargain. Bloody hate olives though, so it wouldn't be my cup of teA!
wanty1974 said:
MyJobsGoing said:
You are beginning to get like Prince with all your name changes! Subway is very possibly one of the best franchised businesses around at the moment; they are certainly cannibalising sales in McDs and Burger King as people switch to 'sANdwiches made in front of you'... £40k sounds a bargain. Bloody hate olives though, so it wouldn't be my cup of teA!
I am a bit... This is the most apt one yet 
£40k is a bit cheap... Traditional
outlets are around £100K Subway could certainly be on the up though, I might go and check out a potential location om Monday 
Knowing me I'll end up a wage slave after lots of agonising
I think, as Subway stands, the 'TRUE' costs of actually opening the franchise is more than what people traditionally quote. I heard of a guy here in Newcastle whos been sprouting them out left right and centre in the last few years. Ofcourse some of these do better than others and some are even in positions where they aren't even worth running by themselves, since they simply don't generate the sales to warrant the time, effort, costs of keeping them open. However, for him it meant that the more he had opened, the higher his economies of scale.
Then I heard of a guy going back about 7 years about now who opened up a Mcd's franchise in a new retail park and within two years sold the place 2 million up on what it costs him to set up.
However, one thing to note about other franchises like Burger king is that society is changing these days and people are influenced by all this healthy eating crap. A friends dad owned a few Burger Kings in Newcastle, including the one on the busiest shopping parades in Newcastle. This was the street which has been described as being one of the best retail streets in the whole of the Uk. The guy was a typical entreupeneur who started by selling muesli years and years back, then ended up with a chain of Burger Kings which you would think paid quite well. However, he has since sold them all off saying that they don't do no where near as much as what they used to.
As far as sandwich shops go though, your biggest advantage of Subway is ofcourse the name. I'm sure there were imitators who copied the whole subway concept and even had a name like underground or something like that and also had a great position in a shopping centre, but ended up shutting down. However, it'd be a lot cheaper to go down one of these approaches.
Then I heard of a guy going back about 7 years about now who opened up a Mcd's franchise in a new retail park and within two years sold the place 2 million up on what it costs him to set up.
However, one thing to note about other franchises like Burger king is that society is changing these days and people are influenced by all this healthy eating crap. A friends dad owned a few Burger Kings in Newcastle, including the one on the busiest shopping parades in Newcastle. This was the street which has been described as being one of the best retail streets in the whole of the Uk. The guy was a typical entreupeneur who started by selling muesli years and years back, then ended up with a chain of Burger Kings which you would think paid quite well. However, he has since sold them all off saying that they don't do no where near as much as what they used to.
As far as sandwich shops go though, your biggest advantage of Subway is ofcourse the name. I'm sure there were imitators who copied the whole subway concept and even had a name like underground or something like that and also had a great position in a shopping centre, but ended up shutting down. However, it'd be a lot cheaper to go down one of these approaches.
MyJobsGoing said:
McD's is £150-500K for a franchise, 9 months of unpaid training, a twenty year commitment plus a need for a proven record in management of some description....
Next
Next I thought they were pretty much guaranteed to ROI in 11 months though?
The other issue is, the good sites, McD's keep to be run by Macdonalds Restaurants Ltd.
I looked at Franchises briefly, seem 'wrong' somehow.
Plotloss said:
MyJobsGoing said:
McD's is £150-500K for a franchise, 9 months of unpaid training, a twenty year commitment plus a need for a proven record in management of some description....
Next
Next I thought they were pretty much guaranteed to ROI in 11 months though?
The other issue is, the good sites, McD's keep to be run by Macdonalds Restaurants Ltd.
I looked at Franchises briefly, seem 'wrong' somehow.
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