Whether you can sell an existing franchise business depends on the provisions in your franchise agreement. If the franchisor does permit transfer, the agreement likely includes conditions that apply. Even if the franchise agreement permits a transfer, selling an existing franchise is a complex process involving multiple parties and detailed legal documents.
Should you buy a franchise business?
Others also have their unique reasons on why they buy a franchise business. One of the few good reasons of buying a franchise business is that it lets you avoid all those potential risks experienced by other start ups. This is also a one way of being smart.
What are the steps of buying a franchise?
- Matches your financial resources
- Provides you with the lifestyle you imagined
- Uses your particular skills and experience
- Provides a recession-resistant product or service
- Has a majority of happy and successful franchisees
- Employs an experienced and enthusiastic staff of personnel who will help you achieve your dreams of business ownership success
Should I buy a franchise or start my own business?
Buying a franchise is very different from starting a mom-and-pop business. Since there is an already established system in place, there is a higher likelihood of success. If you invest in a proven franchise opportunity and follow the system the franchisor has put in place, you should be on your way to running a successful business.
How to successfully franchise your business?
- Present Your Business to Potential Franchisees. After identifying your goals, you may now sell your franchise business model to your prospective franchisees.
- Provide Hands-On Training. If you have a vision for your franchise business, your franchisees must share the same objectives with you.
- Work On the Ground. ...
- Implement The Organizational Culture. ...
Can a franchisee sell their franchise?
In either case, the franchisee's right to sell the franchise will be governed by the transfer provisions in their franchise agreement. Most franchise agreements contain strict limitations on the franchisee's ability to sell their franchised business.
How much can you sell a franchise for?
Franchises are often valued based on a multiple of revenue, cash flow, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). As the name implies, the EBITDA method adds back some expenses to the earnings total, and a franchise can be valued at 4 to 5 times EBITDA.
Can you sell back a franchise?
Getting Approval for a Franchise Sale Selling the business back to the franchisor can be a good option, but only if the franchisor is willing to repurchase the business. Furthermore, the franchisor may not be willing to pay an amount that will be sufficient to make you whole.
How do u sell a franchise?
List your franchise on franchise and business websites, such as Franchisegator or BizBuySell to attract potential buyers or hire a franchise broker to find a buyer. In some cases, franchisors may put you in contact with potential buyers.
Do franchise owners get rich?
According to a survey done by Franchise Business Review*, the average pre-tax annual income of franchise owners in the U.S. is about $80,000. However, only 7% of franchise owners earn over $250,000 per year with 51% earning less than $50,000.
How long does it take to sell a franchise?
The average franchise sales cycle is 12 to 20 weeks On average, the total time to close a franchise sale can be up to 20 weeks.
Can I walk away from franchise?
Under most state laws, however, a franchisee who walks away from his franchise may be successfully sued by his franchisor for abandonment. Further, under many state laws, a franchisee who walks away from his franchise may forfeit some or all of the claims that he may have had against his franchisor.
What happens if you want to get out of a franchise?
Once you determine to terminate your franchise agreement, you and your attorney must draft a letter and request termination in writing. The letter should detail your intention to terminate the agreement and close the franchise and be sent to the franchisor.
Can you buy out a franchise?
Summary. Buying an existing franchise is a great way to become a franchise, and it has a host of significant benefits. However, just as with any investment, you need to do your homework, and you need to have qualified legal and business advisors working with you.
How do franchise owners get paid?
How do franchise owners get paid? Franchise owners can pay themselves a salary or depending on their business entity, they may be able to take a draw from their accumulated equity.
How much profit does a franchise take?
The average franchise profit percent will depend largely on your average sales, which can vary anywhere between 400,000 to 1.4 thousand a year for the traditional brick and mortar franchises. How much you achieve will be determined by the type of franchise you have.
How much do average franchise owners make?
Franchise Business Review found that the average annual pre-tax income of franchise owners in America is $80,000. Only 7% of franchise owners make more than $250,000 annually, and 51% earn less than $50,000.
What is a reasonable franchise fee?
Franchise fees are typically between $25,000 to $50,000 on average. 2) Startup Costs: These are the expenses you'll incur to get your new business open and operating. Initial investment costs vary widely from franchise to franchise.
How do franchise owners get paid?
How do franchise owners get paid? Franchise owners can pay themselves a salary or depending on their business entity, they may be able to take a draw from their accumulated equity.
Do franchises make good money?
Buying a franchise might seem like easy money, but those royalties and fees will quickly cut into profit margins. The majority of franchise owners earn less than $50,000 per year.
How much profit does a franchise take?
The average franchise profit percent will depend largely on your average sales, which can vary anywhere between 400,000 to 1.4 thousand a year for the traditional brick and mortar franchises. How much you achieve will be determined by the type of franchise you have.
What is a franchise agreement?
The franchise agreement that is executed by the franchisor and the franchisee contains, among a lot of other detailed requirements, strict and copious rules and restrictions for the transfer of the franchise rights. Specifically, if you own a franchise – whether it be for burgers, healthcare, fitness, hotels or any other franchise system – there ...
How long do franchise rights last?
Franchisors typically award franchise rights to a franchisee for a minimum of five years and many times quite a bit longer. Most sales of existing franchised units happen in more mature franchise systems rather than in very young ones; though occasionally, a new franchisee realizes early on that they are in over their heads and need to be bailed out – usually by the franchisor.
Why do franchisors have in-house programs?
Some franchisors have in-house programs designed to assist their franchisees in selling their existing units. This is particularly true for a mature brand. One reason for this is that most franchisors award territorial franchises; that is, each franchisee, for as long as it meets minimum operating standards (including sales targets, inspection scores, etc.) has the exclusive right to operate that franchise in a specific territory (subject to the other terms of its franchise agreement). If the franchisor has another qualified candidate for that specific territory, the franchisor is likely to assist its existing franchisee in selling its franchise rights.
What is the importance of knowing what the other fees a buyer will be obliged to pay?
This is particularly pertinent when establishing a price for your business.
Can a franchisor sell a franchise?
Some franchisors will contract with unrelated firms such as Worldwide Business Brokers to sell existing franchise units. This does not eliminate or reduce the resale restrictions in the franchise agreement but only takes the franchisor out of the re-sale business. The existing franchisee that wants to sell and the potential franchisee that wants to buy still need to meet all the requirements outlined in the franchise agreement and the franchisor still needs to approve the sale.
Do you vet a potential buyer before selling a franchise?
All of this means that you would be wise to vet your potential buyers early on – before you even disclose any financial information – by finding out what your franchisor’s requirements are; or enlist the assistance of a business broker with experience in the sale of franchises. Such experienced brokers know the ropes, understand the FDD ( Franchise Disclosure Document) and work with legal counsel that specializes in franchise law, all to your benefit.
Do you have to have the same training for a franchise?
The buyer and its managers will have to meet the same educational requirements, meet the same financial and net worth qualifications, attend the same training classes, go through the same franchisor vetting process, sign a new, current and possibly more onerous franchise agreement and essentially meet all the franchisor’s standards that you did; and maybe more, if those standards have changed which, if your franchise is more than a couple of years old, is probably the case.
Selling an existing franchise
For franchisees who are ready to sell their established businesses, here’s a piece of good news: According to a study conducted at Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Rinker School of Business, franchise resale prices are higher than those of non-franchise businesses.
Step 1: Prepare Your Franchise for Sale
Start by contacting your franchisor. There is no reason to keep the sale confidential from your franchisor who is accustomed to their franchisees exiting at some point. Ask if they can help you with a resale or transfer. Find out the extent of assistance they offer. The process varies significantly from franchise to franchise.
Step 2: Market Your Franchise for Sale
Most business brokers use online portals and their own proprietary databases to market businesses for sale. If your franchisor does not aggressively market the sale of your business, a business broker can do this for you.
Step 3 – Negotiate and Close the Deal
Once you’ve found a buyer who is interested in both your business and the franchise model, you can negotiate a price and begin with the closing process.
Selling your franchise opportunity
Every franchisor knows that the success of a franchise system is dependent on franchisee success. So simply selling a franchise is not enough. It really comes down to awarding a franchise to the right person. For franchisors who want to grow their brands with quality candidates, here are three simple ways.
Step 1 – Work with Quality Franchise Brokers
Working with quality franchise brokers is an effective and popular way for franchisors to find ideal candidates. In fact, franchise referral consultants (a.k.a brokers) have been found as the top source for lead conversions.
Step 2 – Exhibit at Trade Shows
Exhibiting at trade shows is a great way for franchisors to get in front of potential candidates face-to-face. Trade shows allow franchisors to market their brands to a large number of qualified prospects at one time. This in-person opportunity gives both parties a chance to get to know each other in a casual setting.
What happens when you try to sell a franchise?
When you try to sell a franchise, you may be competing with one very large, well-financed competitor: your franchisor . 'While many franchisors tell their franchisees that they will assist in finding a buyer when the franchisee chooses to sell, my experience is that most do not offer much, if any, assistance,' says Andresky.
What are the challenges of selling a franchise?
Selling a Franchise: The Challenges. 1. Transfer fees and restrictions. Franchisors like to control and vet who they accept as franchisees, which means there is often an approval process to undergo and transfer fees to pay when a franchise unit changes hands.
Why are small businesses so hard to sell?
The reason most smaller businesses are hard to sell is that they are too reliant on the owner as the rainmaker. With a franchise business, at least some of the reason customers find and return to the business is the brand the franchisor has built. 2. Buyers get an operations manual.
Why are independent businesses harder to sell?
Another reason independent small businesses are typically harder to sell is that their operations are inside the head of the founder. 'One of the benefits of selling a franchise is you have a system to follow, initial training and ongoing support ,' says Larry Lane, owner of VR Business Brokers of McKinney, Texas.
What is a franchise flipper?
Whether you are simply gathering information about selling your franchise or need to sell a franchise business quickly, Franchise Flippers can help you determine and execute the best strategy for selling your franchise so you can find the right buyer when the time is right .
Is selling a franchise a big decision?
Selling a franchise is a big decision. Franchise Flippers offers a free phone consultation to discuss if, when, and how to sell a franchise business.
What is franchising in business?
Franchising is about uniformity and control of uniformity, not the needs, preferences, or success of individual franchise owners. In other words, a person that owns his or her own business is concerned only with the performance of his or her own business.
Is franchise business different from owning your own business?
The secret that is often kept from enthusiastic prospective franchisees, however, is that the franchise business he or she is purchasing is actually quite different from “owning your own business” or “being your own boss.”.
Do franchise owners have control over hiring employees?
While franchise owners will likely have control over hiring and firing employees, in terms of the marketing, messaging, products sold, hours of operation, etc., franchisees generally have very little, if any, discretion or control.
How to sell a franchise?
You also need to prepare to sell your franchise before you actually place it on the market. Included among the preparations you will need to do are establishing the value of the franchise, setting a price, compiling financial information, notifying key employees (if necessary), and putting together a sales packet.
How to promote a franchise?
Make certain to abundantly promote your franchise through every possible avenue. If you need help with this, you might even want to consider listing it with an agent. Also take some time to practice your sales pitch. Recruit a few friends to critique your pitch before you "go live" with actual buyers.
How to keep your franchisor informed?
It's important to keep your franchisor informed about your plans to sell the franchise at the very beginning of the sales process. Many franchisors have rules regulating franchise sales. These rules should have been listed in the franchise contract you signed when you bought the franchise. Go back over those rules with the franchisor to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Can a franchisor sell a franchise?
Your franchisor might also be able to offer assistance in selling your franchise. Sometimes franchisors are aware of potential buyers who are interested in a specific territory and are looking for a relatively "turnkey" operation.
Is it necessary to know the market before you list your franchise?
It is absolutely imperative to have a basic understanding of the market before you list your franchise. How much have similar operations sold for recently? Is the market hot or cold right now? What type of person is most likely to buy a franchise like yours?
Do you have to prepare for a franchise sale?
Be aware that some franchise sales require more upfront preparation than others. Again, talk to your franchisor for specific advice about what you may need to do for the sale of your franchise.
