Buying A Franchise? Advice Is Out There

Birmingham Business Journal:

To any existing or potential franchisee, the road to purchase involves many choices. Crucial choices include what specific franchise is the best fit, how will they go about funding the purchase and what geographic area is the smartest location.

Another crucial choice is whose advice and counsel to seek along the way. That is where a franchise broker or consultant generally comes in. But what, if any, difference is there between the two? And does it really matter who a potential franchisee gets help from?

To be clear, let’s go to the Federal Trade Commission’s definition of a franchise broker. It is defined as any person who “sells, offers for sale, or arranges for the sale” of a covered franchise and includes not only independent sales agents, but also subfranchisors that grant subfranchises. So, according to the FTC, anyone who sells a franchise is a franchise broker and both broker and consultant are placed under the same roof.