Buying a Franchise

We present an overview of the pros and cons of franchising, with a specific focus on pet franchises. Our objective is for all entrepreneurs thinking of buying a franchise to learn as much as possible about franchising before making such an important business decision.


Owning a Franchise & Running a Franchise

Risks vs. Rewards

Franchising continues to grow in popularity as a promising option for many people looking to own their own business. Why is that?

In large part, it is because the concept of franchising strikes a positive balance between the advantages and disadvantages of starting a new business or buying an existing concern.

As a franchisee, you are not an employee. You run the place, you own the place, and all the day-to-day responsibilities are yours and yours alone. But you are handed a brand and a system for doing business that has already been vetted and tested and proven to work. You don't have a boss, but you do have a manual to show you the ropes.

Perhaps most significantly, you have the unique relationship of franchisor-franchisee at your disposal. There is no secret about the fact that all franchisors succeed by receiving a small percentage (typically 5 to 12%) of each franchisee's gross sales. In other words, for a franchisor to succeed, he or she must provide dedicated support to help the franchisee thrive and flourish. This is also why franchisors must choose their franchisees very judiciously.

But before we delve further into the pros and cons of owning a franchise, let's first clear up any doubts about what exactly a franchise is.


What Constitutes a Franchise?

When you purchase a franchise, you are purchasing five things:



Right to use the Trademark and Brand

Many new businesses fail to take into consideration the importance and the costs of developing a brand name, company logo, and brand identity. Is it recognizable, catchy, appealing? Is it too generic? Is it too similar to an existing brand? How long will it be before the name of your new business is on the lips of your target audience?

Franchisees derive the right to use the trademarks, service marks, logo, and all other brand identities of the franchise. This can be an enormous leg up on starting your own company.


Right to use an Established System

Many franchisees report this to be the single most important benefit. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. But what exactly is a "System"? Depending on the franchise in question, it can be quite comprehensive. The System can include: how to market and sell the products and services; how to manufacture, package, and price the products; how to decorate the exterior and interior; how to provide the services; how to retain clients; how to keep records; how to attract and service clients via the Internet; how to handle client complaints; how to upsell; how to develop relationships with vendors, community organizers, and media; how to hire, train, retain, review, and reward employees; and much more.

The System will already have been developed, fine-tuned, streamlined, and tested. The number of headaches and sleepless nights of decision-making will be greatly reduced.


Initial Training and Start-up Assistance

The franchisor himself or herself will be there with you, in person, to train you on the new system, to help get your place ready to open, and to make sure that all ducks are in a row leading up to your big Grand Opening.

Have questions? There's always someone you can call -- someone who is 100% motivated for you to succeed. But this person is more than a cheerleader or a coach: this is the person who invented this business, and knows it better than anyone, and thus able to provide you with the answers you need.


Ongoing Support

Again, due to the franchisor's dependence on your success, the support doesn't stop after your Grand Opening. Annual in-person visits take place, as well as ongoing training and other forms of support.

Remember, while you're running your business, the franchisor is investing in R&D, continually finding new ways to improve the System. Every time such a breakthrough is discovered, you will receive this information and any new training to go along with it.


Shared Marketing Costs

All franchises require that franchisees make a contribution to a national marketing fund. Your contribution may be small, but you will receive an amplified benefit from national exposure. Especially with the incredible importance of the Internet in sales in almost all sectors, the marketing dollars that the franchisor spends on national ad campaigns, as well as national news stories and press coverage, will directly benefit you.

If you were going it alone, you'd be doing more than making a small contribution - you'd be footing the whole bill.


Owning a Franchise - the Drawbacks

The financial risks are similar to that of any new business. Yes, you are gaining access to a proven system, but that doesn't mean a guaranteed system. What will determine your success or failure? It doesn't matter how wonderful the system, nor how much support and training you receive; ultimately, the measure of your success will be:



So yes, in spite of all the advantages of franchising, you can absolutely fail. But beyond that fairly obvious drawback, what other negatives are there?

Let's say your neighbor makes adorable dog-shaped candles, and you'd like to sell them while you're out grooming dogs or picking up dog waste, or at the counter of your pet supply franchise. Can you do this? No, you can't. (Not without explicit approval from your franchisor.) Remember: the goal here is to maintain a consistent brand identity.

So no, you can't just put needlepoint dog pillows everywhere, or start also offering additional "off-menu" services. You don't have the freedom to do whatever you please, the way you would if you started your own business from scratch.

There are numerous other restrictions. If you decide you want your son to start running the place and you're going to retire, you can't just do that without first having your son approved and trained by the franchisor.

Want to go on a two month fishing trip and close down the franchise while you're gone? Not an option. You have to stay open for business.

The actual Franchise Disclosure Document (UFDD) you will receive from the franchisor will go into great detail about all of these restrictions -- they tend to be very similar among all franchises -- but it's important for you to understand that the concept of franchising depends upon each franchisee actually running the business well and properly without straying from the core business model and while keeping regular business hours.

If these kinds of restrictions make you get all itchy, then franchising is definitely not for you.

But if you do understand that there is a trade-off here, that the benefit of obtaining this proven System comes with the somewhat obvious requirement that you stick to it, and you view this balance in a positive light, then you could indeed be an ideal candidate for owning your own franchise.

The question then becomes: which one?


Which Franchise is Right For Me?

There are literally hundreds of franchises currently on the market. We encourage you to do your homework, read publications, visit trade shows, surf the internet, to learn what options are out there, if you haven't already.

Here on this site, we're going to stick to what we know best: Pet Franchises.

An obvious requirement for such franchises, distinct from all others, is a passion for animals - their health, happiness and well-being - as well as a desire to celebrate and deepen the bond between animals and their owners.

Since you're visiting this site, we can assume that you already have such a passion. So let's take a closer look at currently available Pet Franchises. But first, we'll address one question on the mind of most entrepreneurs:


How Much Money Can I Make With a Franchise?

It's a perfectly natural question, and something any reasonable person should ask about and investigate. Unfortunately, you will not be able to ask the franchisor of any pet franchises - or any franchises for that matter - for the answer. Why won't they tell you? Two reasons.

First, how could they possibly know? They may be the #1 franchise on the planet, and may have figured out an absolutely amazing system, offering products and services in the highest possible demand. But what if you're just not a very good businessperson? What if you hire the wrong people, keep terrible records, run the business against company policy, etc.? Or what if through no fault of your own the economy moves into a massive recession either in general or specific to your franchise's sector. There are so many variables to consider, so a franchisor would be hard put to answer such a query.

But there's a more important reason: they're barred from doing so by Federal law. In order to be approved to sell franchises in a given state, the franchisor must submit their UFDD to the State for approval, and one thing the regulators look for is that there are no earnings claims whatsoever contained within the document. But it isn't as easy for State and Federal regulators to monitor all e-mail exchanges and phone calls that you may have with a representative of the franchisor company.

So be advised: if any franchisor rattles off figures to let you know how much money you can make, they're directly in violation of the law, and you should treat all such claims with extreme wariness. (Or, if you're so inclined, you could also report them to the FTC.) (The reason for the statute, in case you're curious, is that back in the 1970s there were many egregious cases of franchisors promising extarodinary revenue, and then taking your franchise fee and running. The government decided the best way to protect investors from such fraudulent practices was to bar all franchisors from making any earnings claims whatsoever.)

Ok, now back to pet franchises...


Available Pet Franchises

We have divided pet franchises into low-end dog franchises and high-end dog franchises. The low-end pet franchises are all home-based, on-call, mobile operations. The high-end pet franchises are located at an established place of business.

Home-Based Pet Businesses



Brick & Mortar Dog Franchises:




We hope you've now learned some important basics about buying a franchise. Please continue on with either or both of the above categories of pet franchises to learn more about the array of pet business opportunities!




Home

Buying a Franchise:
Is a Franchise Right for Me?
Why a Pet Franchise?

Home-Based Pet Business:
Dog Walking, Pet Sitting, Mobile Grooming, Waste Removal, Training

Brick & Mortar Dog Franchise:
Dog Day Care, Pet Resort, Dog Training, Grooming, Boarding