Anybody ever own a franchise.

[ERD50]

bold mine -

I think the average corporate or government worker who buys a franchise will feel that he or she has been run over by a truck. Hard to avoid divorce too. ...

I'm often amused (in a good way!) by haha's ability to turn a phrase, and nail it.

Yep - I worked in production support, and for many years production ran 24/7. In parallel, I was part of future planning, so had to attend all those meetings and late night and early morning conf calls. We were in a competitive business, driven by extremely competitive management. I thought it was a pretty tough row to hoe.

Yet, I always thought managing retail was as tough or tougher, for all the reasons mentioned in this, and the 'ice cream business' thread. Not for the faint of heart. But someone who is smart, and motivated, and can put up with it all might do well. But if they had other options, those options would likely be better. As something to do to cushion retirement - no way!

It may well turn out that the 50 years between WW2 and the millennium will in hindsight be understood as the high water mark of the Western version of society. Most of us have really liked it, and sometimes don't realize what an unusual state it represents.

Ha

This is likely true, though some unforeseen advances might change things for the positive. I do think that my parents, who saw the depression and then the post WWII boom, thought we would not do as well as they did. Hard to compare, but even though there was so much opportunity for hard workers in the post WWII boom, I would not trade my life/times for theirs.

My kids seem to be off to a good start, but they had the advantage of a stable family environment, and all graduated from college with useful degrees. So they definitely have a leg up on many others.

-ERD50

 

[Sunset]

I have considered a Papa Murphy's franchise. It's a take and bake pizza concept. I think it is a pretty good business model. Relatively low overhead for food service. No ovens to buy and maintain, just a couple refrigerators and a mixer. Need around a $300k net worth with $80k liquid. I've worked the last ten years in full service restaurants. It's always pretty stressful and I thought this would be a good alternative. Oh, and they are my favorite pizzas.

I liked the one near us for their super heavy pizza, but it went out of business.

 

[Sunset]

I know a couple that bought into a pizza franchise, near Boston. They both worked at it for about 7 years.
They finally sold it because they were tired of working 12-14 days, no control (HQ sends out coupons, the franchise fee (its a lot like mutual fund high fees only higher).

For all the hours of work they did each week, when they calculated it out, they realized they were working at a lot less than minimum wage!

 

[papadad111]

The franchise owners that post here are all still at work.....

Took the words out of my mouth. +1

 

[Islandtraveler]

Be Careful What You Wish For

I just retired in August after being a developer as well as a franchise owner for 28 years. It has treated me well over the years but is by no means a clear path to success. Careful examination of the parent company must be made with an understanding of their growth philosophy and franchisee support. Not all franchises perform the same throughout the country. Be careful when reviewing success percentages and focus on the transfer rate. Just because a store remains open doesn’t mean that it is profitable. Many stores can turn over at a substantial loss to the owner and may or may not make money over time. Take the time to read the FDD and definitely try to speak to other owners to gain additional perspective. I am not completely down on the franchise model but have a firsthand view of its limitations as well as opportunities having been a franchisee as well as a company representative. I see a need for a franchisee advocate to assist in navigating some of these issues. I have been kicking around the idea of doing some consulting work down the road but plan on working on my golf handicap first.

 

[soupcxan]

Franchise (v): to buy yourself a job

 

[foxfirev5]

I have a relative that RE'd from a good govt job to go out and buy a franchise first then rental property. The bad news is that another 6 months on the job would have paid for the first five years of the business ownership. haha you nailed it.

 

[BlueAFMom]

Father, then brother, had Chick-fil-A restaurants which is not a true franchise but a business partnership. Father was very successful but worked non-stop. Brother took a different approach with a higher paid manager and made less (long story but eventually lost the business in a nasty divorce).

After being the child of a franchise owner, working nearly every holiday and most of the seasons others were having a good time, I chose military service and have loved the 30 days paid vacation, federal holidays, modest tax bracket, and about to enjoy the COLA adjusted pension and low-cost healthcare.

In the end, I think we'll come out about the same and I worked less hours. Would never even consider doing it 'in retirement.'


Father's advice would be to get in, work hard, save the $$, and get out...5-10 years max.

 

[sengsational]

Why not just work at one for a few months to learn the business and then open your own take and bake pizza shop? We had one in our town about 20 years ago and I loved it.

Thats what a friend of mine did. Flower shop, but yeah, go mom and pop!

 

[Pajaro]

Jared and eColi will barely be a ripple to those two giants in the franchise world in the long term.

They will still make money, but consumers have long memories. I still don't eat at Jack in the Box after their eColi killed 4 kids back in 1993. I also can't stand the thought of shopping at Food Lion after their Dateline (could have been 20/20) expose. Heck, I still see "Jane Fonda in the crosshairs" stickers in urinals at USAF O'Clubs, and most officers weren't even alive during her anti-military days.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Father, then brother, had Chick-fil-A restaurants which is not a true franchise but a business partnership. Father was very successful but worked non-stop. Brother took a different approach with a higher paid manager and made less (long story but eventually lost the business in a nasty divorce).

After being the child of a franchise owner, working nearly every holiday and most of the seasons others were having a good time, I chose military service and have loved the 30 days paid vacation, federal holidays, modest tax bracket, and about to enjoy the COLA adjusted pension and low-cost healthcare.

In the end, I think we'll come out about the same and I worked less hours. Would never even consider doing it 'in retirement.'


Father's advice would be to get in, work hard, save the $$, and get out...5-10 years max.

Plus you get to hear us say (in all sincerity) thank you for your service, and we are not talking about delivering a sandwich to our table.

Thank you.