Gregory Carafello and his wife owned a thriving multi-unit printing business, but after 9/11 they lost 70 percent of their contracts. One day, looking for ways to recover, he answered an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal soliciting prospective franchisees and master franchisees for a business called Cartridge World. He had never been a franchisee and he had no idea what was meant by “master franchisee.”

Meet Chad Hames, owner of two complementary franchises, Boulder Designs and Border Magic. Hames wakes up every morning loving his career! A decade ago, just shy of his 28th birthday, Hames became a multi-concept franchisee when he purchased a Boulder Designs franchise, and a Border Magic franchise.

There aren’t many franchise opportunities for people who want to keep their day job because most franchisors prefer full-time, on-site, hands-on franchisees. But Colorado-based Camp Bow Wow attracts mostly absentee franchise owners, and there’s room for many more. There are, however, some qualifiers that you won’t find with other franchise opportunities beginning with “you only need apply if you love dogs,” explains Renuka Salinger. 

At the 2016 International Franchise Expo, Dr. John P. Hayes had the pleasure of interviewing Tony Foley, who for many years has sold master franchises for the United Franchise Group (UFG) globally. The focus of the interview was international development, but Foley, a veteran of franchise expos, shared a piece of advice that applied to all attendees, whether they were looking for a master license or a single unit franchise opportunity: “I hope they’re not here to buy a franchise,” he said. Rather, “I hope they’re here to gather info, collect data, and then do their own due diligence.”

Roasting whole turkeys and beef on a daily basis gives a Capriotti’s sandwich a taste profile that customers can’t find elsewhere, and while that’s a tempting reason to consider buying a Capriotti’s franchise, the Item 19 in Capriotti’s disclosure document is even more enticing! Listen to Bruce Evans explain why. 

One of the advantages of buying a FASTSIGNS franchise is that franchise prospects get the opportunity to prove in advance of buying a franchise that existing franchisees make money. As CEO Catherine Monson explains, FASTSIGNS is one of less than 5% of franchisors that files a financial performance representation, or Item 19, in the federally-mandated disclosure document.

“Putting fruit in baskets” is a unique aspect of the $12-billion gifting industry, and because it’s new and different, it gets lots of interest from prospective franchisees because they can easily see themselves operating the business. That’s the first step in a franchise sale, says Tariq Farid. CEO of Edible Arrangements. The prospect has to feel he or she can operate the business.

Franchise prospects aren’t the only people doing due diligence before a franchise sale is consummated. Good franchisors are also doing their due diligence by spending critically important time to vet their franchise prospects. With 30 years of experience developing franchise brands, Ray Titus, CEO of United Franchise Group, has a ton of experience vetting franchise prospects. The company includes eight brands with more than 1,400 franchisees in 80 countries.

Existing franchises for sale by their owners. What’s wrong with that? In the United Kingdom, reports Johnny Sellyn, a founder of FranchiseResales.com, a third of all franchise sales are resales. In the United States, however, franchise resales account for merely a small fraction of total franchise sales. Why? Sellyn says that American franchise buyers seem to think there’s something wrong with an existing franchise business if it’s for sale.

Craig Slavin has devoted a career to developing the Franchise Navigator and using it as a resource to help people determine if they should buy a franchise, and if so, which franchise to buy. Everyone is “wired” differently, explains Slavin, and each person has a different value system. If you understand why you do what you do, this information could be extremely important when you decide to buy a franchise. And it may save you from buying the wrong franchise!