Help & How-To

Franchises
How long must you be in business to start a franchise?
I know that the last three years are supposed to be included in the UFOC, but what if you have been in business for a lesser amount of time?

Asked by mikemcgrath
Posted: Monday, July 21, 2008  |  Found in Franchises


More answers by Jeff Elgin
Answer by Jeff Elgin
There are no legal requirements related to how long you must be in business prior to starting a franchise; in fact, sometimes franchise companies start without any prior operating experience at all.

The reason for having prior operations is that it gives the startup franchise credibility in the eyes of the potential franchise buyers. Whether you've been in business for three months or 10 years, prospects will want to know why they should invest with you and how safe they will be if they do so.
Jeff Elgin has almost 20 years of experience franchising, both as a franchisee and a senior franchise company executive. He's currently the CEO of FranChoice Inc., a company that provides free consulting to consumers looking for a franchise that best meets their needs.


Recent Articles & Resources
Insight from Business Experts
Lightweight Nuclear Power?
One of the trends in small business we follow is the shift to lightweight business infrastructures. This is the trend towards business infrastructure of all types (IT, manufacturing, distribution, etc.) becoming cheaper, smaller and easier to use. Computer controlled manufacturing tools are a good example. A decade ago computer ...

7 Resolutions for Small Business
If "The Most Wonderful Time of Year" is behind us, what does January bring?  For some, there are those nasty post-holiday blues.  But for many, we design our New Year's Resolution chart to plaster around the house. For small business, you can do the same thing, too.  Let's take 7 of ...

Building Your Crack Export Dream Team
If you've been following our blog series on internationalizing your company, On Your Mark, Get Set, Go Global, you will have made considerable strides by now. You've considered the pros and cons of exporting, weighed your chances for success and learned the importance of choosing a promising product or ...

Discipline is the Key
It seems that everywhere you look today, companies are going out of business.  I believe that a lot of these business failures have to do with one thing ... discipline, or more accurately, the lack of it. There are four areas where small business owners must have a high level of ...
Have a burning question? Ask now!