Table of Contents
Part I Preparing Yourself for Business Ownership
Introduction 3
Chapter 1 Leveraging Your Natural Fear 7
Understanding Fear 8
What Happens If 9
Is Risk the Same For Everyone? 10
Mixing Fear and the Human Psyche 12
Fear and Success 13
Chapter 2 Your Vision 15
It's Your Vision; Take Control Of It! 17
Vision Is About What You Want the Future to Look Like 17
Decide Where You Really Want to Go 18
Determine How to Get There 19
Believe In Your vision 23
Chapter 3 Essential Traits of an Entrepreneur 27
Trait #1 Having a Clear vision For Yourself and Your Business 29
Trait #2 Communicating the Vision and Motivating Others to Action 30
Trait #3 Setting a Timetable For Achievement 30
Trait #4 Viewing Setbacks as Learning Opportunities 31
Trait #5 Standing Apart From the Crowd 32
Trait #6 Finding Good Enough, Then Get Going 33
Trait #7 Focusing On Continual Learning 33
Chapter 4 The Perfect Franchise: Where Do I Start? 37
Alternative #1 The Passion Approach 38
Alternative #2 The Scarcity Approach 41
Alternative #3 The Security Approach 42
Alternative #4 The Track Record Approach 43
Alternative #5 The Lemming Approach 44
Alternative #6 The Educated Franchisee Approach 45
Cataloging Your Skills 46
Matching Skills and Achieving Success 47
Building Your Own Box 47
Chapter 5 Why Own a Business When I Can Get a Job? 51
Owner vs. Employee Mentality 52
The Case For Ownership: Who Really Makes More Money? 53
Creation of an Asset 58
Wealth Creation 59
Part II Foundational Knowledge: Information You Need to Know
Introduction 63
Chapter 6 A Brief History of Franchising 65
The King and Queens 65
The Americas 66
Martha Matilda Harper 67
McDonald's 67
The Franchise Rule 68
Chapter 7 The Franchising Value Proposition 71
Is Franchising an Industry 71
What Does the Franchisee Purchase? 72
The Value Proposition of Franchising 73
The Price of Franchising 79
Chapter 8 Dissecting the Franchise Disclosure Document 83
Delivering and Accepting the Franchise Disclosure Document 84
Looking For "Red Flags" 85
The Franchise Disclosure Document Checklist 85
Exhibits 98
Chapter 9 How Franchise Systems Are Built 101
Types of Franchise Relationships 102
Types of Territorial Protection 105
Fees 107
Comparing Franchisors 110
Comparing industries 111
Part III Getting it Right the First Time: How to Examine a Franchise
Introduction 115
Chapter 10 Targeting Franchisors to Investigate 117
Exploring Independently 117
Working With a franchise Coach 120
Chapter 11 Speaking With Franchisors: As You Study Them, They Study You 125
What Is a Franchisor Really Looking For? 126
Surprise! This Is What the Franchisor Is Not Looking For 126
Understanding "Screens" 128
Learning About the Opportunity 129
What Is the Franchise Disclosure Document Receipt? 132
Staying Organized 132
Chapter 12 Validating With Franchisees 135
Speaking With Franchisees 135
Securing Permission to Call Franchisees 136
Which Franchisees Should I Call? 137
The Exceptions 141
Emailing Questions 142
Organizing Your Questions 142
Key Point 143
Chapter 13 Building Your Financial Model By Asking the Right Questions 145
How Owners Make Money 146
Understanding the Numbers 149
A P&L Case Study 149
Other Advantages to a Top-Down Approach 155
For the Seasoned Accounting Professional 155
Chapter 14 Financing Your Business 157
Two Kinds of Money: Debt and Equity 158
Debt Financing Options 160
Equity Financing Options 163
Grants 166
Chapter 15 The Use of Outside Experts 167
Types of Coaches/Advisors 169
Chapter 16 The Art of Decision Making 177
The Logical Approach 178
The Intuitive Approach 183
Bringing the Approaches Together 184
Fear In Decision Making 185
Part IV You've Found the Right Business: Now the Journey Begins
Introduction 189
Chapter 17 The Steps of Franchise Development 191
The Stages of Franchisee Maturity 192
Why Do We Go Through These Stages? 195
Chapter 18 Key Items for Success in a Franchise System 199
Leverage Positive Thinking 200
Eliminate Entitlement Thinking 203
Make a Two-Year Commitment 204
Set Your Top Three Productivity Measures 205
Conclusion 209
Glossary 211
Biographies
Rick Bisio 243
Mike Kohler 244
