Owning a franchise makes you an entrepreneur, a small business owner. While no guarantees can be made in any business venture, franchising is one of the safest investments you can make to succeed as a small business owner.

What a Franchisee Needs to Know

The first thing a potential franchisee needs to know about is the UFOC (Uniform Franchise Circular Offering). The UFOC, by law, is a document that a franchisor or franchise broker must present to the person who is seriously considering buying a franchise. It contains extensive information about the franchise being considered. Additionally, you must be provided with completed contracts covering all material points at least five days prior to the actual execution of the documents. This time gives you the opportunity to review contracts with a lawyer and provides a cooling off period to ensure your final decision is not only emotional, but rational as well.

Most franchisors look for the following characteristics in their franchisees:

• A person with a strong motivation and drive to achieve success.
• A person with confidence and enthusiasm for the product or service being sold.
• A person who does not have all the administrative and entrepreneurial skills necessary to start, develop and operate a viable business and who therefore needs the franchisor’s support.
• A person who is not only good at learning new things but who also is able to motivate and train others.
• A person who has experience in or a good knowledge of the industry in which the franchisor does business.
• A few industries, most notably some fast-food systems, look for people with no experience in that industry at all. The idea here is that a franchisee freshly trained in the franchisors procedures will be more successful than one coming in with different and often conflicting habits.

Franchisors believe that management skills, attention to customer service and sales skills are the most important qualifications.