Ever think about becoming a fast food Franchisee?
 

Like any other businessman, diversification crosses my mind a lot. I've learned that after 6 years in this biz (I started in 2000), that NOTHING can be taken for granted. This goes for traffic, for business models, for promotion models, and overall strategy. So I've been thinking about offline diversification as well. Since I split my time between the US and The Philippines, I've come across differing business diversification opportunities on both sides of the Pacific.
One particular opportunity involves fast food.

IF you were able to, would you get into fastfood franchising? If so, which chain would you like to be a franchisee of?

Let's forget about the obvious big ones like McDonalds. Any other chain?

If not fastfood, what type of business would like to get a franchise in?

In the US, a PIZZA shop (specially in newly built subdivisions) looks attractive... maybe Papa John's?

funny you bring this up , I want to start some Dunkin Donuts shops

DD is HUGE here in the Philippines. :thumbsup

YARGH! I'm thinking of starting a fast food joint for me squiggly squid gizzards, and buttered clam stuff. I'm going to call it Sharky Farts... think it'll do ok?

You'll have to have a bunch of them.

Bring dunkin donuts to california

I've read that is the case for SUBWAY sandwich shops. You need about 3 to 6 since each yields about 20 to 30k a year. I may be mistaken but that's what I have read somewhere.

no idea, my idea was to start out with one and not hope to make $$$ but hope to break even ,

if you can break even with one without any reall hassle, you can open up some more

the problem of course being you need good locations , thats what makes you the $$$ obviously , doing things to fast and not spending enough time to the right location can break you , thats why I think its best to take it slow if you are new to it :2 cents:

I've been missing dunkin donuts since I moved out here, but then when I was back east I had some and I really don't like the coffe anymore.

I've always wanted to open a franchise. I'd probably start a carls jr. or an In & Out Burger.

Open up a Tim Hortons down there and rock their socks off!!!

yep, for sure. i thought i had a great idea but then found out they don't do franchises. :(

But I think you HAVE to have a 2-3 at least. One of my old neighbors was pretty successful w/ them.

I currently own a cold stone creamery and a subway, won't make you rich, but it's positive cashflow. Dipshit highschool employees are always a pain in the ass and finding decent managers are a hassle as well.

I owned two Dunkin Donuts franchises in upstate NY for 5 years.

NEVER EVER EVER BECOME A FRANCHISEE of an operation that is open 24/7 and staffed with p/t minimum wage teenagers. IT IS WORSE THAN ANY HELL I COULD IMAGINE.

Cold stone is the bomb. I like how they mix the ice cream in front of you. :thumbsup

I want to open the first In & Out burger down here in the south.

I've always wanted to start something and become a franchisee.

My dad is friends with a wife and husband team that own 10+ (i think) subway shops and they make a very nice living.

what about Bars/Sports Bars/Nightclubs? I heard if you can unearth the right location it can be a goldmine. anyone with any experiences?

My advice is to get rid of that thought immediately. There is little redeeming in being a Dunkin Donuts franchisee. The investment is huge, the ongoing capital needs significant... Worst of all is is that you are a manufacturer that has to around the clock manufacture things that have very strict standards but are very very hard to produce properly and need to train people to do it right consistantly which is next to impossible. It is actually overwhelming unless you are able to find good management and staff.

Mistaken.
I have been researching a Subway Restaurant for a while now. Talked to a few local owners. It all depends on location.

I live by a University and one of the owners told me he averages 10k/month Net.

20k-30K a year might not be too bad, seeing as you can open 3-6 and not be involved in the day-to-day operations.

You sir have been fed bad information.

You will never start an In & Out Burger Franchise. No matter how hard you try.

On which part? THe 20-30k a year i do know about. That was what Gene said.

But with a good location i wouldnt doubt that 10K Net is possible. You only need 2-3 employees at a Subway.

Of course it depends on location, and locations are limited. So while the guy you know may be pulling in $10k monthly, I am willing to bet he is one of the few and he would have a fairly difficult time opening another branch with the same success.

Well the two things that stood out most were a) no need to be involved in day-to-day stuff, b) 10K net.

In & Out burgers are, arguably, the best burgers in California. Unfortunately, they don't franchise. This may have changed but last time I checked, all their stores are owned by the same family-owned company. Great burgers. Yet another reason to miss California :(

I am talking about the Owner went i meant Day-to-Day stuff.
He has a good manager working there. He comes in once a day to check it out, because it is one of two locations he owns.

As for 10k, i do believe him. He is right near a big university and does admit his other location doesnt pull in that much.

Exactly.
As much as i would love to own an In&Out franchise i wish they remain family-owned.

That is why they remain the best Burgers in California.
They are slowly moving to Nevada and Arizona and the rest of the country. But i would rather they remain family owned.

I always find it entertaining when people say "I'll open up a shop and have someone else run it while I do nothing but collect the checks." Ha!

Yes, it is possible, but there are several key ingredients you need that are pretty rare. The main ingredient being: someone to run it! Where do people think they're going to find somebody that will pour their soul into a company they don't own? Nobody is going to do that. Now if you were to offer the right person a chunk of the profits you may find some good results, only problem is it would cut into your income. I think its a pretty fair trade though. Setup enough locations with enough of the right people and you just may be on to something.

Its everything BUT easy though.

All you have to do to avoid speculation is call up Subway and say you are a prospective franchisee and they must by law send you a Federal Trade Commission sanctioned disclosure booklet with all the info you could ever want to know including names/phone numbers of other franchisees to contact...

I want a starbucks here in Amsterdam

I believe Starbucks allows for franchising for out of country locations. Within the US though (with the possible exception of Hawaii, Im not sure) they are all company-owned.

I'm startin my own franchise-able breakfast restaurant...

http://www.hammond-eggs.com

Looking for a partner now...

You can start by posting your menu in this thread. :thumbsup

My friend opened a Quiznos today. I am curious as to how it does for him.

Can;t post the menu but I have a nice little teaser package for those interested.

Owner of Subway paid himself $60,000,000 last year - the company is privately owned

My indian friend does 3-5k a day with 1 subway. LOCATION

That is so well put and you are exactly right. For instance, the old saw that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself is no better understood than by a franchisee that just poured $500K into a venture and walks in to his shop and the product is off a bit and the customers aren't being serviced properly. I was willing to pay lots of money to find good managers but this never happened in over 5 years and I was no stranger to training management or the food industry. Good help is hard to find and a hands-off management style is the kiss of death for your business.

Couple all that with a business that is manufacturing intensive with a volitile product like Dunkin Donuts (you could not possibly imagine how easy it is to mess up a batch of yeast dough or muffins...), that must be produced 24/7 by different employees that require lots of training and don't show up for their shifts often (if the baker doesn't show up for his midnight shift - there will be no donuts in the morning - it takes several hours to make a batch - and you are a donut store so you HAVE TO HAVE DONUTS TO SELL - so after you just worked 15 hours at the shop you are woken out of bed to come in to bake the donuts all night because the baker decided he wanted to go to a friends party and called in sick and you couldn't find another trained baker to take the shift).

I agree. It's not easy. There's easier ways to make $.

Re LOCATION being KEY: True dat, playa. True dat :thumbsup :winkwink:

BINGO :winkwink:

Well he is very very lucky but what do you think he takes home after taxes, labour, rent and ta da: food costs.

If he is making 75K GROSS a month. Trust me, he takes home enough.

well if you know about indians, you know they are quite possibly the cheapest motherfuckers on the planet, and you know damn well his labor costs are next to zero with the whole family working with him. THINK. It comes down to location. I see alot of subways tucked into strip malls on the far ends hoping to save 300 a month on rent, but that kills the traffic, whammmmmmy :2 cents:

Gross maybe, but no where close to net.

I had the "Master Franchise" for Syracuse, NY, meaning a lot of money was put up so I had exclusivity for a big city to develop Dunkin Donuts shops. I had an aggresive opening schedule of new shops though to maintain the master franchise (7 shops in 5 years), but the staffing issues stopped me in my tracks PERIOD. Finding managers and decent kids was so hard I couldn't expand and thought I would have a heart attack before I turned 40.

I sold out and opened up an Internet biz. in Silicon Valley.

I was thinking of Subway, but not anymore, long story

Besides the brand familiarity and standardization, any other factors that separate FRANCHISE businesses from starting your OWN brand?

another one who has no idea of how indians work. Straight fucking pakistani indians, hes making a killing :2 cents:

Get the FTC Disclosure booklet and they will list right there the average gross sales (as well as all the various costs on average throughout their system in your area...) and I will bet that $75K number is in the top 2% of franchisees. If you think you are that brilliant that you can pick and secure a location that can produce that too, than I say grab it!