Street Smart Franchising

Joe Mathews, Don DeBolt, and Deb Percival
Entrepreneur Press (2006)
ISBN 1599180219
Reviewed by Mary Greenwood for Reader Views (8/06)

“Street Smart Franchising” tells you everything you need to know about franchising and more. According to the authors, the purpose of “Street Smart Franchising”  is to prepare you for “…what it takes to succeed in franchising, walk you to the starting line of owning a franchise, show you the finish line of peak productivity … and give you a proven strategy on how to win the race”.

“Street Smart Franchising” is chock full of information about franchising.  Part One is “What You Need to Know Before You Start Looking” and Part Two is “Investigating Franchises.” There are definitions, examples, questionnaires, checklists and acronyms.  For example, the authors coined an acronym “KASH” for the success formula for every franchise opportunity: 1) knowledge, 2) attitude, 3, skills, and 4) habits. There is also information about franchising websites, franchise brokers, franchise expos, and franchise magazines.  The index is a good tool to access the franchise information. 

The most helpful part of the book for me was Chapter 9: Six Step Franchise Investigation Process.  The six steps are 1) Initial Review, 2) Qualification, 3) Reviewing the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC) and Franchise Agreements, 4) Franchisee Validation, Data Gathering,  and Analysis, 5) Visiting the Franchisor’s Home Office, 6) The Yes/No Decision. “Street Smart Franchising” goes into great detail so the reader can know what to expect and prepare for each step.  It asks the questions that the reader might not have considered.  Near the end of the chapter is a Decision-Making Checklist. This is a group of “Big Questions”, such as “Do I closely match the franchisor’s profile of a successful franchisee?” or “Are the franchisor’s advertising and marketing programs effective?” A no answer to any of the questions is enough to end the investigation and say no to the franchisor. In the second part of the checklist are questions from each chapter, such as “Am I willing to leave the path of 99% and take the path of the 1%?” or “Has the franchisor done a good job bringing in high-quality franchisees?” If any of these questions are answered no by the reader, then the next three questions should be asked: “What’s missing?”, “Can I live without this?” or “How do I provide what’s missing?” The answers to those three questions will help one to decide whether to continue with the pursuit of a franchise.

The authors have a lot of experience. Joe Mathews has worked with franchisors such as Subway and Blimpie; Don DeBolt is a former president of the International Franchise Association; and Deb Percival works in Franchise Development. They tried to “…anticipate every thought you would have, every emotion you would experience, and every action you would take as you investigate, start up and run a franchise.”   Their goal is to make the reader a “franchise connoisseur.” They have achieved this goal and more. If you are thinking of buying a franchise, “Street Smart Franchising” is the book for you.

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