FRANCHISE LAW
Franchise Law Articles
Plain-English analysis of FDD reviews, franchise agreements, exit strategy, and ongoing counsel for franchisees and franchisors.
478 articles
Franchise Territory Rights and Market Saturation
Franchise territory rights are whatever the franchise agreement grants — there is no automatic right to an exclusive area — so the way you define territory …
Franchise Training Program: A Franchisor Checklist
A franchise training program should teach a new franchisee to run the business to your exact standards — and it must deliver everything you promised in Item 11 …
Franchise vs Independent Business: Legal Guide
The choice between buying a franchise and starting an independent business is, at bottom, a trade between a proven system with strings attached and full …
Franchisee Exit Strategy Checklist
The franchisee exit checklist comes down to three jobs: read the clauses in your franchise agreement that control how you can leave, get your financials and …
Franchisee Performance Metrics: A Franchisor Checklist
The franchisee performance metrics worth tracking fall into four groups — financial, operational, customer, and compliance — and the ones you can actually …
Franchisor Rights and Obligations in a Franchise Agreement
Balancing a franchisor’s rights and obligations comes down to one principle: every right you keep to control the brand carries a matching duty to support …
Franchisor's Guide to Exit and Transfer Provisions
Exit and transfer provisions let a franchisor control who takes over a unit and on what terms — protecting the brand, continuity, and royalty stream when a …
Funding a Franchise After a Job Loss, Safely
The safest way to fund a franchise after a job loss is to protect your living expenses first and avoid putting your entire savings into one business. Most …
Future-Proofing Your Franchise Agreement
You future-proof a franchise agreement two ways: by building flexibility into the contract so most changes happen without amending it, and by following the …
Ground Round: When the Franchisor Collapses
The Ground Round’s collapse is a striking lesson in franchisor abandonment — and in what franchisees can do when the company they signed up with simply …
Handling Competition Between Your Franchisees
Competition between franchisees is best handled through the franchise agreement itself — clear territory rights, encroachment and channel rules, consistent …
How Franchisors Actually Make Money
Franchisors make money mainly from royalties — an ongoing percentage of each franchisee’s gross sales, usually in the 4% to 8% range — plus one-time …
How Long Does It Take to Franchise a Business?
Franchising a business typically takes about three to six months to go from the decision to franchise to a finished, registration-ready Franchise Disclosure …
How the Franchise Renewal Process Works
Franchise renewal is the process of extending your franchise for another term when your current agreement expires — and it is a conditional right spelled out in …
How to Assess Each Franchise Unit's Performance
You assess a franchise unit’s performance by measuring it against the performance standards written into the franchise agreement — not against a gut …
How to Build a Franchise Recruitment Strategy
A franchise recruitment strategy rests on four parts: a clearly defined ideal candidate, a lead-generation engine that reaches them, a legally compliant …
How to Draft a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)
A Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) is the federally required disclosure a franchisor must give every prospective franchisee before selling them a franchise, …
How to Evaluate a Franchise's Peer Network
A strong franchisee community is a real asset, and you can size it up before you buy by using the FDD’s Item 20 franchisee list to call current and former …
How to Get Out of a Franchise Agreement
When a franchise isn’t working out, you usually have four realistic ways out — fix the problem, negotiate a release, sell the business, or terminate for …
How to Keep Franchisees Engaged for the Long Term
You keep franchisees engaged for the long term by making them profitable, giving them a real voice, recognizing performance, and treating them fairly — and the …
