Do not accept the franchiser's word for the success of established franchises. For example, some franchises cannot be transferred without the consent of the franchiser, so that if you wanted to sell or will the franchise to a buyer or an heir, you might very well find that you cannot without consent. One major way to check out quality of management assistance you will receive from a franchiser is to look at its personnel and their qualifications. You cannot assume that because a company says it will provide management assistance that it can deliver the kind of management assistance that you might need. The quality of management assistance will depend on the quality of the people who provide it.
Some franchises require a large fixed investment up front and a small percentage override.
Others require a smaller fixed investment up front with a larger override. In general, you could expect that a franchiser whose income is based on a percent of your sales, gross profits, or net profits would have much more continuing interest in your success than a franchiser who simply charges a large fixed investment up front and little or nothing in the way of commission later. While the new federal disclosure rules required of a franchiser will help, you should use your own advisors in helping you evaluate any franchise agreement. Since a franchise is quite often a fairly lengthy legal document, the services of a trusted lawyer could save you time and money. In addition, the services of an accountant may well be in order.