The Seven habits of highly effective people

The Cost of Franchising (cont.)

• In addition to the franchise fee, the franchisee must pay the franchisor royalty fees, or other on-going payments. These payments are usually taken as a percentage of sales, but can also be set up as a fixed amount or on a sliding scale. The terms of these fees will be spelled out in the franchise agreement. These payments are for the on-going services and support that the franchisor provides. Franchisors may also sell supplies directly to their franchisees.
• Advertising funds are also paid periodically. These funds are usually put into a general account and used for national and regional promotion for the entire chain.

Franchising Agreement Details

Two important payments are made to a franchisor: (a) a royalty for the trademark and (b) reimbursement for the training and advisory services

• A fee for "disclosure" is separate and is always a "front-end fee".
• One franchisee may manage several such locations.
• Agreements typically last from five to thirty years, with premature cancellations or terminations of most contracts bearing serious consequences for franchisees.
• A franchise is merely a temporary business investment involving renting or leasing an opportunity, not the purchase of a business for the purpose of ownership.
• A franchise can be exclusive, non-exclusive or 'sole and exclusive‘ for a specific geography.

Restrictions

• The success of most franchises is based on the operating systems, methods, and products produced.
• A business's trade secrets are often vital to its success.
• In order to protect the trade secrets, they establish restrictive covenants for their franchisees, which govern the things a franchisee can do
• For example, one restrictive covenant may state that the franchisee cannot operate another similar business that would compete with the franchised business during the term of the franchise agreement.
• These are called in-term non-competition covenants.
• There may also be post-term non-competition covenants that prohibit the franchisee from operating a similar business even after the terms of the franchise have expired.
• It is an understood rule that franchisees will keep trade secrets strictly confidential.