FranPassport is not an immigration law firm. Most of our clients have already selected or spoken to an immigration attorney before reaching out to us. Should you wish us to introduce you to an immigration law firm, we can certainly recommend some that have worked for our clients in the past.

The best franchise is the one that better suits the client’s capabilities, interests, desired territory, business objectives, and visa requirement needs.

There are hundreds of franchise opportunities available, and sifting through them all can take months for a person without our knowledge of the industry. Many people get frustrated and give up. Using our service can help you avoid this situation because we create a personal profile for you and then research franchise opportunities that match your criteria. With just a few opportunities to evaluate, you save a lot of time and effort.

Additionally, we find that a large majority of our clients end up purchasing a different concept than the one they initially thought they were interested in.

Another factor to consider is that if you go directly to the franchise development team (salesperson), they can’t help but be biased toward their concept, as they will not be paid if you choose a different company. A franchise broker can, therefore, help you be more objective during the due diligence process and make the choice that is best for YOU.

Our clients do not pay for FranPassport services. Our time and efforts are compensated by the fees we receive from the franchisor at the time our client close the franchise purchase negotiation.

There is no markup in the franchise fees for using the value-added franchise brokering services of FranPassport, since you will pay the published price of any franchise just as if you had gone directly to the franchisor.

So it’s a true win-win-win, you get the support you need to decrease your risk and make the best decision for you, the franchisor gets a candidate that is more prepared to succeed, and we get to do what we love best – to support people in achieving their dreams!

The visa requirements do not depend exclusively on the amount invested, but as a reference, it is good to divide franchises in two groups:

Retail Franchises:

If you decide for a retail franchise, an average retail location investment begins at approximately $250,000 and goes up from there. There are many options including clothing stores, restaurants, digital print stores, office services stores, showroom stores with e-commerce fulfillment, light manufacturing and equipment stores, just to name a few.

Service Franchises:

If you decide for a service franchise the investment begins at approximately $150,000 and goes up from there. There are many options including business services, professional training services, construction-related services, pet care services, cost reduction services, child development and senior care, just to name a few.

FranPassport can help you understand the pros and cons of these two franchise groups.

Franchising is a unique system whereby the franchisor can assist you with a marketing plan that will show you the production you will need to achieve at each step in order to obtain the financial goals you set for yourself. There are some franchises that have a very quick return on investment, estimated at only a couple months, and others that estimate several years to have a return on the investment.

You are always allowed to ask a franchisor for all investment cost information. They are required by the Federal Trade Commission to provide you with all of this information, plus information about royalties and other ongoing fees. They are allowed to disclose earnings information ONLY if they have properly disclosed that information in their Franchise Disclosure Document. Earnings can therefore be more challenging to obtain without the knowledge of how to read the financial statements and what to ask the franchisees. Another way to obtain more financial information is in the validation process, when you are encouraged to reach out to existing franchisees.

Purchasing a franchise ensures that you are buying into a functioning and proven business model. There is a considerably lower rate of failure for franchisees than for entrepreneurs with original business concepts in a start-up business. Additionally, many franchises profit because the items/services they sell already have a name and a reputation behind them.

Franchisors provide bulk purchasing power (much like wholesaling), which you would not have without the franchise system. Because all of the franchisees in a system contribute to the expense of creating the software, systems, tools, etc., the quality of those resources is superlative to resources provided to non-franchises businesses. If one tried to recreate those distributables, the expense would be far more than what one had invested in the franchise fee and the quality would be sub-par.

Absolutely not. In fact, most franchisors prefer that you have no experience in the industry prior to owning the franchise. Franchisors want people that can use their transferable business skills to motivate employees, close sales, and manage efficient operations. The franchise owner is expected to be the main driver of business development. Typically in this equation, the franchisee is the manager running the business, and not the labor.

It varies. If you are motivated (and not distracted!), you can complete the franchise consultation process in a few days fairly simply. Most clients can find a great opportunity in anywhere from 1 to 3 months. Once you have purchased your opportunity, it can range from as little as 2 weeks up to 6 months to get the business going.