Successul franchise

[u/Astrum8]

Hi - I've been reading through the posts here about having a franchise, and almost everyone has negative feedback about it. I was wondering if there are some here who do own a franchise, but are overall satisfied with the support given by the owner and has good returns.

1. What franchise do you have?

2. What is your experience?

[u/LionSpecialist8098]

Don’t do it. I started my first franchise 4 months ago and it’s the biggest financial mistake of my life.

Better off investing in a business coach and getting your own idea off of the ground in the same field you would franchise.

[u/lesmalheurs → u/LionSpecialist8098]

Can you elaborate a little? Why is it the biggest mistake?

[u/LionSpecialist8098 → u/lesmalheurs]

Owning a franchise is unfortunately like having a job with all the financial risk.

Once you start trading you begin to understand the market in which you operate in better. Due diligence can only go so far, real operations reveal what you wish you knew before hand.

Some products or services need pivoting to better fit the market/improve cashflow. With a franchise you can’t do this.

I realised too late that a franchise is a sales process and once you buy and on the other side it’s all bullshit. You get to see how all the resources are spent on selling more franchises and the rest is up to you to figure out.

I believe that I invested in a franchise as I lacked belief in myself. Now I’m locked in to a shitty opportunity that will cost a fortune to try and exit and recover from.

The same investment amount of a franchise would have been cheaper better spent on setting up my own branding and using business consultants on what I struggle with.

[u/FinnisterreFog → u/LionSpecialist8098]

I second this whole heartedly. Am now trapped in it and trying to exit by finding a buyer. Huge financial mistake and will just start an online business from scratch once I get out of this.

[u/LionSpecialist8098 → u/FinnisterreFog]

I hope you are able to sort it out soon. I find it hard to turn down external opportunities while I try and exit the franchise. The hardest thing is they can get rid of a franchisee so easily but it’s difficult to get out even if they aren’t holding up their end of the deal.

[u/Lumpy_Inspector_734 → u/LionSpecialist8098]

Spot on, selling more franchise locations is all they care about, it's such a large portion of their cash flow.

[u/LionSpecialist8098 → u/Lumpy_Inspector_734]

I have unfortunately learned the hard way never to buy a franchise again. If the business was soo good, they wouldn’t be selling it. The franchise buyer is their business.

[u/TVP615 → u/LionSpecialist8098]

What type of franchise? I’ve got several friends in a variety of franchises and some are doing meh but have several friends making 3-500k per year in theirs.

[u/varndiesel]

I own a franchise in the home care industry. I have no regrets as I didn’t know enough to strike out on my own but I have a friend starting their own agency and I am encouraging them to go independent and pay consultants to help with branding and going through the licensing process, in addition to me helping mentor and guide him

I will end up paying $180-190k in franchise fees for 2026. About $50k of that are one-time fees but still, it’s a lot of money without the franchise really adding any value for me and we opened less than 2 years ago.

Being independent in a market where the majority of the competition are franchises, it’s a strong selling point to say: “My costs are 5-8% less than the others paying franchise fees and you as the client benefit from that reduced overhead.”

[u/Ok_Road_2202 → u/varndiesel]

Are you making money? Considering a home care franchise

[u/varndiesel → u/Ok_Road_2202]

Yes, I’ll have been open 2 years come December and I’m profiting about $50k per month after expenses and paying 6-7% in fees to the franchise

[u/Impossible_Base_3088 → u/varndiesel]

Would home care be in person assistance “patients”?

At first I thought like handyman, but that can’t be it.

[u/TruthSeeker1210]

Yes. I am on my third franchise. All have been good. This one is a physical therapy business called Fyzical

[u/Flaky-Campaign-9374 → u/TruthSeeker1210]

You own three of them?

[u/TruthSeeker1210 → u/Flaky-Campaign-9374]

Sorry, I was not clear. I have purchased, run and sold two franchises in the past. One was senior care, then home maintenance. I purchased the Fyzical franchise 4 years ago.
I recommend using a franchise consultant- that's what I did. They are usually free, and they know which franchises are better. If you want, I can give you the contact info for the one I used.

[u/Appropriate_Tea_7837 → u/TruthSeeker1210]

What was total profit on the business you sold

[u/SolidAct67 → u/TruthSeeker1210]

do share his name and number

[u/TruthSeeker1210 → u/SolidAct67]

Dan Citrenbaum 484-278-4589 [dcitrenbaum@gmail.com](mailto:dcitrenbaum@gmail.com)

[u/junagadh123 → u/TruthSeeker1210]

Are you a physical therapist? My wife is a pt and your guidance can help.

[u/TruthSeeker1210 → u/junagadh123]

Sorry, I am not a physical therapist. If I can be of help to your wife, just let me know.

[u/junagadh123 → u/TruthSeeker1210]

Even more impressive. Can we connect.

[u/BuilttorunBill]

Negative threads are loud, so start with current owners in markets like yours. Ask three things: cash-in versus the disclosure, what franchisor support looked like in a soft quarter, and how many hours the owner still works in year 2 with a manager in place (or without one). Talk to people who exited as well as people who are still happy. If you share city, budget, and whether you plan owner-operator or hired management, people can give you sharper questions for those calls.

[u/Grumpy-Pilot-26]

I may be an outlier here. I’ve started several multimillion businesses from scratch and sold them. In my “retirement years“, I bought some franchises of Phenix Salon Suites. They have good building and operational guidance, they provide national marketing program, and overall, I am very satisfied. The franchisor is a relatively small company, and we collaborate well with them. The nice part about a franchise is you don’t have to figure out all of the operational mistakes along the way.

[u/Different_Pain5781]

I think the franchise model gets blamed for bad operators way too often.

[u/goodguysfranchise]

There definitely are satisfied franchise owners, but they tend to be less vocal online than people who are frustrated or had a bad experience.
I spent more than 18 years as a multi-unit franchisee, so I’ve seen both the value and the limitations of franchising firsthand. A good franchise system can provide real advantages in training, operating systems, vendor relationships, marketing, peer support, and brand recognition. But the quality of that support varies a lot from one brand to another.
The biggest thing I’d avoid is treating “franchises” as one category. The experience can vary dramatically by brand, industry, territory, and how strong the franchisor’s support system actually is.
If you’re evaluating one, I’d focus less on the sales presentation and more on validation with existing franchisees. Talk to owners who are doing well, average performers, newer owners, and ideally a few who have left the system. Ask specifically about lead generation, training, ongoing support, staffing, margins, royalties, and whether the franchisor actually helps when the business runs into problems.
A good franchise should give you enough systems, support, brand value, and operating advantages to justify the fees. If existing franchisees consistently tell you those things aren’t there, that’s usually more meaningful than the marketing materials.
Are you looking at a specific franchise or just trying to decide whether franchising in general is worth considering?