The Top 10 Must Read Books About Franchising

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Starting a franchise is a great way of going into business for yourself while minimising the risks of starting from scratch. When buying into a franchise, you’re essentially buying the rights to an established brand name and business model – which means that it can be an extremely rewarding and lucrative endeavour.

That’s great; I hear you cry, but how do I get myself a franchise? We’re glad you asked. There are some great books available that will arm you with the tools you need to succeed and, the following is our guide to the top 10 must-read books about franchising:

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Franchising For Dummies

by Michael Seid and Dave Thomas

Not that we’re suggesting that you’re a dummy but, this book is the perfect jumping-off point if you have zero experience of starting and running a franchise.

Franchising for dummies provides a really helpful breakdown of the franchising process – and the authors know they’re onions as co-author. Dave Thomas is the founder of the hugely successful fast-food chain, Wendy’s.

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Franchising 101: The Complete Guide To Evaluating, Buying And Growing Your Franchise Business

Edited by Ann Dugan

While the title may be a mouthful, this book offers a comprehensive taster of what it’s like to run a franchise, as well as being jam-packed full of tips and tricks to help you get started. Both of the authors are from the Association of Small Business Development. The book’s editor, Ann Dugan, is Executive Director for the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence – so these guys know a thing or two about running a business.

Quite simply, this weighty volume contains everything you need to know about franchising – from choosing the right option to getting it up and running as quickly and painlessly as possible.

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Five Pennies: Ten Rules To Successfully Build A Franchise Mega-Brand And Maximise System Profits

By Lonnie Helgerson

If your franchise ambitions include world domination, then you need to hot-foot it to Amazon to pick up this gem as soon as possible.

This book goes beyond the usual tips and advice for franchisees in order to give you the lowdown on really making your franchise work for you. As well as the expected legal, promotional and operations tips, Five Pennies includes some real-world mega-brand examples which allow you to picture your place in the competitive world of franchising.

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Take The Fear Out Of Franchising

By Dr John P. Hayes

If you’re a ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ type of guy or gal, then you may be thinking that you can probably do without this one – think again.

Hailed by the author of ‘The E-Myth’, Michael E. Gerber, as ‘a must for any prospective franchisee or franchisor’, this book is a great tool for laying out the most important parts of franchising and for helping you to overcome those fears and niggles which may be standing in your way.

“Your thoughts have little legs that go out and create what you think about”, Dr. John P. Hayes”.
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From French Fries To A Franchise

By Michele Layet

Ever wondered why Ronald McDonald never appears in McDonald’s adverts? Nope, us neither. Having said that, McDonald’s is, of course, the ultimate benchmark when it comes to fast-food restaurants and, in this book, Australia’s first female franchisee, Michele Layet, gives a fascinating insight into the workings of the famous burger chain as well as taking us through the practicalities of fast food franchising including flag protocol and those all-important inspections.

This is a must-read for any wannabe fast-food franchisee.

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The Right Franchise For You

By Faizun Kamal

At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, finding the right franchise to suit your skills, experience and lifestyle is a super important first step on your franchisee journey. In this 2020 book, Faizun Kamal (franchise owner and former corporate executive) guides you through the process of examining your options in order to find the best franchise for you.

This handy book promises to ‘exponentially increase the probability of success’ by sharing proven processes for researching, analysing and buying a franchise.

“This book begins where everyone who starts this journey should begin….what kind of life do I want to live, and am I ready to be a business owner?” Faizun Kamal

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Bond’s Top 100 Franchises

By Robert E. Bond

Sticking with the theme of choosing the right franchise for your requirements, Robert E. Bond’s offering is more than just a list of available franchises – it’s got actual science behind it.

Bond’s Top 100 Franchises examines and assesses a large number of variables in order to produce realistic options based on factors such as location, budget and historical performance. More than just a clever name, these processes hand the reader 100 (count ‘em) real-life options to help streamline their search process and get on their way to becoming a franchisee.

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The Educated Franchisee

By Rick Bisio

Got questions? This book has got answers – lots of them.

Rick Bisio’s 2017 book is a veritable encyclopaedia of the ins and outs of owning a franchise. With a whopping 210 pages, The Educated Franchisee takes you by the hand and walks you through the entire start-to-finish process, including researching opportunities, analysing revenue forecasts and the qualities that are required in a potential franchisee. The book also gives great insights on how to quickly make money from your new franchise as well as laying out the author’s five keys to long-term success.

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Franchise Vision

By David Busker

A combination of inspiration and down and dirty real-life advice, David Busker’s book is not only a great guide to buying and running a franchise, but it’s a pretty darn honest one too.

Unlike a few of the guides out there, David is searingly honest when it comes to pointing out the pros – and the cons – of choosing to buy a franchise, along with some handy tips on overcoming the inevitable bumps in the road along the way.

Franchising Exposed

By Chris Gibson

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The first thing you need to know about Chris Gibson is that he’s got a solid decade of global franchise experience under his belt. The second thing you need to know is that his book, Franchising Exposed, is a really entertaining read as well as a bible for the aspiring franchisee.

This book takes a laser targeted look at franchising from both sides of the fence in order to deliver a frank and helpful guide to deciding if franchising is right for you and, if so, what you need to do to succeed.

If you’re looking to get started with franchising, then this is just a small selection of books that will help you make informed decisions and make good choices. We realise that you may have a little time on your hands while you wait for your new book to be delivered and, so, in the meantime, the following tips will help start you on your journey:

“They all lived happily ever after –The future’s bright, the future is franchising!

I could stop here and say everything is wonderful in franchising, but that would be unprofessional. Franchising is not for everyone; some think it is a way of buying a job, with success a mere formality. Not everyone can make it happen, but for those who follow the system and work hard, a good concept can provide a great business”. Chris Gibson

If you’re looking to get started with franchising, then our guide to the top 10 must read books about franchising is just a small selection of books that will help you make informed decisions and make good choices. We realise that you may have a little time on your hands while you wait for your new book to be delivered and, so, in the meantime, the following tips will help start you on your journey:

Do your research – Time-consuming? Yes. Essential? Absolutely. Under no circumstances should you ever launch yourself into a franchise investment without first doing your research to find out what’s out there and what’s involved. Forearmed is forewarned.

Do your sums – Can you afford to buy a franchise? Bear in mind the fact that you’ll not only need the cash to buy in but, you’ll also need to be able to cover your living expenses while you get your business up and running. Before committing, you need to make sure that you can afford to do this either through savings or through funding such as a bank loan.

Location, location, location – Before deciding on a franchise, you need to do your market research to ensure that the location is right. You can do this by taking a walk around and asking a few questions: What are the competitors? What kind of footfall does the area get? and, What are the demographics of the area?

Attention to detail – Before signing on the dotted line, you must read the franchise agreement extremely carefully and, if possible, get a legal professional to take a look at it for you. It may not be sexy, but paying close attention to this can help you avoid any nasty surprises further down the line.

Owning a franchise can be a one-way ticket to fun and financial freedom – as long as you go into it with your eyes wide open. The key to success with franchising is to know all the facts before you even start out and, the books in this guide can help you to do just that. By doing your homework and making educated decisions, you can embark on a journey that might just set you for life – and provide the lifestyle that you’ve always dreamed of.

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