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A primer on the promises and perils of franchising.
Now in paper! It's big business, accounting for one-third of America's retail revenue. But franchising is still a risky propositionâ€Ãà ¢â‚¬Å¡ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬?at least for the franchisee. This resource exposes the frauds and abuses too many companies perpetrate on their franchiseesâ€Ãà ¢â‚¬Å¡ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬?everything from unfulfilled pledges of promotional support to oversaturating the market with outlets. It helps potential franchise owners avoid being victimized by explaining, in specific detail, what to look for, what questions to ask, and what agreements to make before signing a contract. Robert Purvin also reveals how to identify and take advantage of the worthwhile franchising opportunities available today.
ROBERT PURVIN, JR. (San Diego, California) is an attorney who is an expert on franchising and franchise law. He is Chairman of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers.
Customer Review: End the Power Imbalance Now!
If you are considering purchasing a franchise do yourself a massive favor and read this book. The author's main premise is that the contractual bargaining power between a typical franchisor/franchisee is heavily skewed towards the franchisor. This naturally results in a one sided contract in favor of franchisor. In response to this dramatic power imbalance the author urges franchisees to form a cohesive organization in order to countervail the IFA. This makes a lot of sense to me. Some franchisors are huge MNCs that quite frankly have the government and the law in their backpockets. Franchisees must fight back if they want to truly enjoy the rewards a just relationship can engender.
Customer Review: Truly outstanding
The most intelligent and well reasoned business book I have read in a long time. As an aspiring entrepreneur, and like many others, I considered purchasing a franchise as one possible route to business ownership. Not having owned a business previously, I figured this could be a lower risk way to learn about business through the benefit of a pre-existing, "proven" business method. For the price of the franchise, I would enjoy a symbiotic, cooperative relationship with the franchisor, for a cut of my revenues in exchange. In short, I was prepared to buy into the franchise fraud. Robert Purvin knows his subject. He spent the better part of his career as an attorney representing franchisors. With so colorful a title, I was expecting a rant against franchises in the broad language of most business books. I was pleasantly surprised. Mr. Purvin, in summary, details the many ways in which franchisors, well with the law as it currently exists, target and bleed their middle class franchisees. With citation to court cases, government publications, and other authoritative material, the autor picks apart the myth that "95% of franchises are successful". He details the powerful legal and contractual methods through which many franchisors, far from helping and coaching their franchisees, use franchisees' capital to test unproven markets, saturate existing ones and take over the cream of the crop. Not wanting a single book to shape my opinion, I confirmed with actual franchisees their opinion of the industry. Their complaints read like a checklist from the book. Needless to say, purchasing a franchise has sunk to the lower rungs of my list of opportunities. Don't get ripped off. Buy this book.


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