International Franchise Association (IFA)
First and foremost, you should visit International Franchise Association (IFA)’s website – Franchise.org. The site contains wealth of resources aimed for franchisors, franchisees, suppliers and investors who look to network, share information and form a partnership.
For franchisors, IFA can help in providing resources that can help them better their franchise business. The resources may include list of certified suppliers, events to attend, webinars and educational resources. As IFA members, franchisors can list their franchise opportunities on-site.
For franchisees and investors, IFA offers a list of franchise to help them decide which franchises to invest in (there are more than 1,200 franchise opportunities listed.) Moreover, IFA helps them to find the right franchise and connect with the right franchise consultants, as well as providing educational resources.
For suppliers, IFA can help them to find potential buyers, hopefully for a long term partnership. The annual membership is not cheap, but well worth it.
If you are interested in a local, non-US franchise, please consult your local franchise association for better-detailed information.
What if I want something more than the ordinary?
If you feel that the information provided by IFA doesn’t satisfy your curiosity and need for more “unofficial” information, you might want to visit two sites: UnhappyFranchisee.com and RipoffReport.com.
UnhappyFranchisee.com
UnhappyFranchisee.com contains news and updates on, as the name implies, unhappy franchisees. The content is mainly provided by the franchisees and ex-franchisees themselves, telling their story and experience as franchisees of a certain franchisors. The stories are consisting of chronological stories, explanatory stories and rants.
The blog also search the web for complaints, clarifications and press releases on related franchises. It is also offering a chance for the franchisors to clarify things and regain their reputation back.
RipoffReport.com
Ripoff Report is a similar site to UnhappyFranchisee.com, but it is a much bigger in scale (thousands of visitors every day) for one reason: It contains customer voices from those who feel wronged and scammed by individuals and businesses, including franchise units.
Ripoff Report also offer a chance for the individuals, employees (quite possibly the PR persons) or business owners to post clarifications. I have followed some scam reports and a few complaints did end well with a clarification, while most don’t.
The news and reports found on both sites can help you to see the problems lingering a certain franchise opportunity you are interested to invest in – To give you an idea or two to help you decide whether to go for it or just move on.
Be warned though, the information provided for both sites are questionable in nature, as they are not certified and proven to be legitimate.
Do you have any sites to recommend? Please share yours by commenting below.
Ivan Widjaya
Franchise opportunity investigation
Image by lilinhah.
