Has anyone bought into a franchise?

Ok, so I’m trying to get my English teaching business together, but it’s going so slowly.

So I looked into a burger chain that is quite popular here and very delicious (Burger House). I mean they are the best burgers I’ve ever tasted. I thought why not and apply to start one up.

I live in an area where restaurants are not really easy to find. You have to go into the city for the good places. I’ve always been griping about the lack of restaurants in the area.

5 guys is coming soon here (in the city). That would be competition for them. This chain, Burger House, is quite successful here. I emailed them my ideas. I have a degree in restaurant management, and worked in them for 10 years, so I’m familiar with what needs to be done.

My only concern is the financial aspect. They said they would help with the financing from the bank, but the numbers scared me. Like I fell on the floor scared, lol. It seems like such a big risk.

So my question is has anyone this? Bought into a franchise?

ETA: Burgers are a big food trend here. They tend to get things late here.

Message edited 8/17/2018 8:00:52 AM.

Re: Has anyone bought into a franchise?

We looked into a few but ultimately decided it wasnt for us.

Do you have any serious restaurant experience under your belt? Both back and front of the house? Obviously not a requirement but being in the restaurant biz-franchise or not-is one of the most challenging businesses out there.

Re: Has anyone bought into a franchise?

Message edited 8/17/2018 9:25:59 AM.

Re: Has anyone bought into a franchise?

I owned a franchise. Be prepared for it to become your entire life. It absolutely was not for me as I had three young children at the time but as with my franchise, your busiest times will be the weekends. You will get to spend very little time with your SO if he has a Mon-Fri job. It's tough and the financial aspect is overwhelming. You have to make a lot of money to stay above water considering X% comes off the top as a franchise royalty right away. Also, I HATED dealing with the public and with my crap, going no where, employees. That's just my 2 cents. Not to scare you but it was horrible for me.

Re: Has anyone bought into a franchise?

I have looked into it and the franchise route is very scary. You have to adhere to all of the rules of the franchise and usually the royalties are a significant portion of the income.

Not to scare you but my rule is not to invest more money than I am willing to lose and borrowing money for this type of business worries me too. If you had the cash to buy the business...that would be a different story

Have you considered starting your own burger place? Especially since you have restaurant experience.