According to a recent article in the Franchise Times, a group of Cell Phone Repair franchisees has sued the franchisor’s parent company alleging that it misled them into incurring substantial additional costs. As reported, the franchisees allege that the franchisor’s parent company—Assurant, which insures cell phones and other mobile devices—promised to send insured customers to their franchised outlets for covered repairs. However, after franchisees invested in preparing their stores to manage this additional volume, the plaintiffs allege that Assurant reversed course and decided to handle these covered repairs in-house.

Read More

Unlike most things, when you buy a franchise, you do not own it permanently. Sooner or later, your contractual relationship with the franchisor will come to an end. When this happens, you will be subject to various post-expiration contractual requirements, and, depending on the circumstances, you could potentially face other post-expiration risks as well.

Read More

Now that it has been a few years since colleges first started offering certificate and degree programs in franchising, we are seeing more graduates forego the job market and pursue franchise ownership. If you are a recent graduate—or if you are preparing to graduate after the upcoming spring semester—and are thinking about buying a franchise, there are some facts you need to know that you most likely didn’t learn in school.

Read More

When evaluating a franchise opportunity, one of the most important questions you need to ask yourself is, “Do I realistically think I will be able to earn a living?” Operating a franchise entails paying numerous expenses—including not only ordinary business expenses like wages and inventory but also royalty fees, advertising fund contributions and other franchisor-imposed costs. If you need to take out a loan to launch your franchise, this will add to your monthly costs (and your financial risk) as well.

Read More

If you are looking for information about buying a franchise online, you will find plenty of articles about the advantages of franchise ownership. But, you likely won’t find much about the disadvantages of buying a franchise. So, what are these disadvantages? Here is an overview of what prospective franchisees need to know.

Read More

If you are thinking about buying a franchise and trying to manage your upfront costs, you may be on the fence about hiring a franchise lawyer. You don’t want to pay for any services you don’t truly need, and you aren’t sure if hiring a lawyer to review the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and franchise agreement falls into this category.

Read More

The Franchise Times recently released its Top 500 for 2022. While the top of the list is still dominated by some of the world’s most well-known franchised brands (i.e., McDonald’s, 7-Eleven and KFC), the list also provides some key insights into the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on the franchise industry.

Read More

When buying a franchise, making informed decisions is critical for maximizing your chances of success. This is a multi-step process that starts with hiring an experienced Chicago franchise litigation attorney to guide you through the process.

Read More

While multi-unit opportunities have long been available in the franchise industry, they are becoming increasingly popular among first-time buyers. Buying multiple units increases upside potential, and many new franchisors promote multi-unit opportunities as a way to quickly increase their sales figures.

Read More

Buying a franchise requires careful consideration of a multitude of business, financial and legal factors. Prospective buyers need to make informed decisions that take all of these considerations into account. On the business side, location is a top priority (even for mobile franchises), and this is especially true when buying a franchise in a major city like Chicago.

Read More