Multiple unit franchising has the most risk but offers the most reward. In my experience, owning multiple franchise units allows you to harness the true power of franchising. The franchisees I see who are the most successful are all multi-unit owners. Substantial investment is required in order to purchase multiple units and should not be considered unless you have sufficient capital. But owning one franchise unit of system is unlikely to ever make you wealthy…

This past week I had the opportunity to participate in the 43rd Annual Franchise Forum. As only one of two Iowa lawyers participating in this year’s Forum, it was an all virtual event for the first time in its history. The Forum is essentially the franchise lawyer bar association meeting. Every time I participate I love hearing the insights from other franchise lawyers across the country. Again this year, I was reminded of the stark…

There are no little things. Corporations and limited liability companies in the State of Iowa are required to appoint a registered agent and office within Iowa to receive service of process. We are able serve as your business entity’s Iowa designee to accept official documents on your behalf such as original notices for lawsuits and communications from various Iowa state agencies. If your business is a corporation or LLC, we also provide services to file…

Recently I reviewed a franchise offering for a prospective franchisee. This particular franchise made financial performance representations in Item 19 of the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). The financial performance representations revealed some impressive numbers at first glance. After all, the highest performing franchisee was earning in excess of million dollars per year. And the “average” franchisee revenue was nearly $700,000 per year. The problem? Only three franchisees in the system were earning the average revenue…

As a lawyer representing both franchisors and franchisees I have somewhat of an unique perspective on franchisor / franchisee relationships. Most franchise lawyers tend to represent one side or the other. But it is somewhat rare for a franchise lawyer to represent both sides. I have spent over two decades now reviewing franchise agreements. I started out representing primarily franchisees, but as my law practice evolved, I turned to representing franchisors in developing their franchise…

I recently formed a corporation and within a short time I received a flyer in the mail from a company operating as IA Certificate Service. The flyer (see a similar one from a Mississippi article) explained that the next step for me after filing my Articles of Incorporation was to obtain my Certificate of Existence (the fine print did state this was optional but the language of the flyer would lead most unsuspecting…

This is the final post in a series of posts on the Secret Sauce of Franchise Investing based upon an excellent article I read some time ago on what private equity likes to see before investing in a franchise. In this post I am highlighting the eighth ingredient which is whether the franchise has a runway for future growth. Franchise investors will want to see whether there are enough open territories for expansion. Often,…