I ask this question re: franchises as a acquistion choice because I had never considered it as an option until very recently. I re-evaluated my search criteria this past summer and decided to do a very tight geographic search and find a company that allowed me maximum flexiblity to spend with my family. It also became more important to me to acquire a company I could grow and run for the long term and only sell if I decided to. Once I decided what was really important to me, all of sudden a franchise seemed worth a look.