Starting or Acquiring Franchises - Please Share Your Thoughts / Experiences

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by a searcher from Rice University - Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business
in Austin, TX, USA

1h ago

Starting or Acquiring Franchises - Please Share Your Thoughts / Experiences

I am considering the Franchise route (either starting in available territories, or acquiring from an existing franchisee). If you have experience with either of these paths, please share your thoughts. Were you successful? Do you have any regrets? What would you change if you were to do it over again? Also, just like ETA, the number of available opportunities in franchising can become overwhelming. Please share your best methods for narrowing the focus. Did you reach out to franchise brokers? Or did you first identify your target franchises and go through the process with their corporate teams? Thank you, I appreciate all thoughts and responses.

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reply by a searcher 1h ago
from Villanova University in York, PA, USA

Commenting to learn more

reply by a lender 1h ago
from Cornell University in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Hi ^redacted‌ - nice to meet you. I'll stay in my lane (SBA financing) and give you two things that will save you time. Before you research any brand, check the SBA Franchise Directory on sba.gov. The SBA brought it back effective June 1, 2025. If the brand is not listed, getting an SBA loan for it ranges from slow to impossible. This one search will cut your overwhelming list down to brands you can actually finance. From a lending standpoint, buying from an existing franchisee is very different from opening a new territory. A resale has tax returns, so the bank lends against real cash flow. A new territory is a startup, so the bank lends against projections, which usually means more cash downredacted%). Regardless, we know lenders that can do franchise startups if that's what you've decided on. Decide which path fits your capital first, then narrow brands from there. We have a lot of experience financing various companies and even franchise startups via the SBA. If you ever need help reviewing a deal, I am happy to help. We work with all the major SBA lenders. The bank pays us after your loan closes, so this is a 100% free service for you. You can email me directly at redacted or schedule a meeting with me: redacted. Look forward to chatting!