The DARK side of franchising exposed: Free Franchise Buyers *Survival* Guide reveals a lot of the dirty tricks in every day use by many, even some big name franchises.

Looking for a franchise?  Be VERY careful! All is not what it seems in the world of franchising. Most of what  newcomers  think they know about this industry is at best a half truth, and in some cases a lie! Take the failure rate for starters!

Or as one high court judge said in reviewing the industry:  ”manufactured imperfect information”  Almost of what you will read is written by people who make money when you buy a franchise, so you cannot trust what they say.

Welcome to one of the few sites that does not make money when you buy! Here we distill what government agencies,  and those they appoint such as government funded researchers  and high court judges conclude. And the answers will shock you!

For sure there are good franchises. But they are a LOT harder to find than you may think!

Welcome to my site. I am a serial businessman and also a serial franchisee, of both good and bad franchises  and I have met and discussed with many franchisees, including the many living dead, who cannot get on, and cannot get out. Nor are they allowed to speak! – So I shall speak for them.

I am angry, and not going to stay quiet any more. I am tired of playing agony aunt to far too many franchisees caught in a desparate trap. They cannot get out, and they cannot earn money, or even earn a living wage. They are trapped by some of the franchising myths.

First be aware of the myths and the dark side. You are seaching in a minefield, so you had better learn how to recognise mines!

Read any franchise publication, and you could be excused for thinking that franchising was a “safe” way into business, and it was just a matter of choosing the right franchise for you and your budget.

NOTHING could be further from the truth. Let us start with the word “safe”. No business is safe. Research statistics conducted by goverment backed researchers show that 75% of FRANCHISORS fail in the first ten years. taking all hands with them! Hardly safe!

Another bombshell: When you sign up for our 12 part guide “The Franchise Secret” you will see PROOF from Government statistics that franchises are much less safe, for new business starters than many claims made by the industry, on average they may be less safe even than starting out on your own.

And that is not the only thing this industry likes to hide. We reveal a lot more below:

For too many  people,  buying a franchise is a very expensive mistake they regret for the rest of their lives.  Worse still , they are TRAPPED.  They cannot get out. They cannot earn money, and you will be shocked to know MANY  are not even allowed to do anything else to pay the bills or put food on the table..

Worse still. Read the fine print of the agreement, and weasel clauses   mean they cannot escape, even if it does not earn a cent.

By the way – I agree. There ARE good franchises, Some: 

Just not NEARLY  as many as you might think
So let us explain the hidden franchise industry secrets, and see how that truth is well concealed.

Before choosing a franchise, or even deciding to look at a franchise at all, you MUST download our free guide so as a minimum you understand:

• The REAL failure rates. If you have read industry publications,  The answer will shock you, and make you question whether you choose a franchise at all! What is a failure anyway? We tell you why many failures are not even counted, and why the industry statistics are  misleading in the extreme.
• It is Even worse in the UK, where NOBODY measures true failure rates, because there is no regulation here, so you can be sure the situation is worse than in the US or Canada.
• See the Proof, on government websites,  and in respected  publications, but only if you know where to look.

Have you noticed the *deafening* silence of bad reviews, or negative comments on the internet? Do you want to know WHY you find almost no bad publicity anywhere for franchises, and how that can lull you into a false sense of security.

• We explain how the industry RUTHLESSLY shuts down negative comment,  leaving a whitewash which is an affront to free speech, in our opinion.
• Then discover the contractual TRICKS built into MOST franchise contracts that mean many franchise contracts are not even worth the paper they are written on for the franchisee. They offer no protection for franchisees at all.
• You may be shocked to know that some franchise contractse ven set franchisees up to fail. We explain both why and HOW thy do this
• Do you know why consumer protection law will not help you at all, and contract law is not much use either. There is no regulator in the UK.
• Discover why many even genuine testimonials may mean nothing, because of a piece of well known psychology. How can you tell which testimonials to read?
• Many testimonials and advertisemenst tell you more by what they DO NOT say. Do you know how to read them?  
• Find out why you will never hear about the franchises shutdown in the public interest by  government, or successful franchisees winning  in law: the  few who can afford to fight back, that is.
• The fact is the word franchise itself has power it does not deserve, and how that word can lull  people into  jobs they hate, that they would never dream of doing if not called a “franchise”.
• Even at best franchises have massive weaknesses as a business model. You need to understand what they are.
• Some even big name franchisess are bankrupting a lot of franchises: do you know where to loo for that information?

Now don’t get me wrong: There  ARE  good franchises. Some, that is.

Unlike MOST of those who sell franchises, or books on how to buy them, I have actually owned a number of franchises, and seen both the good and the bad side of the franchise model.  

I have also played agony aunt to too  many failing franchisees, who cannot get out , and cannot get on,  cannot speak out and cannot earn. They are gagged for years. Few  people realise  they even exist.

 Knowing how to identify good franchises  involves a process that NOBODY  is teaching elsewhere, certainly not on any of the websites , or in industry literature or popular books on the subject that I have seen.

Some  parts of this are taught  in top business schools for sure: but it is carefully not mentioned to new franchisees!

We reveal  questions that really show whether the franchise is working. Questions the franchise cannot evade.

So why should you trust US  instead of the industry?

The answer comes in three parts:

• Firstly, we are one of the ONLY  independent sites not owned or influenced by the franchise industry or vested interests . The rest make money when you buy something, so are they really going to tell tales that harm the industry? It is called a conflict of interests and MOST of the information you see is produced by such vested interests .
• We want to remain independent, so we will not take any industry money. If we recommend it , it is because we believe it! That way we are not gagged, or only telling half of the truth.
•  Also be warned thatfranchise associations are not independent at all and certainly not in any sense regulators. They are paid for by franchise members for marketing and PR, and so they are bound to say their franchises are somehow “better” than others.  Like any other salesman, take what they say with a big pinch of salt.
• Secondly – in addition to being impartial, and Unusually for franchise sellers, We have actually been franchisees, and seen the good the bad and the ugly, and also played agony aunt to many failing franchisees. Most of the owners of franchise  sales websites have never  been franchise owners. So how on earth whould they know what works?
• Finally here is the slamdunk!,   the “Franchise Secret” we provide serialized over a fortnight for free! Once you are confident that what we know is worth having, you can gain mimmediate access to the rest for a small chagre that helps to cover our costs. If we are not to take industr money we would appreciate a small contribution.So start downloading the guide now! what have you got to lose, other than save a big franchise fee if it stops  you getting  it wrong!! So read it and judge for yourself.

One of the major high street franchises is loved by the customers. It is a successful big company on paper, lauded by the industry and governments alike…..

 This franchise has actually BANKRUPTED many franchisees, you can see some of them online if you know where to look. (Just think it  could have been you!) . Yet not a ripple is felt  in the  media. 

Did you know this? Do you know which franchise it is?

Do you know where to look to find out?  It is online, but few people even know the site exists! Do you know the flaw in the franchise agreement that could have predicted this outcome?

When you sign up we tell you how to find this out and a whole lot more. The real franchise industry secrets. 
The first tens sections of our guide is FREE “the franchise secret” explains many of these dirty tricks. And once you have read that we will then explain how to analyze the franchise properlyu.

Remember that THIS   is the franchise you might have bought!

Knowing that information, you may well have cause to reconsider buying that franchise, and consider other alternatives instead.

And  when you understand  some of the things put there to trip you up,  do we offer you a PROPER way to analyze franchises instead. The Franchise Balance (TM)  – More of that later!!

[US  and non UK visitors? please note: Some of the information is  intended for a UK audience, whilst much of it is generally true, please be aware of the differences in for example the regulatory structure. In the UK there is none. But most of the guide is still relevant to you]