Like many Americans, you may have found your personal entrepreneurial dream by becoming a franchise owner. Whether you operate a restaurant, tanning facility, child care center or office administrative support service, you naturally have concerns that are unique to being a franchisee.
One of the biggest worries you probably face is negotiating a fair deal between your own franchise site and the larger company that oversees your contract. In the U.S., the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers has created a basic “Bill of Rights” that may help you better understand when you may need to stand up for your own business’s viability.
Basic relationship rights
Franchisors should perform their due diligence when it comes to ensuring their franchisees have the support and resources they need to thrive. At a basic level, franchise managers should make sure to provide:
- A reasonable path toward renewing the franchise
- Rights to reasonable representation by the franchisor
- Rights to initial training and ongoing employment support
- Rights to marketing and other commercial promotion support
Additionally, franchise owners should have the right to respond or otherwise object to operational changes that could impact local performance.
Rights to information
One of the primary benefits of operating a franchise is access to name recognition in an often competitive market. Franchisees should expect to have access to earning data, protections for trademarks and the right to competitively priced sourcing for needed inventory, supplies and services.
Franchisee benefits are not necessarily set in stone. That makes it important that franchise owners make sure to insist on receiving the resources and protections that may make or break their business.