THE BUYER'S SIDE OF THE TABLE
Buying a franchise?
Read the fine print first.
Teardowns of famous franchise brands, the real costs and exit rates, and who gets paid when you sign. Written for buyers, paid for by nobody on the selling side.
THIS WEEK
THE MONEY TRAIL
🕵️
BUYER BEWARE: Franchise Rankings Are Paid Placements
We pulled the rate cards behind the franchise rankings and review sites. The results explain a lot.
9 min
TEARDOWNS
🏆
We Read 18 Franchise Disclosure Documents. Here Is the One I'd Buy...
We take no money from franchisors, so our top pick is bought by nobody. After the fine print on 18 famous franchises, one stood clearly above the rest.
8 min
FREE CHECKLIST
Franchise Red Flags
21 warning signs hiding in their FDDs, and how to spot them.
Our checklist shows you right where each flag lives (Item 8 supplier rebates, the optional Item 19, Item 20 closure laundering, Item 17 non-competes and termination traps, territory carve-outs), what the innocent-looking language actually says, and what it costs when it goes wrong.
You're on the list. Open the Franchise Red Flags checklist here.
RED FLAGS
⚠️
Mixue Franchise USA: The Real Cost, and Why You Can't Legally Buy One Yet
The world's biggest chain has US stores now, but no franchise you can legally buy. Here is what the $10,000 offer online does not tell you.
11 min
TEARDOWNS
🐔
Chick-fil-A Costs $10K and Subway Costs $230K. Neither Number Means What You Think.
The two most-googled franchise price tags, decoded from the actual disclosure documents.
8 min
THE MONEY TRAIL
🤝
Your 'Free' Franchise Consultant Earns $20,000 If You Sign
How the free-advice machine really gets paid, and the one question that breaks the script.
9 min
REAL NUMBERS
📉
The Franchise With a 20% Loan Default Rate Its Brochure Never Mentions
What government lending data says that the sales deck doesn't. We pulled the SBA's own loan file to check.
9 min
THE EXIT FILES
🚪
Getting Out Is Harder Than Getting In
Transfer fees, approval rights, and the fine print that decides whether you can ever sell.
9 min
BUYER TOOLBOX
📞
The Validation Call Script Franchisors Hope You Never Use
Item 20 hands you every owner's phone number, including the ones who left. Here is exactly what to ask them.
9 min