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How will operating this franchise impact my personal life? Will my time be devoted to a seasonal business model? Will I have to work nights — and weekends? How will I effectively manage spending quality time with my spouse, family and friends and the demand of the business? Am I truly willing to invest the energy and capital necessary to launch the business?

How will I spend my days as a franchisee? Ask what a typical day would be like. What time should my day start? What’s the first thing I should do each day? How can I add value to my business even during my leisure hours, like by networking with potential trade alliance referral partners?

What is the franchise training system like? What do I need to do before I come for training? How long will it last? How is training delivered — classroom, e-learning, in the field? Avoid unexpected surprises by knowing the expectations of the training program.

Does the franchisor champion best practices? Make sure that the company you are investigating learns from its successes as well as its mistakes. Does the franchisor solicit the ideas of the franchise system in advisory councils and planning committees? Do they share best practices and key knowledge with the franchisees? And how do they do that? Is it a daily, weekly, monthly or annual communication?

How will the franchisor support me in my new business? What people are available to help me? What tools will I be provided with? Does the franchise system have a proven marketing system, and if so, does it provide you with an in-house marketing team for strategic and executional lead generation support?