COVID-19 Considerations for Prospective Franchisees

As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to impact virtually every aspect of our daily lives, it’s inevitably affecting our personal, business and economic activities. While the duration and full economic impact of the current pandemic remains undetermined, if you are considering, or are already in the process of investing in a specific franchise, you might be concerned about how to proceed.

Speculation on how long it will take for this crisis to pass may be enough to have you second guessing your investment decisions. Regardless of how far along you are on the path to buying a franchise, there are several things to keep in mind.

If you’re ready to take the official first steps to owning a franchise, it can take a minimum of three months or longer to complete a franchise transaction. A prospective franchisee could extend that time by conducting more thorough due diligence research and monitoring the state of individual franchisee performance by contacting various franchisees. If you need to lengthen that timeframe, some franchisors would most likely honor your request to do so.

If your financial condition has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 situation, for example your investment portfolio is down due to the market cratering, a franchisor might be willing to reserve a franchise for a period of time or reasonable deposit, while some franchisors might be willing to finance the initial franchise fee.

Eventually, the COVID-19 crisis will end and day-to-day life will resume as normal, or at least close to normal. In the meantime, prospective franchisees can remain objective by keeping abreast of the COVID-19 situation from credible news sources.

For information and advice regarding COVID-19 visit:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html