Last week, someone asked me a question that made me smile:

“Is training really that big of a deal?”

Short answer?

Yes.

Longer answer?

Let’s talk about why.

 The FTC regulates all franchise systems to make sure that they are following all areas of compliance.

Someone asked me this last week over coffee:

“Do I have to already know the business before I can own the franchise?”

And honestly? It’s a great question.

Because it’s easy to assume you need years of experience, a certain degree, or a résumé that screams expert.

But here’s the good news:

Not always.

An FDD is a 23-item document to disclose the candidate of all the things about the franchisor including franchise fees, royalties, performance of the franchises in the system, and a number of other things that ultimately help the franchisee decide if it's a good decision to work with this franchisor or not.

There’s a moment.

Usually, it happens after a really good week. Or maybe after your third conversation with someone who says,
“Okay, but seriously… how are you doing this?”

And you start to wonder:

Is this something other people could do too?

 The FTC franchise rule states that a franchisor has to deliver a franchise disclosure document to the franchise candidate 14 days prior to signing.

A few weeks ago, someone asked me:

“What exactly is a Discovery Day?”

I smiled, because I love this part.

It’s one of the few days in franchising that still feels a little magical. Like pulling back the curtain and showing people what it’s really like behind the scenes.

 Corporate owned simply means that the franchisor themselves also owns franchise locations.

The other day, over coffee and my very crumbly blueberry muffin, someone asked:

“Is there such a thing as growing too quickly?”

Short answer? Yes.

Longer answer? Let’s talk franchising.

When you're building a franchise, there's a lot of excitement. People are calling. Interest is building. You're thinking of the cities you’ll be in next year — maybe the whole country.

It feels so good.

But sometimes… growth shows up before you're ready.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about all the different ways people start businesses.

Some people dream something up from scratch. Others take over a family shop. And then, there’s franchising.

But what is franchising, really?

Let’s break it down.