Franchises For Sale:  Is a New Franchise or Resale Better?

When reviewing franchises for sale, you should compare buying an existing franchise with the merits of opening a new location. A franchise already in operation is often called a "resale,"rather than a sale.

Why buy a Resale Franchise?

1. An existing business franchise for sale often comes with an ESTABLISHED crew. Every franchise provides some amount of start up support for the new owner. When the startup support is gone, having access to help from the pre-existing crew can feel like a life saver. An established crew buys you time to evaluate the quality of their work while you develop your own skills. Over time, many franchise owners will grow their own leadership. But customers expect quality on day one of your ownership. How do you take over your startup business, deliver quality on day one, and allow yourself time to learn the business? The pre-existing crew is that transition support vehicle.

2. Existing franchises for sale come with CUSTOMER MOMENTUM. This may shave months or years off the time between your purchase and when you break even or make a profit. People already have your phone number. They don't have to do research to find you. They have "good will" as pre-existing customers. They refer additional customers your way. There is no way to understate the value of positive pre-existing value, or "good will".

3. An existing franchise for sale will not require you to spend months finding and negotiating for a new location for your business. You may benefit from taking over a lease with favorable pre-existing rental rates.

4. An existing small business franchise will already have PERMITS in place to allow your business to operate. Even if you find a great location at a good rental rate, you may have to spend months and thousands of dollars getting government approvals. For certain franchises, such as in the auto repair business, hazardous waste permits are difficult and expensive to obtain.

Why Buy and Open a New Franchise?

5. NEW franchises for sale do not require that you pay for pre-existing good will. That saves you money. In a new location you will install the latest "brand new" equipment. Of course, you will have to buy the equipment and facilities. These costs may or may not be already included in price to purchase the business.

6. Franchise Fees may be lower if you TRANSFER an existing franchise for sale. Some franchises charge you a transfer fee if you to buy the franchise for an existing location. This can be significantly lower than the cost of acquiring a franchise for a new location. Some franchises ask for the entire franchise fee again regardless of whether a location is to be a new or for a pre-existing business.  Check your franchise agreement to see how your situation might apply.

Below are some places you might look to investigate franchises for sale. To investigate new franchise location purchases, or to find out about franchises when you want to buy an existing one, take advange of this unrestricted directory: Click for: List of Franchises

For lists of existing franchises for sale, please check below. We update the list as we learn about new resources, so check beck to this page periodically for new listings resources.

The Independent Small Business Option

There are many compelling reasons to consider starting a small business as a franchise. Chief among them are risk reduction.  With a franchise you join an ongoing, already developed business with a known brand and often the power of a joint advertising program. As you may have heard,  "it is lonely at the top."  There are social and economic benefits to having peers to talk with about your feelings and challenges across the franchise chain.

While there are many benefits to joining a franchise, there is also the issue of "fit."   If you aren't willing to follow their system, there will be tremendous friction between yourself and the franchise organization. Many entrepreneurs want total freedom to experiment and tune their business plan.  Be careful to "know thyself" on this matter.   Be sure you are clear on the degree to which the franchise will want you or will force you to comply with their business format.

If you decide you prefer to "do it yourself", then the independent small business route is for you.   You may take longer to get momentum behind your business. However, if your plan connects with the market and you execute well, you will keep 100% of your profits and you will have the satisfaction of knowing you alone created your success.

There are many information resources to help entrepreneurs build a business plan and launch their own businesess.  One good resource is http://www.ms-small-businesses.com . This site has a wealth of information to help you in launching your small business.

Finding A Franchise Isn't Easy

There are over 2,500 franchises for sale to consider.

We have completed surveys to screen thousands of franchises over almost 10 years.  We choose to work with only a small percentage of these franchises helping you to quickly focus on the "best in class" franchises that match your unique profile. 

Reduce your risk while speeding up your search.

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Listings of Already Operating Franchises for Sale: (Resales)

BizBuySell High profile, national site associated with the Wall Street Journal

Business Nation - Small Business Center: Small business and startup information, resources for entrepreneurs, business articles and forms search engine, business and franchise opportunities, businesses for sale listings, business services, barters, expert advice, office and retail space rental directories, business and industry news, suggested business books, reviews and discussion forums

Business Broker.net Franchise Resale Listings Site offers a combination of franchise ad driven listings,but also has a separate area providing many resale franchise business listings

Businessesforsale.com International listings site with over 50,000 claimed active listings as of May 2009. Many franchise opportunities are visible through this site.

Franchises for Sale by Owners Classified listings site