Franchisees Tell Their Stories Through Journalist Julie Bennett

NORTHBROOK, Ill. (Blue MauMau) - Journalist Julie Bennett takes time for Blue MauMau's community of franchisee investors to share stories of strange franchisors, hypnotic spells and surprises. Bennett is the author of newly released, The Franchise Times Guide to Selecting, Buying & Owning a Franchise, a book the community considers a top read for those searching for a franchise opportunity. (Click on the book to read the review and to buy it.) She has 15 years of experience writing about franchising as a once free-lance correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and a current journalist for the Franchise Times.

[Don Sniegowski] Many of the franchisees you profile in your book sound really interesting - or kind of quirky. I'm thinking of the woman who used to hold fish in her mouth during dolphin shows. Where do you find these people?

[Julie Bennett] To run a franchise, you have to be outgoing and able to promote yourself and your business. I've found that most franchisees are good storytellers, if you just give them a chance.

Whenever I do an interview, for the book or for Franchise Times or other publications, I always have a list of questions I want answered. But that's just for openers. I enjoy talking to franchisees and I guess that shows, because people really open up. I'm sure when they agreed to be interviewed, the couple in my book who run a Honey-Baked Ham franchise never expected to talk about their early jobs at theme parks. But once we got on the topic, the husband couldn't help himself - he just had to tell me about his wife and those fish.

The book also contains stories of a MAACO franchisee who staged a fake accident to draw attention to his business and a Midas franchisee who spent nights in his shop, sleeping on sheets of cardboard. As Dave Barry would say, you can't make this stuff up.

[Don] What's the strangest franchise concept you've heard of?

[Julie] In the late 1990's I found a downsized mortgage banker in California who said he had "a franchise epiphany" while watching the scene in "Pulp Fiction" where two characters had to clean up after a gruesome murder. He started Crime Scene Cleaners, Inc., a business that specializes in scrubbing down places after murders, suicides, biohazards and really nasty rodent infestations.

I interviewed a franchisee just back from cleaning up a suicide by shotgun - which, he said "was not as messy as a high-powered rifle." When I asked the franchisee about his personal life, he said the business actually helps him meet women. "Either they're freaked out or really intrigued," he said.

You probably noticed that I didn't include any names. When I called Crime Scene Cleaners, Inc.'s toll free number today, the person who answered the phone said the company's "at a standstill" and is not hiring employees or selling more franchises. Which proves yet again that people interested in franchising should stick with proven - and less gory - concepts.

[Don] Was there anything as you wrote the book about franchising that even you found surprising? What was it?

[Julie] Until I researched the chapter on attorneys, I had always believed franchisors who said, "There's no reason to try to negotiate our Franchise Agreement, because we never change it."

I was surprised by the number of changes savvy franchisee attorneys can make to agreements. For example:

Early out rights. When you sign a franchise agreement, you agree to pay the franchisor royalties for the duration of your contract, even if you're no longer in business. Although it seems absurd, franchisors actually win lawsuits on this issue. A good franchisee lawyer can often convince even the largest franchisors to change contract clauses and allow you to stop paying royalties if you exit the system early.

Renewal terms. Franchise contract renewals can be a killer - royalties and ad fees may be higher and your territory smaller. The attorneys I interviewed said that the best time to negotiate terms for your contract renewal is before you sign your original franchise agreement. I'd never thought of that.

[Don] You tell a story about a time that you participated in a franchisor's Discovery Day, a day in which prospective franchise buyers go to the head office to be sold on the concept. And by the end of the day you found yourself ready to buy the franchise yourself. Did they cast a spell on you with a hypnotic glance? Why did you find it so easy to want to buy a franchise right there and then?

[Julie] I'd chosen Cousin's Subs in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, for a column on Discovery Days almost at random, which makes my seduction even more frightening.

For starters, the day was beautifully organized - the two real franchise seekers and I were led into a conference room where printed placards marked our seats and folders waited that included the day's agenda and information sheets about each person we'd meet. Those people - from the franchisor's real estate, marketing, purchasing and finance departments - were so upbeat and friendly I started wishing I could spend more time with them. The franchisees whose restaurants we visited were even more cheerful, and the subs they fed us for lunch were delicious. The Cousin's staff seemed so attuned to my needs that the moment I felt a little tired, someone walked in with a tray of cookies and Diet Cokes. By the time they handed me a bag of subs and cookies for the drive home, I was convinced that Cousin's was the best franchise on the planet and that I should give up writing and open one myself.

Later I discovered that every minute of the eight hours I spent at Cousin's headquarters - and every moment any prospective franchisee spends at a Discovery Day - is carefully choreographed to have that impact. Staff members are always friendly and helpful, the franchisees you meet are extremely satisfied (or you wouldn't be meeting them) and even snack breaks are designed to keep you alert for the next speaker. The only part of the spell that was real were the sandwiches. They were really very good.

My book includes a list of rules to keep others from being seduced by Discovery Days. Rule Number One is - leave your checkbook at home.