The Best Franchise Brands for...
While the resources we outlined in the previous chapter will help align a franchise to your needs, you’ll also want to know what others think of that franchise. If your ideal franchise is #999 on a list of the 1,000 most successful franchises, you might consider expanding your search. This chapter is for just that — we want you to know some of the best brands for overall success, lowest costs, veterans, and more.
Determining the Best Franchise Brands For…
As we covered last chapter, there are a lot of resources to help narrow down which franchise brands are right for your goals, requirements, and situation.
For this chapter, we’re going to rely on Entrepreneur’s 2021 Franchise 500 Ranking. Entrepreneur uses several factors to determine the annual list of top franchises: costs and fees (including total investment and royalties); size and growth (growth rate, closure rate, number of operating units); support (training, marketing and operational); brand strength (system size, social media presence, number of years in business); and the financial strength and stability of each brand, as measured by the franchisor’s audited financial statements.
All that said, Entrepreneur makes a very valid point: this list should not exclusively determine which franchise you choose to move forward with. As always, be sure to do your own research, as each individual situation is different.
The Best Franchise Brands:
| Rank | Franchise | Initial Investment |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Taco Bell | $576k – $3.4M |
| #2 | Dunkin' Donuts | $438K – $1.8M |
| #3 | The UPS Store | $185K – $474K |
| #4 | Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen | $384K – $3.5M |
| #5 | Culver's | $2.4M - $5.4M |
| #6 | Kumon Math & Reading Centers | $64K – $140K |
| #7 | Jersey Mike's Subs | $145K - $786K |
| #8 | Planet Fitness | $937K - $4.6M |
| #9 | 7-Eleven | $70K - $1.2M | #10 | Servpro | $192K - $246K |
While these are the top franchise brands in the world, most of the clients we work with that are new to the franchise world typically land on a franchise in the $300K-$600K range. That’s not to say you can’t jump right into owning a Taco Bell or Culver’s, it’s just those franchises are usually owned by someone who has been working in those industries for quite some time.
The Best Low-Cost Franchises
We’ll once again rely on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list, but this time we’ll only look at brands with an initial investment range that begins lower than $100k. In the world of franchising, that’s pretty low.
| Rank | Franchise | Initial Investment |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | RE/MAX, LLC | $38K - $224K |
| #2 | Kumon Math & Reading Centers | $70K - $141K |
| #3 | Mosquito Joe | $67K - $123K |
| #4 | Merry Maids | $87K - $124K |
| #5 | The Maids | $76K - $164K |
| #6 | Jan-Pro Franchising International | $4K - $51K |
| #7 | Matco Tools | $91K - $270K |
| #8 | Right at Home | $78K – 138K |
| #9 | HomeVestors of America | $44K - $347K |
| #10 | Baskin-Robbins | $94K - $402K |
- Franchise fee – your one-time fee to the franchise in return for using their brand, business model, etc.
- Training – any cost you will incur while you learn all about your new franchise, including travel expenses and the cost of the training itself
- Leasehold Improvements – costs associated with any necessary improvements to the physical location of your franchise
- Real estate – the cost of procuring your physical location. Not all FDDs include this, as real estate prices are constantly fluctuating and not all franchises require a physical location
- Equipment – If your franchise is one that requires equipment (a gym, for example), this section will lay out the costs
- Professional fees – the costs of professional services, which may include a CPA, lawyer and actually creating your business entity.
- Marketing – any costs that cover the marketing of your new location
- Additional funds – the working capital you will need for the time period between opening your doors and making a profit. Typically, the FDD specifies a 3-month timeframe.
The Best Franchises for Veterans
It’s common knowledge within the franchise industry that veterans tend to make excellent franchisees: they have excellent leadership and teamwork training and the ability to follow a pre-determined set of rules. In an effort to aid our country’s retired military members, and lure these excellent business owners to their brands, many franchisors offer veteran discounts.
Once again, we turn to that behemoth of business knowledge, Entrepreneur, for our list. They’ve created a list of 100 of the best franchises for veterans based on the discounts and services offered to the veterans in question, and ranked by the Franchise 500 list. 100 is a lot, so we’ll cover the top 10 and you can check out the other 90 here.
| Rank | Franchise | Initial Investment | Veteran Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Anytime Fitness | $89K - $678K | 20% off the franchise fee |
| #2 | Subway | $147K - $321K | Waives franchise fee if the franchise is located on a military or government property; 50% off if not on civilian property, and if the veteran is receiving government financing |
| #3 | Super Cuts | $144K - $297K | $2,500 rebate on the franchise fee of the first location |
| #4 | 7-Eleven | $38K - $1.1M | 10 – 20% off the franchise fee and special financing options |
| #5 | Dunkin' Donuts | $229K – $1.7M | 20% off franchise fee for the first five locations |
| #6 | Jan-Pro Franchising International | $4K - $51K | Up to 20% off franchise fee |
| #7 | Hardee's | $1.4M - $1.9M | 10% off franchise fee |
| #8 | The UPS Store | $178K - $403K | $10K off the franchise fee and 50% off the application fee |
| #9 | Cruise Planners | $2.K - $23K | $1K off of franchise fee and $500 marketing credit, free training for a second individual and three months of webhosting |
| #10 | GNC Franchising | $191K - $321K | 50% off franchise fee for the first location |
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