Free · The Franchise Buyer's Playbook
Everything I wish I'd known before I wrote the check.
I bought a franchise before I built the tool that reads the fine print. This is the plain-English guide I needed then: what the numbers mean, what the franchisor is legally required to tell you, and the order to do things in so nothing gets decided for you by a deadline.
Not sure where to start with a franchise?
Get our free Playbook — the 90-day checklist, cost worksheets, and location math the pros use, in plain English.
No spam. The Playbook, then occasional notes as you go. Unsubscribe anytime.
What's inside
The 90-day checklist
What to do, in order, from first franchisor call to signed agreement — including the two weeks the FTC gives you to actually read the FDD.
The cost worksheets
Item 7 is a range, not a number. Work out your real cost to open — build-out, working capital, and the months before the first dollar lands.
The location math
Rent is a top-three line in the model and the one most buyers sign without stress-testing. What occupancy you can carry, and what to negotiate first.
Reading Item 19 honestly
Averages, medians, top-quartile framing — how to tell what the typical unit earns from what the sales deck put in front of you.
The full fee stack
Royalty, brand fund, tech, and the recurring costs that don't show up in the pitch — and what they leave you at the bottom.
Questions to ask a franchisee
The conversations that decide the deal, and the exact things to ask before you write the check.
Who it's for
First-time buyers, people comparing two or three brands, and anyone who has just been handed an FDD and a deadline. If you have already read three FDDs cover to cover, this will be too basic — go straight to the brand library.
When you're ready for the actual numbers
The Playbook teaches you what to look for. Franchise Edge finds it for you — it reads a brand's FDD and returns the real cost to open, the disclosed Item 19 earnings, the full fee stack, a plain-English list of what to verify, and the franchisees to call before you sign.
Informational only — not legal, financial, or investment advice. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any franchisor. No spam: the Playbook, then occasional notes as you go — unsubscribe anytime.