Average Customer Review: ( 15 customer reviews )
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28 of 29 found the following review helpful:
They'll hate you for reading this. Sep 11, 1998
This book is about the business of selling franchises. It's about how the franchise sellors make money by selling, and by collecting fees, from the work of others. It shows you how they support this money machine with minimal risk to themselves and maximum risk to you. All they want to do is collect your money and have you either go away, be hog tied by their contracts, or be shut up by their laywers. It is not about how this industry is set up for your benefit. I bought this book because I was thinking of getting involved a franchise. I had reasonable amount of money to spend and they all seemed to love me. At least untill I started using the information in this book. Somehow they all drifted off. Alas! Alack! Was it something I said? More like the things I wanted to know first. This book will teach you how to protect yourself before you invest. It highlights the hidden holes in contracts, informs you about the one sided (not yours) legal system of franchising, and bluntly points out how you're on your own. I'll bet you didn't even know that they're not required to give you information on failure rates, or, how they're calculated. Ask them the hard questions contained in this book. If you get good answers to your questions, and they're still around after you get them, find me.
25 of 26 found the following review helpful:
Truly outstanding Jul 05, 2002
By Ari Good
"Ari Good"
The most intelligent and well reasoned business book I have read in a long time. As an aspiring entrepreneur, and like many others, I considered purchasing a franchise as one possible route to business ownership. Not having owned a business previously, I figured this could be a lower risk way to learn about business through the benefit of a pre-existing, "proven" business method. For the price of the franchise, I would enjoy a symbiotic, cooperative relationship with the franchisor, for a cut of my revenues in exchange. In short, I was prepared to buy into the franchise fraud. Robert Purvin knows his subject. He spent the better part of his career as an attorney representing franchisors. With so colorful a title, I was expecting a rant against franchises in the broad language of most business books. I was pleasantly surprised. Mr. Purvin, in summary, details the many ways in which franchisors, well with the law as it currently exists, target and bleed their middle class franchisees. With citation to court cases, government publications, and other authoritative material, the autor picks apart the myth that "95% of franchises are successful". He details the powerful legal and contractual methods through which many franchisors, far from helping and coaching their franchisees, use franchisees' capital to test unproven markets, saturate existing ones and take over the cream of the crop. Not wanting a single book to shape my opinion, I confirmed with actual franchisees their opinion of the industry. Their complaints read like a checklist from the book. Needless to say, purchasing a franchise has sunk to the lower rungs of my list of opportunities. Don't get ripped off. Buy this book.
8 of 9 found the following review helpful:
A " MUST BUY" if you are thinking of a franchise. Apr 22, 1998
By G. H. Goodwin
This book delivers all that is promised on the cover. Mr. Purvis is the devil's advocate for franchising. Written in clear, standard english, this book will open the eyes of anyone who has touched the franchise sales frenzy currently in vogue. Read the publishers notes/review that are available in this database. THEN BUY THIS BOOK. If you decide you don't need it; "Caveat Emptor".
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
The dark side of franchising revealed May 27, 2007
By ShadeTreeMechanic
I am researching some business opportunities, including franchising. I was put off by some of the terms of the franchise agreements that I had reviewed, and so ordered some books on the subject. "The Franchise Fraud" is a must read for anyone considering "renting" (you don't buy a franchise, they all have a limited term). Mr. Purvin exposes many of the traps and pitfalls that can befall a franchisee when they don't understand what they are getting into. He also debunks many of the rosy statistics about success rates quoted by franchisors. In many cases, the franchise company holds all of the cards, and the franchisee has very few rights under the typical franchising contract.
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Good Investment Oct 23, 2001
By Tito Velasco
This book identified the qualities of a good franchise. This is a must read -- it is worth the investment in time and money!
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