I want to let potential franchise buyers know that because a franchise is listed on a website under “franchises under $50,000” doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to get one of those franchises if you have $50,000 or less. This “less than $50,000″ amount is what we call the initial investment, which most of the time includes franchise fee.
You have to consider that you will have to pay the franchise fee, lease equipment, lease a building and will need working capital for about 6 months (all this applies for a retail location. It does not apply for a home based franchise). I think it’s pretty hypocritical to list a food franchise as a low cost franchise when in the end it will cost over $100,000. Franchisors tend to list their franchise opportunity in the “under $50,000″ section because this is the most visited page of franchise websites and they know that they will generate leads doing so.
But as I said, there are still many franchise opportunities under $50,000, most of them are home based (consulting, child related, etc…). As a potential franchisee, the number you want to look at is not the initial investment, but the total investment range. This information is always listed on my website when available.