Creative Franchise Financing in a Credit-Challenged World

You can be your own boss, own a franchise, and achieve your dreams for less than you think.

Part 1: The Business Loan: Your Capital, Collateral, and Your Credit Score

Part 2: Getting Creative – People want to help you succeed, so ask them.

Part 3: Let's Do the Numbers

Part 1: The Business Loan: Your Capital, Collateral, and Your Credit Score

The credit landscape isn't the lush place it used to be. Rather than an oasis, it's more like a desert. Since banks have tightened the purse strings, securing a business loan to buy a franchise takes a lot more work, and a lot more perseverance, to navigate the rough terrain. Preparation and creativity are essential.

If you want to finance your dream to be your own boss, you need to know three things: your capital, your collateral, and your credit score: read more

Part 2: Getting Creative – People want to help you succeed, so ask them.

Let's say you want to own a franchise – you may think that you have to dump all your own money into it. While accessing personal savings is an obvious source of business financing, entrepreneurs today are getting creative when it comes to achieving the dream of owning a business and growing an asset. (See Why Own a Franchise.)

Here are some examples of how you can cut down start-up costs and get into business now. read more

Part 3: Let's Do the Numbers

You want to be your own boss, you have lined up some of the money needed to start up a franchise, now it's time to run the rest of the numbers.

In this example, the franchisor's estimated start-up costs are $200,000. The entrepreneur (you) has $50,000 in savings and is seeking $150,000 in additional financing. read more