Q. Do I need previous experience in business to buy a franchise?

Answered by Matthew O'Neil, Franchise Sales Director of Snack-in-the-Box and Dinky Deli

A: In short the answer is no. A good franchisor should provide you with all of the necessary tools to make your business a success. The whole essence of good and ethical franchising is that the franchisor teaches and trains the franchisee in all aspects of running the business. A good franchisor will also cover the basics, such as VAT, how to run your accounts and how to deal with people on a daily basis.

When buying a franchise, make sure that the franchisor's support doesn't end the week after your head office training. You want to be confident that they will provide ongoing support after the initial training period, but most importantly that this will continue throughout the launch of the business and during the whole term of your franchise.

Never forget that franchising is a two-way partnership. So your franchisor will be looking for you to provide something too. They will want you to have enthusiasm for the project, the motivation to get up and make your business work and stick-ability. All new business owners have to go through the pain of a learning curve, but your franchisor should be there to help you and soften the experience.

Finally, your franchisor won't want you to try and re-invent the wheel - after all that is the reason why you are buying a franchise in the first place. However, they will want you to follow their recipe for success. It's a bit like baking a cake. If you follow the recipe from the Master Chef, the cake will turn out to be fabulous. If you decide that you know better and leave out a few of the ingredients or add some of your own, you can only expect the cake to be a disaster.

Read more about Dinky Deli on page 33, and Snack-in-the-Box on page 36.

Q. What are the advantages of investing in a franchise over starting a business by yourself?

Answered by Dorian Gonsalves, Sales Director of Belvoir Lettings

A: Franchising has many, many facets: a wealth of shared experience that a new franchise owner can freely tap into, it's almost like having 130 of your best competitors ready and willing to share their secrets with you! Also, an incredible amount of entrepreneurial and professional skill within a group of like minded individuals, a tried and tested proven successful model - why make the mistakes yourself when you can learn from someone else who already owns and operates a successful business, so that you are free to focus purely upon growing your business?

And finally, the majority of business (non-franchised) start ups fail within the first few years, and yet over 95 per cent of franchises succeed...franchising speaks for itself! If you are serious about starting a business, the facts speak for themselves.

Read more about Belvoir Lettings on page 2.

Q. How soon can I expect to make my money back with a franchise?

Answered by Tony Williams, Managing Director of Countrywide Signs

A: As an ethical franchise, Countrywide Signs always advises prospective franchisees about initial and ongoing overheads that are in addition to the franchise fee - from day one. We believe it is essential that prospective franchisees cater for start up costs, such as office equipment, initial stock, legal fees, insurance and working capital - and say so in our full disclosure documentation.

It is very important that franchisees manage their expectations appropriately and that prospective franchisees are aware of their financial commitments through cash flow projections and budgetary forecasts prior to starting their new business. At Countrywide Signs we recognise that franchisees have differing levels of ability and that in some cases the drive to rapidly develop a territory to three or four vans can result in extending the recovery time of their initial investment. However, franchisees should be able to recover their initial investment within 12 months provided that they stick to the Countrywide format and have the desire to succeed.

Read more about Countrywide Signs on page 54.