NEW TO FRANCHISING AND NOT SURE WHERE TO START?
Before you spend three months on franchise lists, find the one question that’s actually blocking your decision. Five routes. Fifteen minutes. One action plan.
Written by Dan Lorenz, former Deloitte forensic accountant who grew and sold a franchise, then found $321,000 in costs omitted from the next one's FDD.
Free 13-page exercise. No pitch. You don’t need a brand picked or a decision to buy.
Maybe you’ve been at it for months and you’re still circling.
Either way, you’re staring at franchise lists, brand names you recognize, and advice that all says the same thing.
And the question that actually matters is nowhere on those lists.
Would I want to own this? What happens if I’m wrong?
You’re not stuck because you need more information. You’re stuck because five different questions are competing for your attention at the same time.
Until those questions are separated, more research usually creates more noise.
The Franchise Decision Diagnostic helps you find the earliest question you can’t answer confidently.
Then it gives you one useful next move.
That may be to continue researching, change the type of business you’re considering, wait, or decide franchising isn’t right for you.
All four are useful outcomes.
I grew and sold my first franchise.
After signing for a second, I discovered $321,000 in costs omitted from the Franchise Disclosure Document.
Not buried.
Omitted.
That experience changed how I evaluate franchise opportunities.
I spent years at Deloitte as a forensic accountant and strategy consultant before that. Finding what got left out of the numbers is what I do.
That's why this diagnostic starts with your situation, not a logo or a list of brands.
It's free to download. You don't pay me to use it.
That incentive is explained in plain English on the final page.
Use the diagnostic to find the question blocking your decision.
Then bring that question to a free Clarity Call if you want help deciding what it means.
Start at the top. Your first “no / not sure” is the route you take. Yes means a working answer, not certainty.
What ownership must change in an ordinary week. Build year vs long-term. The question to ask an owner about the schedule.
Task list: sales, recruiting, scheduling, service, money, customer issues. You / hire / need more info. What “manager-run” still leaves on your desk.
Open costs vs operate costs vs what the household needs. Time, money, location, family. Financing isn’t the same as safety.
Home service, appointments, B2B, care, restaurant/retail. First question for each. Liking the brand isn’t a filter.
Turn “is it profitable?” into a question someone can answer. Item 19, Item 7, owners, territory docs.
Constraint. Action. Source. Review date. What the answer would change.
Today / next / afterward. If the question’s still stuck, bring it to a 15-minute call. You don’t need the diagnostic finished.
You don’t need every route finished. You need the first one you can’t answer. That’s your next step.
Free 13-page exercise. Fifteen minutes. One action plan. No brand needed. No decision to buy required.
Dan Lorenz, former Deloitte forensic accountant. Grew and sold a franchise. Found $321,000 omitted from the next one's FDD.
PS. I wrote this so you can see how I think before you ever get on a call. Use it alone. If one question’s still stuck, there’s a 15-minute Clarity Call. That part’s optional. The diagnostic isn’t.