Have you / would you buy a franchise?

[Larry Flanagan]

I'm looking at an established business to buy for my wife to run.  It is an existing business (not real estate related) and nets about $5000/mo with limited owner involvement.  However I'm a bit of a libertarian and like all franchise agreements there are so many rules...

[Jim Shepard]

I have been in the Subway system for 25 years. It has been very good financially for us but you will have to follow the franchisor's rules.
Here's what I did before I bought my first store. I found a franchisee that I liked and made a deal with them. I worked a month for free and she taught me the business. This gave me the opportunity to see if I wanted to buy a franchise. You say "work for free? Are you nuts"? Think about it. Wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to give up a month than to go thru the hassles of buying a business only to find out you don't like it. Another benefit was the franchisee I worked for became my free consultant for a number of years.
Also go talk to multiple franchisees to see what they think of the biz. My .02