I've read this whole tread, and i like it
maybe cause i'm in the food branch myself.
ATM we own (family) a good running steakhouse, €500K in sales a year
I've been researching food franchise a lot last year, so i might be helpful in this tread.
I've been interesting in opening a McD, KFC, BurgerK, Dominos, Subways
and i've have talked to all of them last year.
And i can tell you that Mcd requires ONLY 150K Euro in liquid cash (of your own), thatssssss it you'll be loaning the rest (550k-650k) (this is in europe obv)
But as somebody already stated, it isn't the goldmine like it was 10 years ago
And you will be working very hard for +/- 100k a year. But perhaps there is still a future in it, if you're smart and are willing to work hard the first 2/3 franchises you open. After that your managing skills will determine your success (you will basically have a company in a company)
But eventually i've rejected the offer, cause i liked KFC a bit better
they're basically looking for a "area developer". you need a lot more cash (+/-1.5M)
But for that you're given an area or a big city, which becomes your territorium, for example in my city all the KFC's (4) are owned by one person, who started only 4/5 years ago. he's prolly loaded in 5 more years
Too bad i don't have the 1.5M right now, but as soon i have them i know what to do with it.
As for now i'm in the final stage of opening DOMINO'S PIZZA (delivery)
Delivery is very booming in europe right now. And is expected to be in the future
I expect a nice ROI, cause initial investments where only €150k (only €50k from my own money)
and sales are projected to be something like 400-500K a year, i hope i can open up my second within 1.5 years, and retire in 10 years
wish me luck