McDonald’s Franchises

One of the hottest franchises to own today is a McDonald’s restaurant. Although it has been around a long time, the folk at Entrepreneur.com rank it as the second best in 2009.

Fortunately for franchise buyers, this means that there is gold in more places than just in the arches.

McDonald’s started growing in 1955 when it went from a single hamburger restaurant and then began expanding from there. Owned by two McDonald brothers at the time, a third man – a salesman named Ray Croc – came along, saw their ability to make shakes and hamburgers quickly, and encouraged its expansion and then became a partner.

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Every one today, of course, is familiar with the golden arches – even in 118 foreign countries. From 2005 until now, more and more stores with the arches have continued to spring up worldwide and prosper. In the US, Canada, and worldwide, the number of franchises opened each year has continued to rise – going from over 11,600 in 2005 to over 12, 100 in 2009. Franchises elsewhere have likewise increased.

The popularity of the McDonald’s chain provides an excellent opportunity to get involved in a franchise. With its proven program and products, McDonald’s restaurants could be started just about anywhere – and thrive. Or, an existing restaurant could be purchased.

In most cases, franchisees will purchase an existing restaurant. This enables the buyer to get started right away and jump into an already successful operation. The McDonald’s Corporation usually owns the property and rent is paid to them each month. A service fee of 4% of the total sales is also given to the franchisor.

The cost of getting started with a McDonald’s franchise will depend on whether you seek to start a new one or buy one already in operation. If you buy a new one, you will need to come up with 40% of the total cost. Buying an existing one will mean that you only need to have 25% of the cost. McDonald’s does not finance and the money must be from a non-borrowed personal source. Generally this figure will come to somewhere around $300,000.

The McDonald’s Corporation offers the potential to individuals to be able to own and operate more than one store. This enables expansion to take place and creates an open ended ceiling when it comes to wealth potential. They will require that you may need to move to a location where a McDonald’s franchise opportunity is being made available to a new franchisee.

You can learn more about this franchising opportunity by going to their McDonald’s franchise web site.

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