If you are truly serious about taking over/buying out the local Dairy Queen franchise...I would suggest working there first. You don't have to work full time...maybe 2 days a week. After a couple of months, you'll get the inside scoop. You will know what sales are, you will know who the good workers are, who the slackers are....
You will also get a better handle on if it is as profitable as what you think it is.
The amount of money needed for Dairy Queen franchise is going to be rather substantial...it is going to be in the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars ($700k), potentially even more than that (up to $1.5MM).
In order to take over a franchise, you WILL have to work in the business. You will also have to get approval from the franchisor. You will also have to go through specialized training at corporate HQ.
You are going to have to pay the franchisor a substantial transfer fee, which appears to be $35k.
The royalty fee is fairly low at 4%, but there is a 5% to 6% mandatory marketing fee too. So you will give up 9% or 10% right off the top.
Another thought....if the DQ franchise is poorly run, it might have "negative" goodwill associated with it that is going to take a lot to overcome. Depending on how bad the negative feelings are, might it not be easier to simply open up a competing shop and run them under?
Thank you, it sounds like you've got some good experience (or know-how) in this area. Have you owned a franchise in the past?
I'm not sure how bad the negative feelings are since I don't live in that city nor have I been there in a long time (for obvious reasons). I have almost no expertise operating a franchise or shop so it's probably best that I don't pursue this idea, but that doesn't stop me from thinking about it.
Off the DQ topic, has anyone built a mini-Berkshire of small businesses?