[kdub1777]

I am looking into starting a franchise and am debating between McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, and Taco Bell. I will be building from the ground up. I have been trying to find the necessary financial requirements for each restaurant, and the out of pocket cost it would take to build one of these franchises.

Has anyone owned/operated one of these franchises?
What are the out of pocket costs for each of these franchises?
Any good/bad experiences anybody would like to share with me?

Let's get the discussion rolling on these 4 franchises!

I will chime in as well as I find out more info and narrow down the choice.

[pcbres16]

Do some research in your area. What does the majority like the most out of all of the resturants? Be advised you are at the mercy of the corporation.

[brandon123]

I think Mickie D's is the top one. Especially if you plan on running a 24 hr one. I know when there is nothing else to eat on late nights, that is where most people go. The long late night lines are the proof! lol

[Matagascar]

Depends on the country you plan on operating the business and also the location. I would not open a Wendys over here in Australia. The required capital you need to invest is just over $250,000 and I heard it takes a few years to break-even, and also that the organisational structure for the franchise is terrible. However, that's just here in OZ.

[TylerBakerllc]

Average McDonald's franchise costs:

Total Investment: $655,750-$1,225,000
Initial Franchise Fee: $45,000
Royalty Fee: 12.5%+
Advertising Fee: N/A
Term of Agreement: 20 years
Renewal Fee: $45K

If you need more info for the other fast food chains, visit thefranchisemall.com and search for the respective company.

-Tyler

[TylerBakerllc]

But for the most exact figures, you should speak with those companies directly.

-Tyler

[carm777]

McDonalds won't even give you a second look unless you have exp an assload of money and a proven track record. Plus they pick your location for you. That would be something you would open up after you make some serious cash somewhere else

[buynick]

Consider that all of these lead to obesity in America. Consider doing the ethical and right thing and go for a franchise like the soup or salad franchise fast-food restaurants. I visited a cool one on Houston, TX last week called salada and it was great.

[buynick]

This is a great resource for researching your franchises:
Franchise Zone - Entrepreneur.com

[chuckmanley83]

You have to consider the area you're in and the competition. There are a lot of sites out there that you can check about franchise information. Get the prices and go from there.

[HDFilmMaker2112]

Mcdonalds - U.S. Franchising - About McDonald's

Burger King - Franchise Opportunities

Taco Bell - Yum! Franchising

Wendy's - Currently not accepting franchisees (Contact Us - Wendys.com)

[SOCMiles]

Originally Posted by buynick

Consider that all of these lead to obesity in America. Consider doing the ethical and right thing...

Pita Pit has great food, is a fairly simple operation, and they are usually open till 3am (for that post-bar crowd surge)... And their food is quality.

With that being said... Franchising presents an entrepreneur with an UNBELIEVABLE series of challenges (staffing, management, dealing with hungry people)... Not to mention the stupid overhead associated with it.

You can create more income with most solid Network Marketing companies than you can with most franchises (There is a huge ceiling to how much you can make franchising, before having to open another one)... And you can get a Network Marketing company going for a fraction of a fraction of the price of franchising.

[bennihan]

I hope that you have a large amount of capital just to get the franchise started much less advertising and marketing fees you will incur.

I would want to start with around two million dollars to finance your operation. I would also stray away from McDonalds and look into starting a Subway which can be highly profitable with much less fees

[jonathanfigaro]

i would say Mcdonald's , because it basically instant success! Who doesn't eat mcdonalds?
Exactly, i think my point is taken!

[paulyoung]

If its money you are after mc'ds is the one for you, check out the site, its realy quite easy to make one 9 if you have the money