After investing in a franchise, how long can I expect before my business will begin to make money?

That depends on what you mean by ‘make money’. It will also vary considerably depending on the franchise you choose.  Many franchisees make an operating profit from their first week, ie the value of sales they make exceeds the costs of making those sales, including operational overheads such as petrol or vehicle hire.  On the other hand, many franchisees don’t make an operating profit for many months as their sales take a while to build up after the start-up period, but they have considerable overheads to cover such as rent, rates, equipment leases and staff.  The ‘make money’ point is extended even further if you mean the stage at which all the initial investment cost has been recovered - this is usually measured in years rather than months, but should ideally be about halfway through the initial term of the franchise agreement.  Every franchise is different and the franchisor should supply you with a template business plan and some advice on what typical costs are likely to be at various levels of turnover. The longer a franchised network has been established, the more examples of actual performance will be available to assist with the calculation.