How can I best prepare prior to attending a franchise exhibition?

When you start the process of investigating which franchises you want to shortlist for further consideration, you should build a profile of the sort of business that is of interest to you.  The first question on most franchisor’s lists will be, “Do you have, or can you raise, enough money to properly start and operate this business?” So the first question you need to ask yourself is, “How much money can I raise?”  Once you know the answer, you can limit yourself to only considering those franchises that fit. However much you like the idea of a retail premises-based franchise, which needs £200,000 in upfront and working capital, if you can only raise £100,000 there’s no point wasting their, or your, time talking about it.  Next, what role do you want to have in the business? Do you want to be a manager of staff, or do you want to do all, or most of, the work yourself? Then think about whether you are likely to prefer dealing with businesses or consumers. Get an exhibitor list and floorplan well in advance, check off those that match your profile, then maybe have a look at their website before you set off.