What are the characteristics of a good franchise?

A good franchise is usually a proven franchise. The more franchised outlets a system has operating (in the country in which you are thinking about becoming one of its franchisees) and the more those franchisees are achieving the performance claimed by the franchisor, the more proven the franchise is.  Don’t run away with the idea that because a franchisor has lots of successful company-owned outlets it can be a successful franchise - company-owned outlets prove the concept works, not that it works as a franchise. Just because a business works in other countries doesn’t mean it will work here, and just because there are lots of franchisees in a system here already doesn’t mean they are doing well.  How do you find out how good the franchise you are considering is? Ask the franchisees. Get a list from the franchisor of how many franchisees it has, and how long they have been operating - if the franchisor won’t tell you, it won’t be a good franchise. Then, contact as many of the franchisees on that list as you can - ideally by phone - and ask them how they are doing. Also check with your bank - it is more likely to support good systems - and the British Franchise Association, whose full members have to have been practising franchisors in the UK for a number of years.