6 Ways to Discover Franchise Owner Salaries & Earnings

Discover how to uncover franchise owner earnings with six essential resources, including Franchise Disclosure Documents, insights from current and former franchisees, Reddit discussions, Glassdoor data, Tegus insights, and the Franchise Secrets Group community.

Last updated 17 Oct 2024 Time 2 min read
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Introduction

If you’ve ever walked into a busy restaurant or franchise and wondered about the owner’s earnings, or if you’re exploring franchise opportunities, it’s essential to understand the income potential for franchise owners.

How to Discover Franchise Owner Salaries

1. Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)

Franchises are required by the Federal Trade Commission to provide a Franchise Disclosure Document to prospective franchisees.

  • Sales Disclosure Approximately 58% of franchises disclose sales figures. Many also share earnings for franchisees on an aggregate or individual basis.
  • Earnings Breakdown For example, an ice cream franchise in Irvine, California, may show earnings alongside other locations in Florida. It’s important to review the FDD, particularly Item 19, to understand how financials are presented.

2. Reach Out to Current and Former Franchisees

Contact current and former franchisees to gain insights into their earnings.

  • Finding Contacts You can find their contact information in the FDD. Many franchise executives also provide their email and phone numbers.
  • Facilitating Communication Vetted Biz offers franchise profiles with recent FDD disclosures, simplifying the process of reaching out. If necessary, consider incentivizing responses with gift cards to encourage franchisees to share their experiences.

3. Reddit

Utilize Reddit as a collaborative platform for franchise inquiries.

  • Community Engagement Search for the franchise brand you are interested in and either post questions or check existing discussions to gauge earnings from other franchise owners.

4. Glassdoor

Glassdoor is primarily known for employee salary benchmarks but can also provide insights into franchise owner earnings.

  • Data Availability Larger brands may have sufficient data points. For instance, College Pro Painters has multiple self-reported earnings, while Domino’s Pizza has fewer.

5. Tegus

Tegus is a resource used mainly by institutional investors but offers valuable insights into popular franchises.

  • Interviews and Earnings They conduct interviews with franchisees and former executives of major brands like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Pizza Hut, often detailing earnings for multi-unit operators.

6. FranchiseSecretsGroup.com

This platform, hosted by Eric Von Horn, is a large franchise community on Facebook.

  • Member Engagement With over 2,500 members, users often discuss their earnings and provide insights into various franchise brands. You can request private messages for more specific earnings information.

Conclusion

These six resources can help you understand how much a franchise owner makes and what their salary and benefits entail across various franchise brands in the United States.

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