John Hayes | Franchise Hot Seat Podcast

“What inspired you to launch your business and how did franchising become part of the vision?”

This is a common opening question to establish the guest's origin story.

“What were you doing before you started this business?”

He asks this to understand the guest's professional backstory before their current venture.

“Were you always entrepreneurial or did you have a 9-to-5?”

This question explores the guest's personal mindset and career path.

“What did you get wrong as a franchisee regarding your financials?”

He asks this of experienced guests to surface common mistakes and lessons learned.

“What's so special about franchising that you needed a different kind of [service/solution]?”

This question clarifies the unique needs and challenges within the franchise model.

“How have you grown to so many locations? Is it difficult to find franchisees?”

This question addresses the challenges and strategies of franchise development.

“How did you, with your background as a [previous profession], get comfortable with franchising?”

He uses this to probe the mindset shift required to become a successful franchisee.

“What's the biggest challenge for you as a franchisor?”

This question seeks to understand the primary difficulties of running the franchise system.

“What does it cost to become a franchisee and succeed in this business?”

A direct question to get to the practical financial requirements for prospective franchisees.

“Do you include an Item 19 in your franchise disclosure document?”

A key due-diligence question to ask franchisors about their financial performance representations.

“How much money might a good franchisee make after a year or two?”

This is a follow-up to the Item 19 question, seeking more specific earnings potential.

“What is the cost to a franchisor for having a network of franchisees with messy books?”

This question highlights the systemic financial impact of poor franchisee operations.

“How big is a territory and is it protected?”

A fundamental question about the franchisee's rights and competitive landscape.

“What problem does [this legislation/new rule] actually solve?”

Used when discussing policy to get to the core purpose of a proposed law.

“How do you respond to critics who say [common counterargument]?”

He asks this to directly address and explore opposing viewpoints on a topic.