You found our list of top franchise books.
Franchise books are guides to running individual locations of established brands successfully. These works cover topics such as finding the right business to buy into, hiring, marketing, operating a location successfully, and growing a small business into a franchise. The purpose of these works is to help professionals who are looking to start or join franchises in order to adopt proven business models and products.
These works are a subset of business books and are similar to books on small business and entrepreneurship books.
This list includes:
- franchise books for beginners
- restaurant franchise books
- franchise management books
- books on franchising your business
Here we go!
List of franchise books
Here is a list of books about launching, running, and growing franchises to make operations successful.
1. Franchise MBA: Mastering the 4 Essential Steps to Owning a Franchise by Nick Neonakis, Sagar Rambhia, and Aditya Rengaswamy
The Franchise MBA is one of the bestselling books on franchising. This guide breaks down the basics of the world of franchising into four main components: the essence of the franchise industry, the franchisor, the franchisee, and legal and financial aspects. The book begins by laying out traits of effective entrepreneurs and identifying what inspires laborers to become owners, then moves on to examine the finer points of the existing franchisor system, the secrets to identifying and developing promising franchisees, and understanding business and legal structures. Think of this book as an anatomy of franchising.
Notable Quote: “Starting a business requires two types of motivation: the motivation to initiate and the motivation to persevere. Both types of motivation require you to use your instinct to guide us to our goals. This allows you to strive to improve and continue in the face of setbacks. You as a business owner must be prepared– things will not always go as expected, but this is part of the journey.”
Read The Franchise MBA.
2. The Educated Franchisee: Find the Right Franchise for You by Rick Bisio and Mike Kohler
The Educated Franchisee offers a comprehensive overview of the franchise world and is one of the best franchise books for beginners. The first few chapters act as a self-assessment to help readers understand whether franchising is a good fit and a bootcamp to mentally prepare future owners for the challenges ahead. Part Two deals with foundational knowledge by presenting the history of franchising and defining basic industry terms and concepts. Part Three teaches readers how to evaluate opportunities and find the perfect match. The final pages give franchisees an idea of what to expect after choosing a venture and outline priorities. The Educated Franchisee is a helpful startup guide for franchisees and successfully dissects the first steps of the franchise journey.
Notable Quote: “If the concept is unsuccessful or just wrong for you, you should have the courage to say no. If the concept is successful and a match to your skills and objectives, you should have the courage to say yes with confidence.”
Read The Educated Franchisee.
3. Franchise Your Business: The Guide to Employing the Greatest Growth Strategy Ever by Mark Siebert
Franchise Your Business is a guide to growing independent businesses into empires and is one of the best franchise management books. Mark Siebert is a subject matter expert and a prolific author in the genre. This work focuses on franchising as a business growth strategy. Siebert defines the term, outlines the advantages and disadvantages of franchising, explains how to identify whether a business is franchisable and whether this path is advisable, and outlines alternatives to the model. The text lays out step by step instructions to structure the business and scale growth and focuses more heavily on leadership choices than many other books in the genre. The book serves as an in-depth blueprint for building a chain business and is an invaluable resource for growth-minded franchise entrepreneurs.
Notable Quote: “For entrepreneurs, franchising may be the only way to ensure that they capture a market leadership position before competitors encroach on their space, because the franchisee performs most of the tasks….Franchising allows companies to compete with much larger businesses so they can saturate markets before these companies can respond.”
Read Franchise Your Business, and check out this list of business strategy books.
4. Around the Corner to Around the World: A Dozen Lessons I Learned Running Dunkin Donuts by Robert Rosenberg
Around the Corner to Around the World is one of the most interesting restaurant franchise books. This memoir is an account of Dunkin CEO Robert Rosenberg’s experience launching and growing the donut chain into a global conglomerate. The book charts the restaurants’ most pivotal periods and Rosenberg shares lessons learned, mistakes made, challenges faced, and brand-defining moments. This memoir offers a behind the scenes look at the making of a franchise and gives readers a glimpse into the inner workings of a growing and lasting restaurant chain. Dunkin is a single example of the possible restaurant franchise journey, yet the story provides valuable insights for restaurateurs to take to heart when launching and scaling their own chains.
Notable Quote: “The fact is that our team– both franchise owners and management together– continually adapted to an ever-changing consumer and competitive landscape.”
Read Around the Corner to Around the World, and check out more business biographies.
5. Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America by Marcia Chatelain
Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America is nonfiction and more historical than self-help. This work is a fascinating read that sheds light on the relationship between Black business people and franchise enterprises. The text acknowledges that fast food restaurants are bountiful in underserved neighborhoods not merely because the low cost menu appeals to lower earners, but also because the franchise model provided entrepreneurship opportunities to individuals boxed out of more traditional routes of business. The book highlights the important role Black communities played in the growth of the franchise business model and provides a historical context that puts the industry’s current state into a more accurate perspective. At the same time, the author examines the good and the harm done to Black communities by fast food franchises.
Notable Quote: “Fast food is a prism for understanding race, shifts in the movement for civil rights, the dissemination of black culture, and racial capitalism—the deep connections between the development of modern capitalism and racist subjugation and oppression—since the 1960s.”
Read Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, and check out this list of books on diversity and inclusion.
6. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz and Joanne Gordon
Onward tells the story of Starbucks. Written by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, the book shares the coffee company’s guiding principles and reflects on how the brand remained true to its values while expanding worldwide. Onward is a story of how the cafe strayed away from its founding philosophies and how Schultz revived those ideals and refreshed and reinvigorated the brand at a time when it struggled through financial hurdles and an identity crisis. The memoir gives insight into franchise brand leadership and offers advice on how to save a faltering franchise and stage a comeback.
Notable Quote: “Work should be personal. For all of us. Not just for the artist and entrepreneur. Work should have meaning for the accountant, the construction worker, the technologist, the manager and the clerk.”
Read Onward.
7. The Wealthy Franchisee: Game-Changing Steps to Becoming a Thriving Franchise Superstar by Scott Greenberg
The Wealthy Franchisee offers a masterclass in franchisee performance. Drawing on a combination of psychology, interviews, and firsthand experiences, Scott Greenberg lays down best practices for optimizing yourself and your franchise business. The guide touches on topics like how to motivate teams and unlock employee potential, impress customers and earn repeat business, employ self-discipline and organization, and practice habits that increase profitability and enable growth. The text breaks down the mindsets and skill sets needed to produce and maintain top-performing businesses.
Notable Quote: “Many people don’t execute as well as they should. They don’t appreciate their role as a franchisee. They think they’ve bought a recipe for success.”
Read The Wealthy Franchisee.
8. Hire Yourself: Control Your Own Destiny through Franchise Ownership by Pete Gilfillan
Hire Yourself is one of the better books for first time franchise owners. The book helps aspiring owners decide whether or not franchising is a suitable career move and lays down a framework for finding a workable business model. The guide also touches on financial considerations and management best practices. Pete Gilifillan alludes to some of the common pitfalls of newer owners and helps readers understand the habits and mindsets needed to succeed as franchisees. Hire Yourself is a practical manual for entering the franchise world that helps aspiring entrepreneurs come up with a clear plan of action.
Notable Quote: “Franchising is about working for yourself, but not by yourself.”
Read Hire Yourself, and check out more career books.
9. Franchising and Licensing: Two Powerful Ways to Grow Your Business in Any Economy by Andrew Sherman
Franchising and Licensing is one of the most helpful books on franchising your business. Written by corporate lawyer Andrew Sherman, the book deals with the legal and technical aspects of business franchising with a heavy emphasis on how to best leverage intellectual capital. The text covers concepts such as raising financial capital, structuring agreements, complying with regulatory requirements, navigating partnerships and joint ventures, and expanding operations into new territories. The book provides agreement templates and illustrative anecdotes that help readers better grasp these concepts and put them into practice. This guide is a must-read for any owner looking for guidance in creating documentation, structuring the business, and making long-term plans.
Notable Quote: “Despite the favorable media attention that franchising has received over the past few years as a method of business growth, it is not for everyone. A host of legal and business prerequisites must be satisfied before any company can seriously consider franchising as an alternative for rapid expansion.”
Read Franchising and Licensing.
10. Adventures in Franchise Ownership: 4 Pillars to Strengthen, Protect and Grow Your Business by Christy Wilson Delk
Adventures in Franchise Ownership simplifies franchise success into four main components: loyalty, strategic leadership, money metrics, and method management. The author explains and explores each concept in depth, breaking down the categories into finer points such as how to quickly build rapport with customers, how to react to crises, and how to streamline budgets and accounts. The tone is light and humorous yet practical, and the pages contain plenty of anecdotes to illustrate and communicate key points.
Notable Quote: “Now that your franchise is established, in order to ensure your continued success and maintain your passion as an owner, it’s time to fortify what you have built so that when competitors come down, down cycles occur, and the unexpected happens, your business is strong, it’s protected, and it continues to grow.”
Read Adventures in Franchise Ownership.
11. The Franchisee Handbook: Everything You Need to Know About Buying a Franchise by Mark Siebert
The Franchisee Handbook is one of the best franchise books for beginners. In this text, franchise leader Mark Siebert covers the fundamentals of becoming a successful franchise owner. The book begins with how to choose and vet a franchise opportunity, and follows the owner’s journey through steps like drafting a startup or business plan, developing a relationship with the Franchisor, finding a location and negotiating a lease, getting paperwork and processes in place, and hiring and training the team. The guide provides a step-by-step roadmap to launching the operation and includes helpful resources like a directories of franchise organizations and sample forms.
Notable Quote: “Franchises succeed where new businesses fail for a number of reasons, the most important of which is that they are using proven business systems to market proven products and/or services.”
Read The Franchisee Handbook.
12. Grow to Greatness: How to build a world-class franchise system faster by Steven Olson
Grow to Greatness is one of the better books on franchise development. The guide lays out a framework for transforming independent businesses into chains. Chapters give extensive and actionable advice on areas such as forming leadership teams, recruiting franchisees, designing a franchisee program, and nurturing sales. The pages provide step by step guides to growing the business to giant proportions while remaining true to the brand’s identity and assuring quality. Grow to Greatness is a highly useful playbook for expanding operations.
Notable Quote: “Make periodic reality checks to see how you’re doing with your partners. Poll your owners annually to find out how your organization scores with your franchisees. If you don’t know where you stand with your operators, how can you effectively respond to their needs and interests?”
Read Grow to Greatness.
13. The Franchise Fix: The Business Systems Needed to Capture the Power of Your Food Franchise by Aicha Bascaro
The Franchise Fix is one of the best restaurant franchise books. The guide emphasizes that buying into an established fast food brand is no guarantee of success, and outlines the management principles and practices needed to excel in the industry. Using first hand experience, Aicha Bascara breaks down the skills and concepts needed to master fast food management. The text covers topics such as finding the right people, supporting your staff, building a healthy workplace culture, understanding numbers, monitoring food costs, and marketing within the community. The Franchise Fix is the ultimate handbook for aspiring fast food entrepreneurs and is a valuable reference for any stage of ownership.
Notable Quote: “There are some elements of a brand image that may not be intrinsic to the brand but can hurt the brand’s reputation if not treated with care. Some of those elements are the bathrooms, trash areas, and back doors.”
Read The Franchise Fix.
Final Thoughts
Running a franchise is more complicated than it appears. Franchise owners do not simply pick a pre-made business, set up shop, and watch the profits roll in. To start, aspiring owners need to partner with a business that matches their goals and needs and that fills a gap in the community. Owners need to be hands-on in overseeing operations and ensuring quality control, and must respond to challenges and changes while still adhering to corporate standards and guidelines. Similarly, turning a small business into a new franchise operation is a feat that requires dedication, business acumen, and skillful execution.
Books about franchising cover the finer points of buying into a set business model and growing thriving operations.
For more reading suggestions, check out books on office management and books on advertisement.
Angela Robinson