FREE · 30 MINUTES · NO COMMISSION
Talk to a CPA before you sign
Don Drummond, CPA · Virginia #43775
Internal audit and controls: SOX programs at XO Communications, governance and risk at Deloitte. More about me →
You're asking about the Full Validation (Let's scope it, ≈3 weeks).
We'll still start with the free call — I won't take the engagement until we both agree it would change your decision.
A franchise broker is paid by the franchisor to place you — in something — and earns $12,000–$25,000 when you sign. I'm paid by you, and the job is the opposite: keep you from a six-figure mistake, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Read the real numbers
We go through Item 7 (total cost), Item 6 (royalties), and Item 19 (earnings, if disclosed) together — and what they leave out.
Pressure-test the economics
A realistic cash-needed, ramp-to-breakeven, and owner take-home picture — not the brochure version.
Financing reality
SBA vs 401(k) rollover (ROBS) vs HELOC, what you'd qualify for, and the personal-guarantee exposure.
Validation & red flags
How to talk to current AND former franchisees, and the agreement terms that quietly cost owners.
No charge, no obligation, no sales pitch. I'll never sell your email.
Sessions are educational and brand-agnostic — we'll help you evaluate (or walk away from) whatever you're considering, and we never get paid by any franchisor. This is not investment advice, legal advice, or a substitute for a formal engagement. Provided by a CPA licensed in Virginia; out-of-state engagements subject to applicable licensing rules. This is a non-attest advisory/consulting engagement — we do not perform audits, reviews, compilations, or agreed-upon-procedures, and nothing on the call is an opinion on or assurance regarding any franchisor's or franchisee's financial statements.