Hot Dog Cart FranchiseSteve ,

There is a customer who comes around my cart. Loves the business and wants to partner up.

I do not know if I want a partner, but I was thinking of maybe setting up a hot dog cart franchise.

How would I go about doing that? What do I need to make sure is in the contracts?

Is this even an option for this business?

Ed

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Hi Ed,

A true hot dog cart franchise is a very complicated legal entity. Franchising requires you to file a UFDD (Unified Franchise Disclosure Document). A UFDD can cost tens of thousands of dollars for a lawyer to draft. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

A much simpler alternative is a licensing agreement.

If you have built a brand and not just a business (as I teach in my book Carts of Cash), you now have a valuable asset that others will pay for.

You could charge a simple licensing fee which allows someone to use your logo, colors, website, uniforms, menus, etc. on their cart for a specified time period after which they need to renew their license.

The fee could be as simple as that, or you could charge the fee plus a percentage of sales, cart rental, etc.

Licensing gives you repeat, residual income with no work on your part. It is the easiest way I know of to expand any business.

Just remember, none of this is possible unless you have built a strong brand that is recognized in your community.

Let me know what you decide to do Ed, I’m always interested in seeing how my slingers grow their businesses!

-Steve