Buying or opening a business is much like buying a house, before going into business, take a moment and think about what will happen when you want to get out. 1 - A franchise will appreciate, McDonald's is much more expensive now than 20 years ago. 2 - Name recognition through advertising 3 - Proven business model Do the research at Entrepreneur.com, it is an excellent source of info on over 100 franchises. And finally stay away from websites "franchise farms" that only offer a place for u to put in your contact info. Almost every franchise has a website