I do due diligence work and would be glad to connect. I have supported buyers through early-stage franchise reviews, including financial validation, unit-level economics, competitive analysis, and operational risk assessments. Happy to share what I have seen, what usually signals strength or weakness, and where deals tend to break down.

You need to know what they are dedicating to the franchisees and how much work they do upholding brand standards, or do they let the franchisees do what they want and answer their calls. I have seen some companies get sold on becoming a franchise and treat it more like a side hustle rather than their focus like a McDonalds. Many small franchisors who aren't all in on franchising don't really do much to help their franchisees because doing so is expensive. If this is the case, you can stop taking on new franchisees and let these ones complete their contract (usually their is only one guaranteed renewal) and you don't renew them past that. If you think it is more profitable to grow the franchise side of things then you will likely need a partner who has done this on both the sales and ops side because it is completely different than the core of the business currently.