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It’s interesting to consider the French attitude towards food in general and specifically the Glorious French Luncheon of the last number of decades. Your average Frenchman of a few years ago was not the sort to take a lifeless , curling sandwich back to his office desk when lunchtime came around and wolf it down as quickly as possible before getting on with his work. Nor would he be likely to rush down to the burger van and return chewing a gob full of gristle with ketchup and then knuckle down to spend the rest of his lunchtime playing an online PC game before he went back to his day job .

Lunchtime, and really every mealtime in the France of a short while ago was a revered time. Lunch would last for hours and nothing would get in the way of Le Grand Cuisine. Finances would not be an problem , four courses, wine, subtle desserts and flavousome cheese and an excellent coffee would be de rigueur , not an occasional treat.

Even in La Belle France these days have somewhat sorrowfully gone and now it seems we are all into the realms of Fast Food, like it or hate it. But whether you really like it or really hate it there is plenty of scope to make an income out it! People are busy nowadays and while this may be the decade of the TV celebrity chef , how many of us actually follow through the recipes on Masterchef for our lunchtime repast ? Not so many I venture to suggest!

Franchises are quite popular as fast food businesses as the Franchise For Sale market will bear witness to . There are a large number of Franchises on the Franchise For Sale market that are generally to do with supplying or providing fast food and snacks and it seems that the Home Based Franchise format is especially suited to fast food. A good example here is Charisnack which is a Home Based Franchise that supplies healthy snacks to retailers and claim that there is “no experience required” to run this franchise. At the time of writing the products retail at a little under a pound each, so not an expensive sale then. Also, and most importantly , they will find your clientele for you. If you are the same as me and find the prospect of cold calling dozens of businesses to get sales a little bit daunting then this may be one for you. It’s not an expensive franchise either, currently asking £9950 + Vat on a part time basis.

A Fast Food business can be run on another basis rather than a following a Franchises format as any roadside lay by will tell you. Setting up a mobile catering business , if done correctly , can bring you in a substantial ongoing income. There are a few rules to be observed though. You are not exempt from HSE(Health and Safety Executive) or HACCP (Hazard Analysis And Critical Control Point) rules , just because you’re a mobile catering business. Amongst other things this means having at least one basin for just washing hands and possibly others for food preparation, amongst a pile of other conditions. A good start is the Nationwide Caterers Association as they have a lot of information available for free. There is information there about choosing your spot, catering for organisations and researching opportunities within the mobile catering business as a whole .

An option is setting up in your local neighbourhood in a retail premise based business . Having said that you don’t have to move around and you have a more permanent business . It remains to be seen what type of fast food business you decide to start though, and an idea I have often mulled over is to start a business around savoury food spiced with chillies. Nobody knows precisely why but British men, after a few drinks need to indulge their burgeoning appetite by stuffing themselves full of meat or vegetables flavoured with chilli. Now a business purely based around chilli flavoured meals on a take away basis should appeal exactly to this sort of customer and since chillies exhibit an addictive property then you should get loads of repeat customers! All the best with your fast food business ideas.

If you are looking for a Franchise For Sale and come across Franchise Opportunities that have a fantastically low fee for start up then be cautious. When you buy a franchise it is not just a concern of paying a one-off fee for the start up cost. There are ongoing charges that are involved in the operation of any Franchise For Sale. The most general cause of a franchise to fail is the lack of funds to cover these charges.

The Franchises UK charges are mostly determined by the industry or sector that you are going into. The range of Franchise Opportunities vary enormously for start up charges, a major restaurant chain may need a start up fee of £200,000 whereas a small home based franchise may only fee £5000. There is a range of charges within the same industry as well, you may pay a lot more for a prime location or the franchise may have grown radically and therefore the franchise fee has grown. The greater the fee may be down to the franchisor proffering a number of services and extra support so if you pay a lower fee then this level may not be the most positive.

We will now look over a few of the charges connected with a Franchise For Sale, these include one-off charges and ongoing charges.

1. The franchise fee, this is the first payment you will make when acquiring the franchise, it will be set by the franchisor and will be paid on the signing of the franchise agreement. This fee allows you to utilise the franchises name and branding, in a great deal of cases it also gets you access to the support and training of the franchisor along with their selling and promotions.
2. Initial money investment, this will be money that you will invest additionally to the start up fee. In a certain number of Franchises UK the franchisor will demand you to have about 30% of the start up fee as back up to qualify to buy a franchise.
3. Working capital, this is the money to maintain yourself and the franchise through the early months of start up, not all franchises start earning money at once and you need money to survive on until it does. Getting through the early months is vital to your business and there must be this capital or the franchise will crash.
4. Professional fees, I cannot emphasise how imperative it is to hire a franchise solicitor and accountant. These might be expensive to start off with but they will keep you within the limitations of the taxman and make sure that you get the best Franchise For Sale.
5. Royalty fees, this will be an ongoing cost between you and the franchisor. This percentage, generally around the 5-10% mark, will be specified in the franchise agreement and you and your solicitor should have negotiated this cost in the purchasing of the franchise.

There are other charges but it depends on the Franchise For Sale that you buy, if you have premises then the premises charges like rent, utilities and insurance will be major charges. If you plan to employ staff then the payroll, taxes and training will be charges to you. Make sure you have the appropriate backing and cashflow to take on a franchise as charges can vary hugely, make sure you are aware of all charges before signing that franchise agreement and taking that big step of purchasing a franchise.