Maryland franchise lawyer Jeff Fabian has an excellent blog post on the issues to consider when the franchise agreement terminates on the Franchise Help blog.

In my experience many franchisees are under the misconception that they can simply change the name of their business and then begin serving the same customers the next day under the new business name. Wrong!

Most franchise agreements will contain a non-compete clause. And franchisees are surprised to learn that the customers may not belong to them at all.

Jeff’s post covers these issues and more. Keep these factors in mind when you are initially reviewing the franchise agreement and considering whether to purchase the franchise. If a franchise term is 5 years, that can go very fast and you might find your bucket is empty at the end of the term.