Owning a franchise is the dream on many entrepreneurs – you have access to a brand name that is recognized for quality and service. to quote the Toronto Franchise Show Press Release from Jan 2009 – “In a recent survey, over 1.3 million Canadians hate their jobs”, states Fred Cox, President of National Event Management. “We wanted to produce an event that gave Canadians and business owners the chance to seize an opportunity, meet face to face and explore how to make their dreams of becoming their own boss a reality.”

This is a noble cause and I strongly encourage it. The business owner must take into account 1 little thing – what happens if they are unavailable to run the business due to a major health related event?

Running a business is an emotional roller coaster. You will be dealing with staff issues, customer issues, stock, product, weather, paying bills, franchise fees etc.

things are moving along and WHAM – you have a heart attack – what next? What about Cancer or Stroke?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you have a clause in your franchise agreement that ops you out of paying the fees for 1 to 2 years allowing you to recover? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to keep that car lease and you mortgage? Is the person that co-signed the financing going to be able to assume the debt because you can’t work?

Tough choice, because we don’t know who this will happen to. All we know is that we have to protect ourselves from it. 

There are a number of insurance plans that can be tailored to stabilize your income while you safely recover from an illness – it just makes sense! Critical Illness insurance, Disability Insurance are products created with you in mind – if you get sick or hurt, you can recover knowing you have income.

Ask yourself – How much do I need to pay for one year for the following:

• franchise fees
• lease agreements
• cost of attracting a manager to assume responsibilities while you are recovering?