FAQ
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Below are the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.
Because each territory, location, owner, and store is different, it’s difficult to say exactly what your total startup cost will be. Your Great American Cookies store can be as small as 75 square feet or as large as 1,800 square feet, which obviously has an effect on your startup cost.
Additionally, the city or state in which you open your store can have location-specific requirements for you to open a business, which may cost additional money. These are just some of the things that can influence the cost of opening your Great American Cookies franchise.
One expense that you can count on to be set is our franchise fee of $25,000, which you then add to the other costs of licensing, rent, etc. Our franchise owners usually see an investment of $277,400 to $403,150 to open their Great American Cookies stores. But again, your costs could vary.
As you can see, that is quite a range to work with, which is why we require that our franchisees demonstrate financial stability with $100,000+ in liquid assets and a total net worth of $250,000+.
The most important qualities we look for in a Great American Cookies franchise owner are a friendly attitude and outgoing personality. These two qualities can take you a long way as a business owner, manager, and customer service expert, even without restaurant experience.
Restaurant experience is a bonus, though not necessary. Of course, business experience will certainly help you operate your business but it is not a requirement. The passion to work hard and be friendly to both customers and employees are more important as a Great American Cookies franchise owner.
We don’t want to sugar coat it for you (or frost it, or put sprinkles on top), opening and operating a Great American Cookies franchise is a lot of hard work. As a manager and owner, you will spend a lot of time there in the store working to further your business.
Our franchise owners spend hours and hours each week working on their businesses, but there is a silver lining. Working in your own business and furthering your own goals is the most fulfilling work there is, so even though you will be working late and sometimes stretching to make things work, you will be working on your own business, not someone else’s.
As a Great American Cookies franchise owner, this satisfaction in your product makes all the difference. But don’t take our word for it! Get in touch with one of our hundreds of franchise owners and see what they say about owning their own businesses.
One of the biggest perks of opening a franchise as opposed to starting your own business from scratch is the training and support from an established corporate network.
FAT Brands, the parent company of Great American Cookies, offers industry-leading training to all our franchise owners. After you sign the franchise agreement, you will attend training at FAT Brands Training in Atlanta where you will learn everything you need to operate your business.
At FAT Brands Training, you will receive back office training and learn how to run your business, keep financial records, and manage HR. You will leave FAT Brands Training with a conceptual understanding of operating your business.
Your training does not end at FAT Brands Training. When you open your cookie store, our corporate personnel will be there to assist with the opening and to offer additional in-store training. This in-store training is key to helping our franchise owners learn how to run and manage their stores once they are open.
Additionally, you will build a relationship with our corporate personnel who can help you in the future with questions or concerns that arise as time goes on. Our field consultants can also assist you when it’s time for you to grow your gourmet cookie business.
Apart from training, FAT Brands offers our franchise owners ongoing support from the moment they sign the franchise agreement and throughout the life of the business. One of the biggest perks of opening a franchise is that you are investing in a proven business concept and a huge network of experienced individuals who have streamlined the franchise process.
As a franchise owner, you will receive help from our corporate personnel with everything from real estate identification to lease negotiations to location build-out. Great American Cookies and FAT Brands have experts in these fields so that you will not be left to do these things on your own.
Real estate can be one of the most important aspects of your business; as such, it is your responsibility to decide the optimal location for your Great American Cookies store. We employ a real estate team who can help you identify sites and negotiate leases if you request that assistance.
An additional perk of opening a Great American Cookies franchise is our national brand recognition. Landlords often seek out our brand to move in because of our reputation and recognition.
Ah, the million dollar question. As we discussed above, each franchise is different and has a different experience, so there is never one answer for this question. Additionally, the regulations on the franchising industry make it difficult for us to make concrete claims about earning potential.
We do publish an earnings claim in our Franchise Disclosure Document—or FDD. While we cannot promise exact numbers or disclose specifics about what you will earn, we can provide some basic data on the Quick Service Restaurants and Fast Food industry. This industry earned nearly $200 billion in the United States in 2015 and earnings are projected to increase by 2.5% each year through 2020.*
The industry, which has historically been dominated by hamburgers and french fries, is responding to consumers’ changing tastes and is becoming increasingly more diverse. The industry shows no signs of slowing down, so an investment in Great American Cookies is a relatively safe bet.
