The inside scoop: what's it really like to buy a franchise? One entrepreneur dishes up all the details of her journey to open a Cold Stone Creamery

Entrepreneur, Jan, 2005 by Nichole L. Torres

SO YOU WANT TO BUY A FRANCHISE. Coming to that decision takes more than moxie--it takes a plan and a list of questions you ask yourself to see if you're ready. What industry would you like to be in? What franchise should you buy? Which franchisor best fits your needs? What can you afford? Will consumers in your community buy the product? How do you train a crew?

There are serious issues to consider on the road to opening the doors to your franchise. Gina Frerich, a former fashion buyer, embarked on her franchising journey knowing only that she wanted to be in business for herself and that a franchise was a good way to do that. From choosing the right concept to opening the doors, here's her story. Watch, listen and learn--and if you're of a mind to, have a scoop of ice cream.

SPRING AND SUMMER 2002: CHOOSING FRANCHISING

As a buyer in the fashion industry, Frerich, now 32, was a perfectionist. "I was putting in a lot of extra hours and weekends," she says. "[I realized] if I was going to work that hard, [I wanted] to benefit my own bottom line." The only hitch was that she wasn't sure how to start her own business from scratch. Frerich knew she'd have to bring a lot of experience to the table of any business she started--and since she didn't especially want to do something in the fashion industry, she sought another avenue.

Franchising entered her mind as a great way to be an entrepreneur and to have some helpful guidelines at the same time. "They already have the proven product, they do marketing, and, in some franchise situations, they provide a lot of training and support."

Frerich took about a year to research franchising concepts in her New Jersey area. "My husband and I always tossed around ideas when we walked into a particular concept we thought was interesting." Through both online and offline research, she narrowed it down to ice cream. Cold Stone Creamery stuck out to her, but since there were no Cold Stone franchises in her area, it wasn't until a trip to San Diego to visit family that she was able to see an actual store and taste the ice cream she'd read about. "Once I had the product, it kind of made the decision for us," says Frerich. "I called my husband and said, 'You know that Cold Stone [concept] we were looking at? I just had it, and it's amazing super-premium ice cream.' It was so good."

AUGUST 2003: SIGNING THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT

Besides loving the Cold Stone product, Frerich found the people at the corporate office (which Frerich generally refers to as "The Creamery") to be helpful and enthusiastic about the product and the franchise opportunity as a whole. According to Frerich, when she was in the thick of her due diligence that summer, she found out Cold Stone was opening a flagship store in New York City's Times Square. Believing this development would greatly raise awareness of the concept in the Northeast, thereby increasing the chance of success if she jumped onboard at that time, she made her decision. Frerich recalls what a positive experience it was working with the franchisor during her research as well as after signing on. "The Creamery is very selective in whom they award franchises to, so there was a bit of a process there even once we decided on Cold Stone," she says. "They had to make sure it was the right fit."

Once Frerich had her stamp of approval from the franchisor, she signed her franchise agreement and was off to choose a location, sort out leasing agreements, and hire a contractor to build out her shop. The franchisor was key in finding her Westfield, New Jersey, location, assisting Frerich in the whole process. Working with contractors was another new experience that she had to master in the busy nine months between signing the franchise agreement and opening the doors. "Every day was a learning experience," she says. "The nice thing about it was [that] there was always someone at The Creamery to support me and help me through it."

JANUARY 2004: ATTENDING ICE CREAM UNIVERSITY

It was one thing to taste the ice cream in San Diego, but Frerich was in a whole new world when she attended the one-two punch of the Cold Stone annual franchisee convention in Las Vegas, followed by two weeks at Ice Cream University in Scottsdale, Arizona. "It was one of the greatest experiences throughout this new adventure with Cold Stone," Frerich says.

After a week spent soaking up the wisdom of veteran franchisees in Las Vegas, Frerich immersed herself completely in the Cold Stone way of life for the two-week course. "It was great talking to people in Las Vegas, jotting down ideas and sharing my challenges with my fellow franchisees[in-training]." Her days were filled with hands-on training, serving customers in a real store, and classroom instruction--while she spent her evenings studying for the final exam at the end of the course. After finishing with the highest exam score and being named the Scoopa Cum Laude, Frerich left the place bubbling with enthusiasm and with the camaraderie of her fellow franchisees-in-training. "I was fired up," recalls Frerich. "I wanted to jump right in."