12 Questions to Ask a Franchisor Before You Buy In

The most useful questions to ask a franchisor are the ones a weak brand would rather you skip: what current owners actually earn (and where that figure lives in the disclosure document), what support you get after the honeymoon, how your territory is protected, and whether you can call existing owners without a chaperone. A strong franchisor welcomes every one of them, in writing. Below are twelve questions that separate a real opportunity from a good pitch, grouped by the four areas that decide whether you build a business or buy yourself a job.

Why the questions you ask matter more than the pitch you hear

Every franchisor can deliver a polished discovery deck. What tells you the truth is how a brand responds when you ask something specific and slightly uncomfortable. Vague answers, pressure to sign, or reluctance to put numbers in front of you are the signals that matter. The reader who wins here is the one who arrives with a list and treats the whole process like the six-figure decision it is. College Hunks Hauling Junk® is built for that kind of buyer, an A-player from a corporate or military background who reads the fine print, so the questions below double as a filter you can point at any brand you evaluate.

Start with the numbers: what does Item 19 actually say?

Ask to see Item 19 of the Franchise Disclosure Document, then ask what it includes and what it leaves out. Item 19 is the only place a franchisor can legally make a financial performance representation, so a brand that publishes a detailed one is telling you it has little to hide. In the 2026 College Hunks FDD, average gross revenue was $1,554,610 across 144 reporting franchised locations, with mature locations at 60-plus months averaging $1,999,230 and newer ones at 13 to 36 months averaging $730,493. Notice the spread. The sharp follow-up is not “what is the average,” it is “what does the ramp look like, and what did the bottom of the range do.” For the full context, owners can walk you through the Item 19 revenue picture in plain language.

Then ask how the brand defines any profit figure it shares. In the College Hunks system, the Item 19 EBITDA figures exclude truck payments, owner compensation, and other discretionary costs, which means EBITDA is not your take-home pay. A franchisor that explains that distinction before you ask is one you can trust with the harder questions.

The support questions: what happens after training ends?

Ask exactly who you can call in month seven, not just week one. Training gets airtime in every pitch, and ongoing support is where brands quietly diverge. Three questions cut through it: who generates and books my leads, and what does that cost; what are all of the ongoing fees; and what technology am I required to run. In the College Hunks model a National Sales & Loyalty Center books and dispatches jobs so owners lead crews instead of answering phones, and every owner gets a dedicated Marketing Coach and a Franchise Business Coach for the life of the franchise. You can see how the brand describes the training and support owners get, then ask any franchisor you meet for the same level of specifics: names, cadence, and what is included versus billed on top.

The territory questions: is my market really mine?

Ask whether your territory is protected and how it is drawn. A protected territory means the franchisor will not drop another owner, or a company location, inside your boundaries. Ask how the area is measured (population, ZIP codes, or drive time), what happens if you outgrow it, and whether you can add zones later. College Hunks defines zones by population, roughly 300,000 to 400,000 people, and close to 70% of the system owns more than one zone, so asking about a second territory on day one is fair and expected. If scale is your plan, understanding the two-in-one model (junk removal and moving under one fee) tells you how a single territory can carry two revenue lines through College Hunks Moving® and hauling alike.

The validation questions: can I talk to owners freely?

Ask for the full list of current and former franchisees in the disclosure document, and ask whether you can contact any of them without the franchisor on the line. Validation calls with real owners are the most honest data source in the entire process, and a brand that makes them easy is showing its confidence. When you get an owner on the phone, skip the surface questions and ask what surprised them, what they would do differently, and whether they would buy the franchise again knowing what they know now.

The twelve questions, in one checklist

Bring this list to every discovery conversation. If a franchisor hesitates on more than a couple of these, you have learned something the brochure would never tell you.

The fit question most buyers forget to ask

Ask the franchisor to describe the owner who struggles in their system, not just the one who thrives. The answer tells you whether the brand screens for fit or sells to anyone with the capital. College Hunks looks for leaders who want to build a team of eight to ten or more per zone and run the business day to day as owner-operators, and that clarity protects both sides. If you want to pressure-test whether you match, the brand lays out the franchise requirements and process so you can check yourself against them before a single call.

Ask us the hard ones

If you are weighing whether a College Hunks Hauling Junk® franchise fits your goals, the smartest next step is to bring your own list of hard questions and see how the answers hold up. Talk to our Franchise Development team and get your questions answered, then see if your market is still open. We read every inquiry, and there is no pressure, just straight answers.

Financial information shared in this content is drawn from Item 19 of the 2026 CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. Franchise Disclosure Document (Issuance Date: April 30, 2026). See Item 19 for material assumptions, the underlying data set, and full required disclosures. Past performance does not guarantee future results. New franchisees may earn less.

This information is not an offer to sell or solicitation to buy a franchise. A franchise offering can only be made through the delivery of a Franchise Disclosure Document. Certain states regulate the offer and sale of franchises; if you are a resident of one of these states, we will not offer you a franchise unless we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in your state.

College Hunks Hauling Junk®, College Hunks Moving®, and the H.U.N.K.S logo are registered trademarks of CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. © 2026 CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. All rights reserved.