How to Open a Dunkin' Donuts Franchise

William Rosenberg founded a donut store in 1964 called Open Kettle. He changed the name to Dunkin' Donuts two years later. Today, there are about 7,500 stores located in more than forty countries. Dunkin' Donuts is the world's largest coffee and baked goods chain.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Check out the Dunkin' Donuts franchising opportunities within your state through the company's website. Find an opportunity in your city and state that you can apply for.
2. Fill out the Dunkin' Donuts' franchising application online. To qualify, you prove have a net worth of $1.5 million, cash liquidity of $750,000 and have previous restaurant or hospitality experience.
3. Know the financial requirements. You must pay an initial investment of $179,000 to $1,600,000 to start your franchise and pay a yearly franchise fee of $40,000 to $80,000. You also must pay Dunkin' Donuts 5.9% of all royalties along with this fee.
4. Apply for a business loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA) if you don't have access to that amount of money. The SBA reports that out of the 306 loans for Dunkin' Donuts stores taken out through the SBA, only 1.96% have failed to pay back the loan. The SBA has also not completely charged off anyone who has received such a loan.
5. Hire approximately 16 employees to help you run the store. You must undergo training at Dunkin' Donuts headquarters before opening.
6. Receive ongoing support from Dunkin' Donuts headquarters in the way of newsletters, company meetings, a toll-free phone line for general assistance, a grand opening and field operators to evaluate the store. The company also will teach you their security and safety procedures.

Tips & Warnings

• "Entrepreneur Magazine" ranked Dunkin' Donuts ranked #2 on its 2007 list of "Best Franchises."
• You must commit to personally operate your Dunkin' Donuts franchise. Absentee ownership is not allowed.