Are you exploring franchise ownership or business investment—but feel overwhelmed by all the options, funding processes, and potential pitfalls?

You’re not alone. While some aspects of research are truly personal, a lot of the learning can be shared. That’s why Knabb Consulting has created a unique and highly effective approach: the Franchise Ownership Research Cohort. This is our 3rd one since 2024.

Make Smart Decisions – This cohort is not just a course. It’s a guided experience designed to help smart professionals, career changers, investors, and families explore business ownership with clarity, confidence, and support. If you prefer more independence, some Business Opportunity models allow you greater flexibility to brand and operate with fewer constraints. This gives you more freedom and control about how you brand, establish, and run your business.

Avoid Spam – One thing people discover when they put their name, email, and phone number on those franchise research sites (or even sites for specific brands), their email blows up, and the phone starts ringing. Brands can make their option very compelling, but they might not help you ask all the important questions for your own wellbeing. By leveraging the Cohort and Knabb Consulting services, you can avoid the high-pressure sales until time to be introduced to brands identified as best fit for your values, goals, and work/life requirements.

Confidential Matters – In the cohort discussions, we will talk about the things beneficial to everyone. For any confidential matters, you will have full access to address those issues offline. Even if two people discover want to go into the same industry, there is room for success for everyone.

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What Is the Franchise Ownership Research Cohort?

The cohort is a five-week, small group program that walks participants through every stage of the franchise exploration process. Each session is live on Zoom and runs Tuesdays from July 15 to August 12, 6:30–8:00 pm CST. Optional private matching and brand introduction sessions follow in late August, with group accountability Zooms continuing thereafter. (Another cohort will take place in September/October.) People pursuit entrepreneurship for many reasons, including the desire to control their personal economy. We’ll work diligently to prepare you to be a great business owner.

1. Self-Assessments, Goals, & Work-Life Preferences – We’ll use survey tools, short forms, and structured discussions to help everyone be very clear about values, goals, and work/life preferences. When investing in a business, you want a very good fit for you and your family and community.
2. Industry, Model, and Category Exploration – There are over 4000 franchise brands at large and over 500 in the Knabb Consulting portfolio. As we talk about the industries, we will uncover more preferences that drive matching.
3. Brand Matching & Deep Dives into Franchise Alternatives – There are typically many brands for a single industry, and many will be available for your preferred locations. How the roles and work and structured from brand to brand will be very informative.
4. Funding, Financials, and Legal Preparation – While getting ready to invest in a business, keep your credit score and reporting activity as quiet and positive as possible. We will give you tools to pull that data, discuss typical business funding options, and prepare you to deal with a franchise attorney. We will also make introductions to ethical service providers in these areas, if you like.
5. Franchisee Interview Prep, Validation, and Final Legal Readiness – While a franchise consultant and/or brand cannot make financial claims, we get you ready to interview with the brand objectively and to ask good questions of existing franchisees. A franchise consultant cannot do Due Diligence for you, so we equip you to do a very good job.

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Why a Cohort? Why Now?

Many franchise seekers go it alone—and end up stuck, discouraged, or worse, sold into a poor-fit business. How would it feel to invest significantly in a business and a 10-year contract only to realize you missed asking some key questions. This cohort reduces that risk by giving you structure, coaching, peer feedback, and trusted introductions.

Benefits of Joining a Cohort:

• Save Time by learning together and asking smarter questions.
• Save Money by avoiding consultant-free brands that may not offer support.
• Avoid Pitfalls in funding, validation, and document review.
• Gain Clarity through professional assessments like industry-related survey tools and interest-clarifying exercises.
• Build Confidence through a supportive environment and hands-on due diligence.

Whether you’re a first-time business buyer, career pivoter, or looking to create generational wealth, this cohort provides tools, frameworks, and resources many people never receive. Every cohort takes on a different personality based on the interactions of the participants. Still, in each cohort, everyone can expect to receive:

• Private intake tools, including this sign-up/contact form and a series of interests/matching questionnaires each week
• Industry-related personality surveys backed by survey makers like DISC, Gallup Strength Finders and academia
• Funding readiness checklists, financial guides, and credit prep help
• Confidential pre-qualification to filter brands before interviews
• Legal and funding expert referrals
• Access to 500+ vetted franchise brands across 40+ industries
• A $1000 discount on your franchise/investment fees when placed via Knabb Consulting services

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Real Talk: Why Use a Cohort or Franchise Consulting Services At All?

If researching on your own costs you Time, leads to Confusion, or results in Misalignment with your life or values—is it really free?

Working with a certified consultant is typically free. The small cohort fee encourages each participant to take ownership of the process and make the most of the shared experience. If you follow up the cohort with Matching, Brand Interviews, Validation, and contracting with a brand, you will get that fee back and more as a discount on the fees the brand charges.

In a peer group or cohort, you can expect to:

• Identify better opportunities faster
• Reveal blind spots in decision-making
• Equip you to ask questions most people don’t know to ask
• Stay on task for the weekly learning/assessment objectives

As I always say: “If working with Knabb Consulting to do research creates a net benefit, why would you ever do it on your own?” While the Cohort is a learning exercise, each participant can elect whether or not to take the next steps. Research can stop at any time until actual signing with a brand or business opportunity. During the Cohort, you can choose to proceed to Matching and Interviews, Validation, and working with a franchise attorney. All those steps are necessary to establish clarity about an investment decision.

Who Makes a Cohort Participant?

There are many types of people who would terrific business owners if they are motivated and focused on creating that type of career or legacy for themselves, their family, and/or their community:

• Professionals in transition
• Veteran & military-connected buyers
• Parents and couples looking for family-aligned income or a business their kids can grow into
• Investors seeking semi-absentee or manager-run models
• Creatives, coaches, and consultants ready to add a new stream
• Legacy builders and generational wealth planners

If you’re serious about learning what business ownership could look like for your future—sign up and join us.

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What if these Cohort times do not work for you?

If these cohort times do not work for you, Knabb Consulting can work with clients to establish a different time for a set of participants. Scenarios can include multiple friends, family, or partners who want to research together or even a community group who want to work in a concerted way to fill some targeted business properties and community needs. Use this button to book a meeting to discuss your needs.

Book a Meeting to Ask Your Questions

Knabb Consulting can currently represent brands in all of these categories: Advertising and Marketing, Automotive Franchises, Building and Storage, Business Opportunities, Business Services, Business to Business, Canada Franchises, Child Related, Cleaning and Maid Services, Coffee Franchises, Computer and Internet, Dry Cleaning and Laundry, Education, Employment and Personnel, Financial Services, Fitness, Food and Restaurants, Frozen Yogurt / Ice Cream, Green and Eco Friendly, Hair Care and Beauty Salons, Health, Beauty and Nutrition, Home Based Business, Home Services, International Franchises, Maintenance, Management and Training, Master Franchises, Miscellaneous and Unique, Packaging and Mailing, Pest Control, Pet Related, Printing and Copying, Real Estate, Repair and Restoration, Retail, Senior Care, Sports, Tanning Salons, Travel, Vending.

Knabb Consulting represents candidates who want to establish locations in these states and provinces: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon.

International Franchise and/or International Candidates – Knabb Consulting can work with candidates who want to establish a US-based brand in another country or an International client who wants to establish a business in the US using franchise as a means to do so if all qualifying criteria and objectives are met.

More about Knabb Consulting

Connect with the owner, Catherine Knabb, on LinkedIn or Facebook.