[Agreeing] There are massive costs (relatively speaking) for an independent involved in just learning/optimising the supply chain. With a franchise you, presumably, can skip this which gives a huge head start.
Also if it's a brand chain then you have the benefit of brand level advertising (which works at a different psychological level to shop/activity/product advertising) which should be more efficient per "lead".
They tend to target unemployed middle-aged managers, since that audience is often driven by ego to "be the boss" and has the disposable funds to pony up a large setup fee. I was aggressively targeted when I was laid off last year.
What they didn't know - until we got on the phone - is I'm the target prospect from hell. I certainly have the funds; however, I got them via two decades of finance and strategy work. Old habits die hard. Due Diligence? Don't mind if I do...
I was polite but I laid out my expectations in financial terms based on investments in businesses of similar size. Actual deals which I had managed. Made it clear I had the funds to deliver if they could meet my goals in writing.
They ran like hell.
However, in the meantime, I wound up speaking with a diverse assortment of scum, villainy, and ineptitude.
Also, bear in mind that the franchise's corporate brand reputationsuffers when a franchise fails, so there's inherently some risk sharing.