Is owning a franchise right for you?
(Here's how to find out)

When Colleen Cavalieri launched her home-based business at the Naval Academy, she didn't have to start from scratch. Ms. Cavalieri, whose husband was transferred to the academy last fall, is the local franchise owner of TSS Photography, an on-site youth and sports photography company with more than 225 units across the country.

She signed a 10-year franchise agreement that gives her the marketing power of an established brand name and the security of a corporate network.

"We're locally owned, but we're nationally supported," she said. "If something happens to us, headquarters is going to take care of customers."

Across the country, entrepreneurs such as Ms. Cavalieri are starting franchise businesses. Demand is so high that between 2003 and 2005, nearly 900 new franchise concepts began franchising, according to Washington-based International Franchise Association. In Maryland, there are more than 13,000 franchise establishments with 180,000 employees on the payroll, the association found in 2004, according to the most recent figures from the association.

But as with any business venture, owning a franchise means hard work and commitment, with most agreements lasting about 10 years.

"You're going to be involved in a long-term arrangement with this company so you want to make sure this is something you want," said Terry Hill, a spokesman for the franchise association.

Although buying a franchise means "most of the bugs have been worked out for you," he said potential franchisee owners must research their market and talk to other franchisee owners before signing on the dotted line.

"What you want to know is what their experience was," Mr. Hill said. "It could be they did well … It could be just the opposite."

He recommends prospective investors hire an attorney to help them navigate through franchise disclosure documents and turn "fine print into plain English." The documents outline a franchisee's obligations and terms of the agreement, Mr. Hill said.

That's what Edgewater franchisee owner Steve Crone did. He and his father-in-law bought three franchises of Foster's Grille, a family friendly restaurant serving half-pound burgers and hand-cut fries. It was important to have a lawyer go over the paperwork with a fine-toothed comb, he said.

Going the franchise route proved to be a good decision.

With the Edgewater franchise at the Main Street at South River Colony Center "very busy," Mr. Crone is now scouting sites for two other franchise locations in Anne Arundel.

Mr. Crone, who has held managerial positions in restaurants from Don Pablo's and T.G.I. Friday's, said owning a franchise means setting up a business that has "a proven system."

His advice for other franchise owners?

"Pick something that you know and you know how to do well," he said.

Ms. Cavalieri said she took up photography as a hobby. After learning about TSS Photography, also known as the Sports Section, she researched the company and learned it had just branched out with school class photos.

The company's diverse product offering led Ms. Cavalieri to believe TSS Photography would remain a strong entity. Another bonus was the company's professional training on how to operate camera equipment.

So in 2005, Ms. Cavalieri took the plunge by investing $20,000 to purchase an existing franchise in San Diego, where her husband, Jay, a naval commander, was stationed at the time. She also invested $10,000 to purchase the camera equipment.

Meeting her minimum monthly sales goal wasn't a problem. In her second year of business, sales doubled, she said. Being a franchise owner also meant having the ability to draw on the support of others in the TSS franchise network.

"We help each other out with everything, from how to pose, how to take certain kinds of picture, pricing," she said.

Business was going well. But being a military wife had her switching gears when Mr. Cavalieri was transferred to the Naval Academy last fall. So she hired a contractor to run the San Diego business and bought her current franchise covering southern Anne Arundel County.

Although she's just getting started, Ms. Cavalieri has already scored a couple of assignments: a group photo of the Naval Academy's sailing team and group and individual photos of child soccer players.

When asked how sales will do here in comparison to San Diego, Ms. Cavalieri said she expects the Anne Arundel franchise to do even better.

"There are more sports here," she said.

By KATIE ARCIERI, Staff Writer