In today's economic turmoil, franchising is countercyclical to the economy. As the unemployment rate rises, entrepreneurship is becoming more appealing and more effort should be directed at the media in targeting would be entrepreneurs, not just individuals looking for franchises.

Recently, The Franchise and Distribution National Practice Group of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP commissioned a national survey to uncover information on what motivates someone to invest in a franchise. The survey was conducted by The Research Strategy Group, a Toronto-based, custom market research company. A telephone survey of 400 franchisees was conducted nationally, wherein the respondent was the owner or senior manager and the primary decision-maker regarding the franchise acquisition. Roughly half the sample was comprised of people who had owned their franchise for more than five years, and the remainder for less than that.

The study attempted to highlight the attitudes and behaviours relating to the following:
 Motivations for purchasing a franchise
 Characteristics of franchisees
 How to target potential franchisees
 Typical challenges faced in the search for a franchise
 The decision making process for purchasing a franchise
 Primary sources of information for evaluating the offering

For more information and survey results, see IFA.