Ryan is an attorney and valuation specialist residing in Chicago. He chronicles his thoughts and research on FranchisePundit.com. You may reach him by email ryanknoll@gmail.com or mobile telephone 312-212-3423.
Twenty-six states have business opportunity laws. Most of these laws prohibit sales of business opportunities unless the seller gives potential purchasers a pre-sale disclosure document that has first been filed with a designated state agency.
State business opportunity laws typically cover every imaginable type of business opportunity that might be offered. If a business opportunity seller is not required to provide pre-sale disclosures by the Franchise Rule, these disclosures will almost always be required by the laws of the states listed below.
The disclosures required by state business opportunity laws differ, and usually provide more abbreviated information than the FTC’s Franchise and Business Opportunity Rule requires. However, most of these laws provide important rights and remedies for business opportunity investors, including required security bonds to cover investor losses.
If you are considering purchasing a work-at-home or other business opportunity, and reside in a state with a business opportunity law, we encourage you to find out more about the protection provided by your state statute before you invest.
Alaska, California,Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
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The biggest problem for most people is that they don’t recognize that the distributorship that they just bought is in fact a business opportunity franchise. The regulators do a very poor job in advertising with the appropriate keywords what their statutes are all about, who they are protecting, and how to use them effectively.