Recipe For Success

Georgia has franchising on its mind, as it becomes the most recent state to forge ahead with a franchise bill. If passed, the Georgia Franchisee Protection Act would mark the first time the franchise relationship has been regulated in the state. "There is nothing on the books to protect the franchisee [in Georgia], nor anything that even addresses the franchisee," says Sen. Donzella J. James, who introduced the bill.

Prompted by letters and calls from franchisees throughout the nation, James held several franchise hearings last year and modeled the bill after other state franchise laws. "We're just trying to get some fairness in play," James says. "There are some serious problems, and we want to find some answers."

Though the state congress isn't in session, James says the legislation is still very much alive. "I'm working to help the committee get educated during the interim," James says, "so when we [take up the bill in January], we can actually work on passage."

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This article was originally published in the July 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Recipe For Success.