The owner of the McDs I worked at bought his first store when he was only 38. Using an inheritance he bought 5 more stores and retired at age 50, selling all his stores and living very comfortably with his future secure.

My step father franchised a McDonalds for about a decade. He had worked for the company since the 80s, bought the store in 2005. In his case, they wanted to see at least a million in liquid assets from him (vs the min. $500,000 said in the video). He worked at least 16 hours a day 5-6 days a week. He worked so much, one night he began to tear up thinking my mother has finally done with him because he spent so much time at the store. I'd regularly see him working the register or running food outside when I'd visit. HQ constantly gave him nonsense. After less than a year, they demanded he tear down the building and do a complete rebuild. Paying the fee turned out to be cheaper, so that's what he did for 9ish years. He did well financially once the store was paid off, but that took around 7 years.

I had a history teacher in high school whose wife owned a McDonald's and my teacher wore this gigantic McDonald's ring. The size and style of the ring would've made you think that McDonald's had it's own football team and they won the Superbowl!

I worked for a rich guy who owned 5 McDonalds stores. His first restaurant was his most successful and profitable. Our store did well but a disgruntled former employee broke into the store and trashed it. We also had several break-ins and burglaries. One assistant manager disappeared with a large bank deposit. Finally, the owner told the corporation that he wasn’t making the return that he expected for his investment. McDonalds took over all five stores and the former owner bought a couple Shell gas stations that were more profitable.

I was a district manager for 14 McDonald’s. I made 220 K after it was all said and done. I had years I made more than the owners. But they did have many 4+ mil profit years. I would say they had at least 3 stores that lost money. Most made 10% at best. A few did insane numbers.

“Mcdonalds like their things standardized” Take it from an employee, they require u to have an ice cream machine that is from the 80’s

I worked for Mcds for 2 years as my first job at 16 while at college. My franchise owner owed most of the stores in my county (Hertfordshire). Most down to earth guy I’ve ever met. Would often come into my store and find him working the tills, or on the line. Bumped into him a few weeks ago, he sold up a few months ago (must be in late 40s, early 50s). Going by the Bentley he got into, I’m assuming his not living on to tight of a budget.

The overhead and administrative costs are challenging for a franchisee to own only a single restaurant. Having several locations within the same metro area are when the profits roll in.

Why Owning a McDonald's Restaraunt Will Leave Your Ice Cream Machine Broken

Thanks for the advice buddy, I’ll have to remember this when I end up winning the lottery, the last I’ll buy is a Macdonalds restaurant, not that I’d buy one anyway but I’ll definitely know not to buy one now.

Most franchises just set their stores on fire and claim from insurance to do all those upgrades!😂 I’ve seen it many times.

I'd rather own stock in McDonalds and collect the dividends. Not to mention that dividend has been raised consistantly for decades now. I'll enjoy the cashflow without the headaches lol

Sounds like you gotta be rich enough to not even need a McDonald's to buy one.

That's why I strongly believe McDonald's is a money laundry front for killer clowns. How else do they stay up float? By Birdie the Early Bird? Hold up, that makes more sense.

I worked at McDonald's when I was 18 and we had this "mchappy" contest with like four other locations, people would vote for the happiest worker, and I won, lol! I know, big achievement there, but hey I had fun and won some cool prizes

I work in restaurants. I'd NEVER fork over for a franchise. It's like having a partner that tells you how to run your business, takes 1/2 of your profits and lets everyone else work for it. The mistake of ANY other franchise owner or a bad management team at head-office can destroy you in a minute, even if you run your show the right way. It's for people that want a restaurant, but know NOTHING about them.

With about 82% of all locations owned by franchisees and a relatively low closure rate (many locations being around for decades), it seems that at least most franchisees do not "go broke".

My first dream as a child is that I would be a grocery store. I was too young to understand the difference between the difference of owning something and being something. Obviously I could not be a store. I was just always hungry. My parents gave me plenty of food, but I was still always hungry and super thin. Don’t have that problem.

I remember when the Kiosks came out, worst part of the job for me. Manager made me try to convince customers to use it rather then let me bring them to the register, some people didn't like it and preferred talking to an actual human being rather then work the screen. But it wasn't too hard, at the end of the day it was enjoyable to help customers or take their orders manually.

Well a franchise might not be a good investment, but their stocks are definitely worth considering. Their stock has strong growth, and decent dividends too. Stocks are a lot less effort and maintenance and capital expense for entry than a franchise is.

Now that's a certified hood classic

Nah, The real reason why I'd be broke owning a McDonalds restaurant is because i have to fix the ice cream machines.

As a franchisee myself, I approve of this message. If I were to describe my journey I've taken to becoming a franchisee with McDonald's in 3 words, "I'm lovin' it"

Hold up, how the f does a couple of average sized displays for a menu cost half a million ? you can literally build an entire cinema for that much money.

“How much do you make?” “Roughly 150-160,000 a year.” “Really? Where do you work?” *”McDonalds.”* *”W H A T ? !”*

The owner of the McDonald’s I worked at owned every McDonald’s in our area across 2 cities. It was very obvious he wasn’t hurting for cash.

Here is what my nearby McDonalds does wrong everyday even-though the owner spends a lot of money in the franchise: 1. The fountain soda is constantly low on some types of drinks or the drink comes out very watery 2. The cashier always mixes up the orders that go to the wrong person because they don't check the customer receipt 3. The kiosk where you order on a screen is always low on receipt paper needed to show the cashier when receiving order 4. It takes customers forever to receive an order from the ice cream machine. IF it's working. 5. A lot of times the cashiers forget to put in the bag a straw or a drink or napkins or a burger. 6. There are not dividers to keep the lines in order. So, people just get on front of others that were there first. 7. They are constantly mopping at the wrong times when it's crowded creating a big inconvenience for the customers. 8. You have to ask the cashier for stuff like BBQ sauce, ketchup or syrup when that should be included in the order 9. Sometimes the cashiers are so tired that when you tell them your order, they ask you several times to repeat the order. 10. The french fries worker is always late in putting the fries in the bag creating delays in handing the customer the order.

It’s not with Macdonald’s only just having a restaurant is hard . but sometimes I can admit you can get lucky like how my mom and aunt used to own restaurant and one time the literal president came to the place.

Me who doesn’t own a McDonald’s: I am 4 parallel universes ahead of you

Here in SA, Mcdonalds does extremely well, my boss currently owns 7, working on the 8th, it costs about R10M which is about $650k per store with a turnover of about R2M per store which is about $130k

owning a McDonald restaurant is still a profitable business, you just don't make too much money, but still make money

There was a McDonald's documentary I watched saying McDonald's is not in the business of selling food but real estate, making burgers is just a plus.

Our McDonald's burnt to the ground, about 3 months ago and they just recently started clearing the rubble. They said they are going to rebuild. It was probably a faulty shake machine, lol! No, idk why it burnt

Fun fact when the ice cream machine breaks down the ice cream in it goes bad and most employees don’t know or care to clean the machine. Think about that before you buy some ice cream from McDonald’s

"serving a shocking 69 million customers a day" that sure is a *great* number!

Video idea: how does subway stay in business... I have always wondered that. Not only was the one I worked at never busy, but it seems that none of them are. The overhead cost of operation seems higher than the profit margin. At least to me it does. I would really enjoy seeing how you guys at the infographic show break it down.

I worked for McDonald's in the kitchen. It was only part time but I can't complain about my experience there. They gave a 50% discount that I could use anytime even if I wasn't working. They even have medical insurance and they give you a raise every 6 months. I would recommend anyone to work there. The owner of the one I worked in was excellent as well. It's not easy work but it's a good place to work and I would recommend anyone especially students to work there.

I was part owner of Popeye.. going in we thought we would be rolling in dough. After the first year we saw less profits and the franchise always got paid. I sold my share for the amount I invested. A decade later my former partner is deeper in debt and wish they would have walked away when I sold my share.

I also heard every McDonald's franchise has no authorization to fix their own ice cream machines and if they do try to fix it themselves without an authorized technician, their warranty is automatically cancelled. The company that makes the makes the ice cream machines make most of their money from "repairing" the machines instead of selling them.

Dave Thomas ran previously failing Kentucky fried Chickens making them successful. He sold those to start his Wendy's Business.

Owning a McDonald’s sounds like you lose more money then you make

“69 million customers a day” *nice.*

I take my hat off to people that are hard working taking a franchise and doing well. And hopefully the corporate side looks after the ones that do well, or understand when things don't go to plan but it's out of their control. Unfortunately I don't think that would be the case, but people who earn their buck and retire early like that deserve it all. So kudos to any business owners or franchise owners making a difference. We appreciate ya!

Another thing that's probably a headache for the owner is employees walking out because they can't take it in certain stores. Not all fast food restaurants has this problem, but some do.

You need to own about five of them to get the economies of scale necessary for good margin. And if you skimp on hiring good managers and leads, you are toast.

My neighbor has 3 franchises in Cape Town. His wife does the books and he goes in once a week. He is always cycling, jogging, driving in his Porsche etc. He doesn't know what to do with all his money and time. Most people could only dream of the life that he lives.

This video actually gave me more confidence in McDonald's quality standards

5:11 sometimes they are making the whole store more drive-thru focused than lobby focused (by extending the McCaffe to the 3rd window witch involves making the lobby smaller)

I was 18 when I worked at mcds (28 now ) don't know if it's all McDonald's or if they just stopped doing it but here in Texas if you worked for them for a year they had a contract with Cadillac to have you approved for most cars in the lot . Pretty sweet deal but I didn't stick around long enough lol

If I ever open a franchise I want it to be a Chick-fil-A. They literally never fail. You could have two right next to each other and the line still wraps out to the street. It’d just print money.

I remember working overnight and the computers said they made around 1000 dollars profit on a Friday night 10pm to 6am. As there is a lot more customers during the day i assume they probably make around 5000 dollars profit per day which is around 1.5 million per year which aligns to what google says an average mcdonalds makes per day. So i can see the cost be covered quickly if they manage thier money right. Also the machines are super quick and basically all automated now for mc cafe and drinks, which means a lot more customers coming through leading to more profit.

I used to work graveyard at McDonald's and I learned in 2 months that the stores can run normally with two employees one to run the grill and the other one running window

I personally have been with my current McDonald's franchise owners (between 2 stores within our franchise; my franchise owners have 4 stores) for nearly 13 YEARS as a crew person (will be 13 years this coming December). With my being a McDonald's worker for as long as I have, my fiancé asked me (originally) to ask my franchise owners how much it would possibly cost us to one day buy our own franchise... I have now sent him a link to this video... I highly doubt (unless one of us wins the MegaBucks in Vegas or the state lottery) that we'll be buying our own franchise anytime soon... 😔😣

$13,000 for a coffee maker $500K for digital menu boards $130K for ordering menu panels Man that’s some expensive obligated upgrades that come right out of the pocket of the franchise owner. No thanks.

My father owns Hucks stores (gas station) I couldn’t tell you how many exactly or what his position is called. But he earned it all. He worked at one of the stores near us became manager, soon after became a district manager, then regional manager. After he became a regional manager he got close with the founders sons. Now he owns multiple of the stores and is still working hard. He gets payed almost 200k a year and makes sure that I have everything I need and I’m grateful for everything.

They had a speaker come into my middle school about 12 years ago. I don’t think he talked much about his personal finances but he did own multiple McDonald’s in the area surrounding the area. The main take away I got was that scaling really can help to make more profit.

The last line," Dreams are for the lucky" is the most relatable thing about this whole video.

Nearest McDonald's to me is literally a block away. The guy running it is a scumbag. Everyone can't stand him. His wife gets a bit more respect by my neighbors. But not too much. He renovated the entire place during the pandemic. Closed for numerous months. It's good to see how much Corporate forced him to shell out for all the upgrades mentioned in this video. Along with all the money he lost by being closed for nearly a full year. Couldn't happen to a more deserving person.

Thanks for the video. I was just thinking about how much it would cost to open a franchise and the steps.

This explains why my old mcdonalds removed the change room doors because they couldn't afford to repaint them for inspection, that and every other corner that can be cut definitely got cut.

Something tells me that anybody planning on or already owning a McDonald's wouldn't ever even come across a video like this...

We live in a tri-state area (PA, OH, WV) and I find it somewhat unsettling when every McDonalds has a broken ice cream/shake machine. Rural or urban, regardless of state, always during the same time period (all machines broken starting on X day and lasting X week/s). What's really going on? Is this due to a recall? Can you guys get to the bottom of it?

There’s a man in my town who owns most of the franchises in town. He gives free food to the fire department once a year. He’s been doing this for 20 plus years. He’s not broke.

The McDonalds in my town doesn't have Filet O Fish. Other items too. A more limited menu, and sometimes hours. Sometimes they'll put a notice on the drive through menu to say happy birthday to an employee at the window. Small towns are fantastic.

I don't know if this applies to all stores, but you have to work your way through to a management position first. It was the way it happened in the store I worked for.

I recently saw a Video on Corona in the USA and was shocked to see a McDonalds doing brisk business in a strategic location in a Hospital....Public or Private I don't know. All the more shocking was the fact that a whole heap of the customers lining up were Health workers, some Doctors included. Perhaps they were ensuring that there will always be Hospital customers in a few years...but perhaps it will be them !!!!

Back in the day (1990s), my dream was to own a video rental store franchise. Looking back, I'm glad I decided against pursuing that dream.

I know a guy who owns 6 of them. Costed him $2 million each store to get up running. He only closed one down that he let his son run into the ground (his sons 50 and hasn't had a license since he was 17 due to drugs and alcohol, to give perspective lol)

I worked for a guy that him and his wife owned 5 McDonald's stores and 2 half McDonald's stores in 2 separate Walmarts. This man and his wife both made about 1 million after taxes a year... This was about 5 years ago back when we only got paid about 9-10 dollars an hour working at said McDonald's. Now this guy only only owns 4 stores and maybe 1 of the half stores? He's still rich...

McDonald's today reminds me of boutiques on 5th Avenue where a handbag cost $5000, but only 3 people walked in the whole day and no one bought anything 🤣 How're they paying that insane rent?! It's all a front for money laundry

Burger King worker here. I remember when the BK Broiler came out. it was a high end chicken sandwich that was broiled along with the burgers. It was really good. But man o man, corporate required not one but two new refrigeration units to house them. One to keep them frozen on sheets, the other to thaw them and keep them refrigerated on these special trays. Never understood why they needed to be thawed or get this special treatment when everything else did just fine in the big cooler or freezer.

The bgm is getting better with every video

I started in 1985 at the generous rate of £1.33 per hour (I was under 18, those 18 and over were on about £1.60 if remember correctly). A Big Mac was 70p then I think.

What people don't realize is, McDonald's may be a fast food business, but McDonald's is a real estate business 1st! McDonald's owns the most prime real estate in the USA.

What a lot of people don't realize is that the money is in the real estate. You buy one restaurant, save to buy another and then another. 15 years later you sell them for profit.

*mcdonalds* first started off with *ham,cheese burgers/fries and cokes* and orders were *filled imediatley* now it takes *5-15 minutes*

I feel like the founder has already taught me most of what this video has mentioned.

I worked at a McDonald’s for like three years and the owners of our store was a family from Korea, who own all the stores in Montana.

The music had me dancing lol

No, the family who owns the three McDonalda near my house are still rich af. But they're very nice people donate often, I wasn't expecting that at first TBH.

$13,k for a coffee maker seems expensive for average person, but McDonald's can make that in one weekend about 2 or 3 days

I have to go cross town to get my large orders, the McD next door 9/13 times will short the order by one burger. I heard from other customers that they to are often shorted, or had Items not ordered added.

EXACTLY as I learned in business school about "franchises"

There’s a family in my town who thought they could afford to open a McDonald’s but the place might as well be called McDowell’s That particular McDonald’s is known for being horrible I’m surprised they’re still in business💯

I remember 10 years ago when it actually tasted good, at least where i live now the quality went down

4:26 why are they pawing at the air like cats lol

I'm from the town that the rat in the fryer video came from, Bastrop Texas and it was the Whataburger, still can't believe that happened

I pretty much stopped going to McD's because they became more expensive than other, better fast food options. A big part of MD's appeal was that they were cheap! For example, you used to be able to get those mini breakfast burritos for 99 cents. I'm talking like maybe 10 years ago. Then it was 2 for $2, then 2 for $3, then 2 for $4 and now they cost $3 each after tax. Their basic combos are all over $10 now. I can get better food at Wendy's or In N Out for less.

I got friends that own a couple McDonald's franchises. Crazy their parents were actually employees and managers before finally buying their own. Their mad successful and I see pictures of them flying everywhere and they just flexing on everyone lol.

Great beginning in the Video

I always avoid McDonalds unless there's ABSOLUTELY nothing else to eat.

I'm willing to bet this was written by the girl from the fast food infographics challenge!

Ill be right back info gs. gonna go check that Hashbrown Rat out.

There's a McDonald's near me.that looks like a store corporate forgot to check on. It's still rocking the 90s aesthetic, and the outside lights don't work, so it's pitch black around it besides street lights.

I heard the crazy stories about the ice cream machine. Gotta say I'm in the land of Oz and that has never happened to me. Maybe I'm just lucky or maybe the machines are made differently for the Aussie market. 🤷

Over here in ireland, i know a guy who owns 3 Mcdonald's franchises and he's making BANK

Subway franchise requiert less money on the front but their royalties are way higher than other companies. Could be an interresting video

Not sure why he said only 500k, because they rejected my uncle 20 yrs ago when he had about that much to proved to them and they still turned him down. Told him to come back when he had "Atleast double the amount" he can proved, and this is 20 yrs ago in the early 2000s.

A few years ago I went out of state to visit friends and went to a McDonald’s where I got a large Crown and Coke The girl at the drive through was drinking on the job and accidentally gave me her drink I got a drink that would’ve cost atleast $50 in a bar for only $3💯😂

500,000$ for menu displays? Guess I know what my new business is going to be. I will just buy a couple of monitors and a raspberry pi and sell those to MacDonald's for "only" 250,000$. Win-win.