Shadowing Practice: Why You Will Go Broke Owning a McDonalds Franchise - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B2
You're done with the rat race and ready to start living your dream, owning your very own McDonald's franchise.
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You're done with the rat race and ready to start living your dream, owning your very own McDonald's franchise.
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Not only will you be your own boss, dishing out Happy Meals and Big Macs to all the Mickey D fans, but you'll have all the fries you could want right within reach.
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What could go wrong?
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Well, for one thing, opening a McDonald's franchise costs money.
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A lot of money.
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McDonald's is one of the biggest chains in the world, with over 37,000 stores across 100 countries serving a shocking 69 million customers a day.
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Not only are they the biggest name in most fast food countries, but they can be found anywhere people are passing by- in malls, train stations, airports, and office buildings.
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They are even the second biggest private employer in the world, with over a million and a half people wearing that distinctive uniform.
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They have a brand and an image to preserve, and that means joining the family isn't going to be easy.
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From the start, McDonald's wants to make sure you're going to be able to carry the costs of a franchise.
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With a franchise, you own the restaurant
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and can make your own decisions as long as you abide by some basic regulations for representing the larger corporation.
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So you won't be answering to a boss on the reg, but they want to make sure you'll represent them well.
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That means no one who's going to go bankrupt in a few months, which is why the door has a pretty big entry fee.
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Before McDonald's will even consider you for a franchise, they're going to want to do a deep dive into your personal finances.
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If you have less than half a million dollars of personal resources, you probably shouldn't even apply.
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Although there are limited opportunities if you have a good argument for an alternative, There's a good reason why McDonald's wants to know your resources before you start.
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They want to make sure you can afford the down payment.
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And that's where your first big choice comes in.
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Do you want to build the new McDonald's from scratch?
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This will take more resources, including retrofitting an existing building with all the usual McDonald's treats and tricks you love, and the costs will vary.
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Turning a former Burger King into a McDonald's will take less resources than turning a bank
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or a shoe store into a fast food restaurant, but the company will generally want 40% of the total cost paid up front before they break ground.
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But if resources are a little tight, there's another option.
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Do you have an old McDonald's in your neighborhood?
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Did those old arches haunt your memory?
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Calling back to when you could get your McNugget fix in a five minute walk?
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If you take over an existing restaurant that's still functioning or recently closed, you can get a discount on the down payment.
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Only 25%.
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Is that a good buy?
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It depends on why the restaurant closed.
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If it fell prey to a recession, go ahead.
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If it went viral for that iconic Hashbrown Rat video on social media, it might be more trouble than it's worth.
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But the payments don't stop there.
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McDonald's has to get something out of the deal, so once you sign the contract and open your restaurant, you'll be paying them going forward in two ways.
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You'll be responsible for a 4% service fee based on your restaurant's sales performance, as well as rent.
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Rent is judged as a flat percentage of your sales, and these two fees usually don't change over the course of your contract, so make sure it's all baked into all your plans.
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At least once that's taken care of, you're cleared for takeoff, right?
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Not quite.
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Running a McDonald's franchise is a lucrative business.
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The average gross profit in the United States is around 1.8 million, which means there are a lot of people ready to get their McMuffin fix every morning.
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But with great profits come great responsibility, and running a McDonald's franchise comes with a whole lot of hidden costs
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that can take even the most successful franchise owner by surprise.
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And it starts before you open your doors.
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The startup cost of a McDonald's franchise is high, averaging just under a million on the low end and over two million on the high end.
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This depends on what kind of facility you're taking over, what size the restaurant is, and how much you have to build from scratch.
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McDonald's likes things standardized, so even an already equipped restaurant will have to make sure everything about it fits the parent company's standards, and that includes its franchisees.
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Do you wish you could go back to school?
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McDonald's will make that dream come true, but you won't be attending frat parties before Before the Golden
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Arches will trust you with the keys to one of their franchises, they're going to put you through training.
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All franchisees are required to complete a formal training program
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that takes about 12-18 months part-time before they're allowed to sign the contract.
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And you're not the only thing that will want to whip into shape.
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Before a new McDonald's will open, the company will want to make sure every part of the building is up to par.
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That includes the kitchen equipment, which has to be configured specifically for the company, the signs outside, and even the landscaping.
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After all, no one's going to want to go to a McDonald's that has shabby grass, right?
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Well maybe, who looks at the grass when they're on a McNuggets run?
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But there's one area of construction where McDonald's is more particular than ever.
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The kitchen is a well-oiled McDonald's machine.
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The company only sells a limited number of items on its tight menu, usually old favorites.
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New items come and go, but they don't always stay, as anyone who loved those short-lived fish tenders knows all too well.
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But with a limited roster, the kitchen is designed to cook them to perfection in short order.
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That's why McDonald's will want to make sure any franchisee has the proper grill that cooks those burgers at the right temperature, a fryer that can handle the capacity of all those fries and nuggets,
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and a drink machine that'll keep pumping out the coke for thirsty diners.
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But at least there's one thing we know about McDonald's- everything stays the same, right?
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Wrong!
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And that's where the biggest hidden costs of owning a McDonald's franchise come in.
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Because like any company, McDonald's is constantly experimenting.
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Sometimes they're introducing a new sandwich or flavored nugget.
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Sometimes they're completely overhauling their beverage program.
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Sometimes they're experimenting with faster digital-era ways to order, and when they hit upon an invention they like, they want it to be reflected across the line so when people go into a McDonald's anywhere,
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they can expect the newest and best.
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And that means it's time to upgrade across the board.
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And guess who pays those upgrade fees?
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This has happened many times over the years, with one of the most significant upgrades being the introduction of the McCafe espresso machines.
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This was McDonald's attempt to compete with high-end coffee shops like Starbucks.
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Suddenly, you didn't have to settle for a standard hot cup of McDonald's coffee with your McMuffin.
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You could have a refreshing iced coffee or a frothy sweet drink, and all it cost was a whopping $13,000 for each franchise
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owner to bring in one of the most advanced coffee-making machines around.
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Even smaller charges can add up.
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Remember when McDonald's introduced those tasty little muffins?
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Those required their own equipment, which cost each franchise owner over $4,000.
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But even changes that don't seem to require new equipment can add up.
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Every McDonald's fan around celebrated when All-Day Breakfast was announced.
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Finally, those dreams of having a sandwich made of McNuggets between hash brown patties could come true.
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But while all equipment for both breakfast and lunch was already there, having them coexist meant some changes.
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All-Day Breakfast menus meant more capacity was needed to prepare both at the same time, and that took some retrofitting of existing kitchens.
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Luckily, franchisees only put in about $500 to those changes, but some older and smaller McDonald's wound up shelling out over 5,000.
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Those were some costly hash browns.
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But the biggest costs come upgrade time or when things get digital.
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Remember walking into your local McDonald's and thinking it suddenly looked futuristic?
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The old paperboard menus were replaced with fancy digital menus
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that changed automatically and would even switch over the second it turned from breakfast to lunch.
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Well those didn't come cheap, and usually came as part of a larger interior makeover to make the restaurant look more modern.
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This fancy new menu came with a massive price tag of over half a million dollars, a major investment for even the most successful McDonald's franchise.
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And then there's those notorious ice cream machines.
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You know how you can never seem to get McDonald's ice cream when you walk in?
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The machine is always broken.
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The machines require a nightly cleaning cycle, and if they break down, they can only be repaired by a technician sent by corporate, so the costs of those machines can add up quickly.
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And recent events have made some of those upgrades more urgent.
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With the pandemic of 2020 making many people minimize physical contact and prefer contactless payment methods, many McDonald's introduced the Create Your Own Taste kiosks.
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These digital tools not only let people order and customize their food independently, they meant you could get your food without ever having to interact with a worker until your bag came out.
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The kiosks got rave reviews, except for those who had to get their grandkids to order for them.
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But these high-tech devices didn't come with a light price tag, costing a whopping $130,000 per franchise.
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Which raises the question, is this still a sustainable business model?
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The costs can add up quickly for franchises, and while restaurants are technically not Not required to make upgrades when the company offers them, that's a double-edged sword.
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Older restaurants usually find upgrades are more expensive, but their restaurants are also the most likely to be deemed no longer up to par by the parent company.
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And if McDonald's feels the store isn't representing them well, they can decline to renew their franchise and essentially force them out of business, often handing it over to a new franchisee.
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But for many, the hefty price tag of getting in the door is worth it.
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McDonald's has a reputation for being an expensive franchise to open, but studies indicate that But it's not out of line with some of the other top fast food joints.
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Taco Bell and KFC all have similar high rates and require similar specialty equipment.
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The outlier?
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Subway.
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But the famous sandwich shop often works out of smaller spaces and doesn't offer as big a variety of food as McDonald's.
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No deep fryer needed to make subs...yet.
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And despite the high price tag, it's not impossible to make a profit.
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So how much of McDonald's franchisees' gross profits winds up going back to the company?
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The average franchisee pays between 8.5-12% in rent and other fees every month, and that doesn't account for upgrades, which are unpredictable and can show up at any time.
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But most McDonald's around the country are franchises, and the company shows no sign of slowing down.
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That means that if you have the resources and open up a franchise, some savvy business sense is likely to leave you with a pocket full of money for all those McNuggets you want.
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For more of the secrets of the fast food world, check out This Fast Food Item Has Over 1500 Calories, Worst Fast Food Items You Can Order.
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watch What Will We Eat In The Future for a look ahead!
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will engage in English speaking practice by exploring a discussion about owning a McDonald's franchise. This content focuses on the realities of franchise ownership, including financial commitments, operational responsibilities, and the training involved. Through shadowing the video, you will enhance your listening skills and pronunciation while learning essential vocabulary related to business and entrepreneurship.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Franchise: A business model where individuals can buy the rights to operate a branch of a larger company.
- Entry fee: The initial cost required to start the franchise.
- Down payment: An upfront payment that contributes to the purchase price of the franchise.
- Service fee: A percentage of sales paid to the franchise company for ongoing support and services.
- Gross profit: The total income from sales after deducting the costs of goods sold.
- Hidden costs: Expenses that are not immediately obvious when starting a business.
- Standardized: Ensuring that everything meets the company's uniform requirements.
- Operational responsibilities: The tasks and duties that come with managing a business.
Practice Tips
As you engage with the video, try to use these shadow speech techniques to maximize your learning:
- Focus on pacing: The video features a mix of detailed explanations and more casual dialogue. Align your speech with the rhythm of the speaker’s tone to capture both clarity and expressiveness.
- Emphasize difficult words: Pay particular attention to challenging vocabulary like "franchise" or "gross profit." Repeating these key terms will help solidify their pronunciation in your mind.
- Practice with pauses: If the video text is fast, pause after significant phrases to repeat them. This will enhance your shadowspeak abilities with challenging concepts.
- Engage in playback: Rewatch sections that you find particularly interesting or challenging. This repetition reinforces learning and improves your learn English with YouTube experience.
- Record yourself: After shadowing a section, record your voice. Comparing your recordings with the original audio will reveal areas for improvement in pronunciation and intonation.
Utilize these practice tips to deepen your understanding of the content while refining your speaking skills. Happy shadowing!
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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