[{"title":"Startup Sentiment Jumps to 2026 High","url":"https:\/\/www.franchiseinsights.com\/small-business-startup-sentiment-index\/startup-sentiment-jumps-to-2026-high\/","content":"August 5, 2026 - After three months of declining startup sentiment since March 2026, July saw a rise in optimism as 65% of persons exploring franchise ownership agree or strongly agree that \u201cnow is a good time for startup\u201d, up from 47.5% in June.","date":"August 3, 2026"},{"title":"The Fundamental Motivations for Business Ownership","url":"https:\/\/www.franchiseinsights.com\/franchise-prospects\/the-fundamental-motivations-for-business-ownership\/","content":"July 29, 2026 \u2013 It is more desire for agency, than the financial rewards, that drives individuals to own their own businesses.","date":"July 28, 2026"},{"title":"Subtle Differences Between Women and Men in Ranking Desired Franchise Characteristics","url":"https:\/\/www.franchiseinsights.com\/franchise-prospects\/subtle-differences-between-women-and-men-in-ranking-desired-franchise-characteristics\/","content":"July 22, 2026 - In over six years of surveying individuals researching franchises, we have seen\u00a0 consistency in the rankings of most important characteristics, and shifts associated with tectonic events like the outbreak of covid on attitudes about pandemic resilience, remote work and work flexibility.","date":"July 14, 2026"},{"title":"Startup Sentiment Softens Again in June","url":"https:\/\/www.franchiseinsights.com\/small-business-startup-sentiment-index\/startup-sentiment-softens-again-in-june\/","content":"July 8, 2026 - After stronger startup sentiment in February through April 2026, June saw the second month of decreasing optimism as less than half (47.5%) of persons exploring franchise ownership agree or strongly agree that \u201cnow is a good time for startup\u201d, down from 52.2% in May and 62.2% in April.","date":"July 7, 2026"},{"title":"Work Schedule Flexibility Tops Cost of Entry in Recent Polls of Franchise Prospect Preferences","url":"https:\/\/www.franchiseinsights.com\/franchise-development\/work-schedule-flexibility-tops-cost-of-entry-in-recent-polls-of-franchise-prospect-preferences\/","content":"July 1, 2026\u00a0 - In over six years of survey data on characteristics that make franchises most attractive to individuals seeking franchises, \u201clow cost of entry\u201d and \u201chigher earnings potential\u201d have consistently been ranked the highest. But in recent months, \u201cflexibility of work schedule\u201d has risen to second most important by individuals seeking business ownership, surpassing \u201clow cost of entry.\u201d","date":"July 1, 2026"},{"title":"The Top Three Sources of Franchise Funding According to Today’s Prospects","url":"https:\/\/www.franchiseinsights.com\/franchise-prospects\/the-top-three-sources-of-franchise-funding-according-to-todays-prospects\/","content":"June 24, 2026 - Since our last review of expected business startup funding sources, many of the smaller categories changed by a few percentage points. But while maintaining their rank order, two of the top three sources \u2013 personal savings and SBA loans \u2013 dropped in the range of ten percentage points each.","date":"June 23, 2026"},{"title":"Franchise Prospects Now More Likely to Respond to Voice or Text for Initial Contact, But Email Plays Important Role","url":"https:\/\/www.franchiseinsights.com\/franchise-development\/franchise-lead-generation\/franchise-prospects-now-more-likely-to-respond-to-voice-or-text-for-initial-contact-but-email-plays-important-role\/","content":"June 17, 2026 \u2013 Since our last review of preferred initial contact channels in July 2025, more franchise prospects are saying they prefer a phone call for initial contact, and marginally fewer franchise prospects have been indicating that they preferred to be emailed first by a franchise they have expressed interest in. This preference is seen in surveys from January to May 2026 by Franchise Insights.","date":"June 17, 2026"},{"title":"Scaling Franchise Growth: Why Lead Generation Alone Isn\u2019t Enough","url":"https:\/\/www.franchiseinsights.com\/franchise-development\/franchise-lead-generation\/scaling-franchise-growth-why-lead-generation-alone-isnt-enough\/","content":"At Franchise Ventures, we work with brands that are focused on scaling growth across multiple locations, where marketing success depends not just on generating leads, but on how those leads turn into real business outcomes. We sat down with Joe Yakuel, founder and CEO of WITHIN, a leading creative and marketing agency. WITHIN helps brands ...<\/a>","date":"June 10, 2026"},{"title":"Startup Sentiment Dips, Though Majority Still See Now As a Good Time to Start","url":"https:\/\/www.franchiseinsights.com\/small-business-startup-sentiment-index\/startup-sentiment-dips-though-majority-still-see-now-as-a-good-time-to-start\/","content":"June 3, 2026 - After three strong months of improving sentiment, it dipped some in May 2026 as business buyer surveys showed that 52.2% of persons exploring ownership agree or strongly agree that \u201cnow is a good time for startup\u201d, down from 62.2% in April.","date":"May 31, 2026"},{"title":"The Search and AI Tools Franchise Prospects Are Finding Most Useful","url":"https:\/\/www.franchiseinsights.com\/franchise-development\/franchise-lead-generation\/the-search-and-ai-tools-franchise-prospects-are-finding-most-useful\/","content":"May 27, 2026 - In a surprising contrast with surveys of the general public about their broad use of AI, franchise prospects are more dependent on traditional tools for researching franchises of interest.","date":"May 27, 2026"}]