Why Non-Disclosures (NDAs) Should be Outlawed in Franchising Pt. 2
If the FTC requires franchisors to provide DISCLOSURE documents to prospective franchisees, what are they hiding by using NON-DISCLOSURE agreements (NDAs)? Veteran franchisee Jim Lager explains why NDAs should be banned in franchising.
Part 2 – Part of the Why Smart People Fail Series by Jim Lager with Sean Kelly
Across America, new victims are about to be created:
A young girl in a doctor’s waiting room & the parents who chose the doctor based on his positive reviews.
A teenage boy loading his camping gear into his youth pastor’s van for an overnight retreat.
An elderly woman and her family, including her son who thought he had thoroughly vetted the new in-home caregiver.
The young acting student invited to a working dinner by her mentor.
The decorated, disabled veteran who is about put his savings, his family home, his retirement account & his children’s college funds on the line to invest in the “Top Franchise Opportunity for Veterans,” a nearly risk-free venture facilitated by the non-profit VetFran organization.
Unaware, families across the nation are being put on a path leading to years of personal & financial devastation that some won’t survive.
The cause of this widespread and avoidable devastation can be found on password-protected hard-drives and locked filing cabinets in the doctor’s private office, in the church’s confidential administrative files, in the encrypted files of the caregiver referral service, in the University’s legal archives, and in the bulging file cabinet of an international franchise company’s General Counsel.
Non-Disclosure Documents (NDAs) Perpetuate Evil in Every Facet of Society
The scenario is quickly becoming a sad cliché: The rich, powerful and predatory are allowed to demean and destroy the trusting & less powerful… sometimes for financial gain… sometimes for sport… but always as an exercise in power & dominance.
Those in the employ or vicinity of these wealthy predators have highly refined myopia and denial skills & countless justifications for not blowing the whistle.
Tragically, the victims are often bullied into legal positions where they must sign onerous Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) that prohibit them from warning future victims.
NDAs Ensure Abuse Victims Never Recover…
By signing NDAs, abuse victims are victimized a second time… and in perpetuity… as they must live with the agony of knowing their silence is both protecting their abuser and allowing the abuse to continue.
The Next Victim of NDAs May be YOU… Or Someone You Love
Bill Cosby… Harvey Weinstein… Jeffrey Epstein… Dr. Larry Nasser… R. Kelly… Michael Jackson… Jerry Sandusky… An estimated 5,000+ Catholic priests…
With the media focus on high profile & celebrity abusers, it might make one think that every day people aren’t being destroyed by NDAs.
In franchising, few consider that existing NDAs block all but a franchisor’s rosy marketing picture of their opportunity before a prospective franchisee signs a 10-20 year agreement. And once they sign, they often lose their freedom of speech.
ABOUT JIM LAGER
Jim Lager’s franchise experience spans 4 decades with 3 national brands. He is now a proud Non-Franchised American (NFA) & independent owner of Texas Hose Pro. Why Smart People Fail is a publishing collaboration with Sean Kelly & IdeaFarm
ABOUT JIM LAGER
Jim Lager’s franchise experience spans 4 decades with 3 national brands. He is now a proud Non-Franchised American (NFA) & independent owner of Texas Hose Pro.
Why Smart People Fail is a publishing collaboration with Sean Kelly & IdeaFarm
“Why Non-Disclosures (NDAs) Should be Outlawed in Franchising Pt. 1” (Post)
“Why Non-Disclosures (NDAs) Should be Outlawed in Franchising Pt. 2” (PDF)
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TAGS: NDA, NDAs, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Jim Lager, Why Smart People Fail, franchise, franchise opportunity, franchise complaints, franchise, franchise opportunity, franchise complaints, unhappy franchisee
Spot on.
I’d also like to point out it’s bad for franchising. I know many Franchisees who were afraid to participate with the public comment phase of the FTC Process going on right now, out of fear of retribution from the franchisor.
It was interesting to read your opinion