What are the pros and cons of being a pilot franchisee?

Such a person is piloting ‘franchising’, they are not ‘piloting’ whether the business system, or idea, works. The effect of operating under franchise can only be tested when there are already multiple companyowned units against which the new method of operation can be tested.  The costs of testing franchising will often be borne between the (potential) franchisor and pilot franchisees. The testing needs to be done by someone with ‘skin in the game’ otherwise it is not a test of how an independent operator will perform. However, it is not fair to ask a third party to take all the risk of proving what someone else thinks will work.  If all goes well, at the end of that period the pilot franchisee will be granted a full franchise agreement. The downside, if things don’t go well, or the franchising project is abandoned, is that all bets are off and the pilot franchisee may be left needing to find alternative income.  Becoming a pilot franchisee is inevitably more risky, but it may present opportunities to guide the future development of the network.