95% of people on this site or that you talk to will tell you no done do it, it isnt worth it becasue of blah blah blah. I have talked with franchises before becaue I have been seriously interested in them. You can not make a decision on it with out serious in depth research about the company. There should be a salesmen hes talking to to find out information about the company, answer questions that he comes up with (Which he should have a lot of) and go from there.
like royal tree said, it makes sense for some, others it doesnt, and a good salesman will tell you that, and tell the interested franchisee that he doesnt believe he would be a good fit for that franchise like one has told me before.
The nice thing about a franchise is, they have done all the leg work for the company, yes you still have some but your not developing all sorts of systems, rules etc. Thats what that initial start up fee covers (which most are willing to finance inhouse, you dont usually need to pay every penny right away.) They give you all sorts of tools, software, bidding information, to work with. And no you dont get all sorts of accoutns from them, you may get a few, but majority of them do have managers that work with you to get certain accounts.
Plus there are some good perks too, fanchises have big ins with companies and you get a pretty good price on a lot of services, products etc. Most have marketing depts so you dont have to design ads, they will for you.
It works for some, it doesnt for some. You just really have to get past everyone saying no no no no, and dig through the facts. If it makes sense, go for it. And your not going to get any good solid information that will make you decide from people on here. You need to TALK to the franchise and discusss it with them.