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For the Brandts, married for 15 years with three sons at the time, the call meant much more than just opening a store, albeit a store in a great location on bustling Frederick Road.

It meant they could finally stop hopping from city to city and stay in Montgomery County, where they felt at home. And it meant they joined a business trend other couples have found successful, though not without trials and tribulations: husband-and-wife teams working together and making money at the same time.

For years, while Audrey had focused on raising their sons, even working in their school at times, Charles had worked for franchises of Holiday Inns in Albuquerque, N.M.; Sequin, Sweetwater and San Antonio, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; and Germantown.

After all that moving, they decided that when Charles’ next promotion with Holiday Inn came up — which would mean another relocation — they would finally stay put rather than move.

Charles already knew about franchising businesses.

‘‘I believe that working for a franchise is a good choice,” he said. ‘‘It is good because of the business model. You can build relationships with like-minded people and you can grow with them.”

Franchising an AlphaGraphics shop has worked well for the Brandts. Their shop turned a profit after only one year. By last year, it had totaled $1.2 million in revenues.

The Brandts have lots of company in franchising. A 2004 PricewaterhouseCoopers study showed that 42 percent of private U.S. retail businesses are franchises. The franchising sector generates 18 million U.S. jobs and yields $1.53 trillion in economic output, according to the study.

Moreover, the Brandts also say that franchising suits them well as a married couple. They discuss all major decisions, but never take business home. They keep focused on their separate responsibilities. Audrey handles sales and customer needs, while Charles is the ‘‘super businessman,” she said. He handles all technical details of the business and its deadlines.

‘‘Charlie understands how a business works and ...,” she said before he cut in:

‘‘But printing is customer manufacturing and she has always been focused on making and being familiar with the customers.”

Audrey has been a sales leader for several years among AlphaGraphics’ 250 shops in the United States and nine foreign countries.

‘‘This business has done a lot for us,” Charles said.

For couples who work well together, franchising ‘‘is great for their relationship,” said Kevin K. Cushing, CEO of Alpha Graphics Inc.

But for other couples, it can be a challenge, said AlphaGraphics spokeswoman Catherine Whelan-Wuest. ‘‘There is a toll that it can take on them,” Whelan-Wuest said. ‘‘But a lot of people are drawn to franchising because it is a pattern that is in place. In franchising, there is a lot of support. That takes a lot of the guesswork out of starting a business.”

Families and franchises

Franchising and families often can’t be separated, said Terry Hill, vice president of the International Franchise Association, with 1,200 partnering franchise chains.

‘‘Even if the spouse does not go into the business, as part of the due diligence process, we encourage people to give family full consideration,” Hill said.

For example, he said, franchisees should ask, ‘‘Do you want to be in a location 24 hours a day with that person?”

Any pre-existing problems could be compounded by launching a franchise business because the finances in the business are also the family’s resources, Hill said.

‘‘Debt is another issue that is not uncommon,” he said. ‘‘A lot of people borrow from friends and family and that puts you on completely different footing.”

Tom Thompson, mid-Atlantic manager for FranNet of Louisville, Ky., senses trouble ahead when he asks a prospective franchisee, ‘‘Will your spouse be involved?” and the response is, ‘‘What! Are you crazy?”

‘‘In franchising, it is very important to get enthusiastic approval,” said Thompson, whose company helps prospective franchisees select the right business. ‘‘If you don’t ask, you are looking for trouble.”

But Thompson said the right franchise could also save or even lead to a marriage if both partners become fully involved.

A successful McMarriage

Gerald Fair and his wife, Charlene Lewis-Fair, met as teenagers in 1976 while working for fast-food giant McDonald’s. Now, they own 10 McDonald’s restaurants in St. Mary’s and Calvert counties.

Fair said they both worked their way up the corporate ladder and finally decided to be franchise owners themselves in 1991.

He has never really considered doing any other job or working for another company.

‘‘McDonald’s is a passion,” Fair said. ‘‘You spend so much time with your restaurants ... trying to take care of the business you have in hand.”

Other couples start franchise businesses after early retirement as corporate executives.

In Annapolis, Dick Frey, a former executive for 30 years for women retail clothing corporations, said in jest, ‘‘I failed at retirement. I didn’t plan for what I would do and my wife said, ‘Well, I married you for better or worse.’”

The Freys chose to apply his knowledge of retail outlets to opening a hairdressing franchise, Fantastic Sam’s.

‘‘We wanted to be as busy or as unbusy as we wanted,” Frey said. He had traveled ‘‘constantly” in his career, he said, and the couple is now enjoying running the business together, now with four salons in Annapolis and Severna Park.

Like the Brandts, the Freys’ secret is in dividing the duties.

‘‘She started handling the books but didn’t like that, so she now likes to go into the salons and work with people,” Frey said. ‘‘She is very engaging.”

It took the Freys three years to turn a profit, which is not unusual. Most franchisees take more than one year to be profitable, said FranNet’s Thompson.

‘‘Some businesses by their nature are longer cash-flow break-even,” he said. ‘‘A furniture or decorating store would require a lot of stock and location. But a transmission shop would only need tools and a lift and advertising for people to find you instead of you finding the customers. In printing you need a main highway location near offices and office buildings.”

Learn More

Unified Franchise Offering Circulars provide franchise earnings claims and other information: www.ufoc.com.

FranNet Inc. helps prospective franchisees select the right business: www.frannet.com⁄opencms⁄opencms⁄.

The International Franchise Association represents 1,200 franchising companies, 10,000 franchisees and 500 suppliers, including accountants, lawyers, marketing specialists and other professionals: www.franchise.org.

AlphaGraphics says its franchisees have the highest average earnings per location in the printing industry, with sales of nearly $1 million when opened longer than one year and $1,139,620 annually after three or more years.