How to Be a Successful Franchise Owner

Guest Post
Thu, 16 May 2024 15:00:00 +0000
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By Don Daszkowski

Owning your own franchise can be a life-changing experience. Not only does franchise business ownership allow you to be your own boss, but it can allow you to have a wonderful work-life balance. But the decision to become a franchise business owner shouldn’t be taken lightly, and it's not for everyone. While franchising may decrease your risk of failure because you are investing in a proven system, there is no guarantee of success.

You need to be a special kind of person to succeed in the industry. Here are 12 traits of highly successful franchise business owners.

Successful franchise business owners have these 12 traits

1. Compliant

The best way to succeed as a franchise owner is to follow the working system that is provided to you by the franchisor. This working system is what differentiates a franchise from an independent business. While you can’t be creative with the design of the franchise unit or the items on the restaurant's menu, for example, compliance with the franchisor’s system is a great key to success in franchising.

2. A natural leader

Whether you are a natural-born leader or learn to become one over time, franchisees need to be strong leaders who hire and train their teams. You have to set an example to others of how to conduct yourself in the workplace. Make an effort to understand the ins and outs of the business and always lead by example.

3. Resilient

Resilience is the ability to adapt to challenging and unexpected situations. As a franchise business owner, the unexpected can strike at any time. For example, the Covid-19 pandemic took everyone off guard. Good business leaders roll with the punches and have an emergency plan ready for hard times. When the pandemic hit, business owners had to adapt by shortening their hours of operations, only allowing a certain amount of people into their stores at a time, and making sure everything was deeply cleaned to ensure the safety of staff and customers. Adaptation can ensure a business’s longevity.

4. Cash rich

Owning a business isn’t a cheap endeavor. Potential franchisees must have liquid cash to live on before the business becomes profitable. It’s also wise to have an emergency fund set aside.

5. Family support

Owning a business is truly a family affair. Before even considering investing in a franchise, good business owners check in with their families to make sure they are on board with the idea. Many franchisees put their entire savings into their business, so their families will be impacted by whatever happens with the franchise.

6. Enthusiastic

A major benefit to franchising is that brand recognition brings a built-in fan base, which is very attractive to investors. It is the business owner's job to be the brand’s ambassador and make the brand look as good as possible. While there is always failure in a franchise system, a business owner must give the best service possible to ensure customers have no reason to complain. All good franchisees are enthusiastic about their business because if they’re not, the public won’t be either.

7. Business-savvy

When running a business, franchisees must have a basic knowledge of spreadsheets, payroll, and profit and loss (P&L) statements. While the franchisor will provide you with everything you need to know about day-to-day operations, it is attractive to franchisors if you come in with business experience.

8. Growth-driven

The mark of a great business owner is the never-ending desire to grow with the brand. This can mean expanding one territory by growing a team or investing in additional units. It also means having an open mind regarding the franchisor’s growth and investments in things like technology. Growth-minded franchisees offer suggestions to the franchisor and collaborate with fellow franchise owners to improve the brands.

9. Ability to hustle

You get out of your business what you put into it. This is especially true in the first year when the rate of failure is at its highest. Business owners do what it takes to succeed by constantly communicating with their customers, staff, and other franchisees. They are also constantly thinking about bringing community awareness to their product and its value to the community.

Marketing is also very important. This involves social media campaigns for the business and reaching out to customers through email and other means. The hustle of a franchisee is endless.

10. Collaborative

Running a business isn’t the work of just one person. Good business owners are happy to collaborate and learn from fellow franchisees because running a successful business is a team effort. You can start to do this networking by calling some of the franchisees you spoke with as part of your pre-purchase research. The goal of networking is for you to have two or three franchisees you would feel comfortable calling with any issue that comes up.

11. Confident

One of the first rules of business is that you don't buy in unless you are excited about the opportunity. If you don’t believe in the brand or product you’re selling, why should your staff or the public believe in it? Belief in what you’re selling will increase your confidence, which will attract people to your business.

12. Patient

You know how the saying goes: Rome wasn't built in a day. Business owners need to be patient with themselves because the business won’t be profitable right away, and they will make mistakes in the process of running the business. The key is to not be too hard on yourself for the small mistakes and give yourself time to learn. Patience is most certainly a virtue and attractive quality of a franchise business owner.

RELATED: 40 Reasons to Buy a Franchise

About the Author

Post by: Don Daszkowski

Don Daszkowski is the founder of the International Franchise Professionals Group (IFPG), a membership-based franchise consulting network with more than 1,200 franchisors, franchise consultants, and vendor members. Together, IFPG members guide aspiring business owners through the process of identifying and investing in franchise businesses.

Company: IFPG
Website: www.ifpg.org