Setting your franchise up for success

Whether you are a business owner looking to franchise or an experienced franchisor looking to expand even further, you will be wanting to set yourself up for success! By taking a look at some of the most accomplished franchises, you’ll notice some commonalities between them. So today, we have decided to take a look into what the most successful franchises do to inform your future strategies.

Passion and commitment 

Without passion for your franchise, you’re unlikely to be successful. The simple fact is, that if you aren’t passionate about what you’re doing, you’re not going to be committed for the long haul. Passion is not something that can be taught, you either have it or you don’t. So ask yourself if this is your passion and if this is what you want to do. Along with these questions, you need to consider whether you can completely commit yourself to the franchise. Know that franchising (like any business endeavour) is a risk and requires a great deal of dedication. Be prepared to be fully invested.

Training programs

In order to set up a long-standing and effective franchise, you’re going to need some killer training programs! Without the right training programs, your franchisees and their staff might not be working to brand standards. Your brand is the most important asset to you and if your franchisees aren’t following brand guidelines, that can spell disaster for you. It may cause brand damage, a lack of association between sites and even alienation of consumers. Set yourself up for success with the best mandatory training programs (like the ones you can develop using Learn Central).

Franchisee relationships and support

Fostering positive relationships with your network of franchisees cannot be underestimated. You want your franchisees to be just as excited about the industry and your brand as you are. Your franchisees should understand the importance of your brands reputation as well as maintaining the same quality throughout all sites. By effectively communicating with your franchisees, you’re putting your best foot forward! The success of your franchise has a lot to do with having a team that you trust to uphold your brand values, but it has even more to do with your own ability to maintain franchisee relationships and the support you provide them with. Never forget that your franchisees rely on you.

Manuals and procedures

Before expanding your franchise and hiring any franchisees, you need fully documented manuals of all your policies and procedures. The simple fact is that you can't start expanding without them. Your franchisees need clear information about your brand and how to run their very own franchise. These well-curated policies and procedures are going to minimise risk in a major way, particularly if you’re utilising Work Central! Make sure your franchisees are all provided with the same information and that your manuals are kept well up-to-date when anything to do with your brand/business changes. Knowledge is power! 

Non-reliance on franchise fees

Of course, developing fat franchise fees are attractive now, but you want to be focusing on royalty streams! A constant flow of cash coming in is going to be far better in the long run for your franchise. These royalty streams rely on your franchisees so this ties in greatly to the above points. You need a team of franchisees that you trust to work hard, have extensive brand knowledge, are fully committed to their franchise and of course, have your support! With these factors already in place, you can be confident that you will build a steady royalty stream in the future and thus will not need a large initial franchise fee. Be patient and focus on the future.

Whether you’re an aspiring or an experienced franchisor, you should always be looking at ways to improve your franchise and make sure you are geared up for future growth. That’s why taking a look at what successful franchises do is so important. Now go out there and take the franchising field by storm!