Joel Libava
You need to do a lot of things right in order to be a successful franchise owner.
Some of things you need to do right happen before you buy the franchise. Some of them happen after you become a franchisee.
Keep reading, so you can join the ranks of successful franchisees.
Before You Buy A Franchise Tips
Your Franchise Choice
It’s important to make sure that you’ve done everything in your power to make the right choice in a franchise.
One of the ways to do that is to ignore the conventional wisdom.
In franchising, the conventional wisdom is to find something that aligns with your passion.
For example, if you’re a pet lover, conventional wisdom suggests that you look for a franchise that’s focused on pets.
Or, maybe you’re a lover of pizza. Some franchise industry types would suggest that you find a pizza franchise that you like, and buy it.
Don’t do it. I rarely suggest that tact when working with clients.
Ignore The Conventional Wisdom In Franchising
Instead of focusing on your passions, focus on your skills.
Also, make sure you focus on your unique personal traits.
In a nutshell, you need to put together a list of things you’re really good at combined with a list of things that describe your personal traits.
For example, my list would look like this:
Skills: Sales, Marketing, and Public Speaking
Personal Traits: Outgoing, Determined, Personable, Royal (Kidding)
Those are the things that I bring to the table.
What do you bring to the table?
If you’re looking to buy a franchise anytime soon, start your list.
Other Things Franchisees Need To Get Right
Ignoring the conventional franchise industry wisdom by focusing your search for a franchise on the awesome things you bring to the table, is only the first step towards becoming a successful franchise owner.
Another thing you’re going to want to do is find out how much money you’ll need to buy a franchise-and then come up with a budget.
Once you’ve determined the upper limit of what your investment in a franchise should be, you can start your search for the right one-as long as you have that trusty list of all of those great things you bring to the table right by your side.
You should start your franchise search on one of these top 10 franchise opportunity websites.
Once you’ve found some good matches, its franchise research time.
Your research has to be thorough. It has to be in-depth. It has to be done right.
FYI: The Definitive Guide To Franchise Research includes my techniques on exactly how to do amazing, in-depth franchise research…so you can sleep at night after you make a decision on a franchise to buy.
Once you’ve done your research, it’s time to start thinking about franchise financing. Unless you’re going to pay cash for your franchise business, a small business loan is the way to go.
One way to improve the odds of getting your loan approved is to make sure you have a thorough business plan prepared. Go here to tilt the odds in your favor.
And, to make sure all your ducks are in a row, legally, hire an attorney who’s familiar with franchising and franchise contracts. A few franchise attorneys have made the wise decision to have their firms listed on this franchise directory, so they can be found by people just like you. Smart people. People who know it’s better to spend a little money before spending a lot of money.
Then, it’s on to Discovery Day. That’s the day you get to meet the entire franchise team…at headquarters.
However, not just anyone can attend a Discovery Day. Only candidates that qualify financially, and have been through every stage of the franchise exploration process with their franchise development representatives can get an invite. Learn more about Discovery Day.
Decision Day quickly follows Discovery Day.
If you’ve done everything right up to this point, you’re decision on whether or not to buy the franchise you’re interested shouldn’t be that difficult.
You’re A Franchisee!
Let’s say you followed my suggestions above, and bought the franchise you were interested in. That’s right: You’re a real-live franchisee. And so far, there are no real surprises. You’re putting in a ton of hours, but you were prepared for that because the franchisees you talked with during your research told you about the long hours needed to make your franchise a success.
As an Owner, there are certain things you can do to become successful.
Just because you own a franchise…a business with proven systems and tested procedures, it doesn’t mean that you can kick back and chillax.
Here are some things you can do to become a successful franchisee.
Top 10 Tips To Become A Successful Franchisee
1. Follow the procedures that are stated in the operations manual (Exactly)
2. Follow every rule and regulation stated in your franchise agreement
3. Take the suggestions given to you by your field reps; remain coachable
4. Use the technology that’s made available by your franchisor
5. Follow your franchisor’s marketing plans
6. Become obsessive about your numbers; track everything
7. Create and maintain close relationships with other franchisees
8. Get super-involved in your local community
9. Always be networking (ABN)
10. Focus on being enthusiastic and positive inside and outside your business
If you do those 10 things, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a successful franchise owner.
Finally, remember to ignore the conventional wisdom that’s very prevalent in my industry when choosing a franchise. Follow the steps I outlined at the beginning of this post.
That way you’ll actually have the chance to be an Owner.
