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WHAT-FRANCHISE.COM 17 7 TIPS FOR BUILDING A MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISE BUSINESS Hemanth Bollini has five German Doner Kebab franchises and hopes to open more. Here are his seven top tips for running an ever increasing business: 1. Learn everything there is to know about your existing business before you expand, so that nothing during the expansion will take you by surprise. 2. Build the best possible team around you. Having people you can trust is key to building a portfolio of multi-unit stores. Once staff have the required experience, they can be moved to take on new businesses. 3. Have an efficient chain of command. Hemanth says he has strong general managers who control the stores and report to the operations manager, who in turn reports directly to Hemanth. He also keeps in regular contact with GDK’s head office. The object of the whole exercise is to maintain the very highest standards of products and service. 4. Train staff to foster good customer relations, as customer loyalty is vitally important. 5. Encourage good networking skills. Remember, even with the internet, word of mouth is still the best way to get new business. 6. Learn to delegate. You can’t be everywhere at once. Widen employees’ skill sets and prepare them for the responsibilities of management. 7. Keep up to date. Make sure you’re not falling behind the latest industry developments. This could mean extra investment, but it’s well worth the money.