Successful franchisees have four key attributes, according to Carl Reader
There are a set of aptitudes that would be desirable in most franchisees and not all of them fit in with the popularised view of entrepreneurship, particularly the ‘wheeler dealer’ characters on business TV shows and popular sitcoms.
Most franchisors don’t simply select their franchisees based on a CV and a list of skills. Instead they recruit based on who the person is and whether they would be a good fit for the network.
Some of the expected aptitudes that help someone fit within the franchisor/ franchisee relationship would be as follows:
Honest
A franchisor is going into partnership with you, which involves significant levels of trust and confidence from both sides.
The recruitment process is not cheap, thus a franchisor is making a significant investment in time, money and effort with any new franchisee.
Therefore, it’s likely its view will be impacted if there are any signs of dishonesty as, in my opinion, dishonesty within a franchise - on either side - is the biggest root cause of disputes in franchise agreements.
Compliant
Following on from honesty, franchisors would also be looking to make sure you would be compliant with their system - and, indeed, an advocate of it.
Although networks encourage ideas and innovation, for brand protection it’s essential the correct process is used, so that other franchisees are not affected by the brand being tainted should an idea not be right for the business.
Franchisors want franchisees who are happy to follow the proven business model, not those who wish to create their own new one.
Risk averse
Although the perception of a business owner is that of a calculated risk taker, franchisors often would ask that their franchisees do not take risks with their business model.
Again, this comes back to compliance, as franchisees are provided with a blueprint of how the business has been successful in the past.
Strategic changes to the business should be undertaken by the franchisor, which has an ethical obligation and responsibility to engage with the network and get buy-in to the future direction of the network.
People skills
Not only are franchisees expected to stick to the system, they are also expected to deal with staff and customers.
Regardless of whether the business is consumer facing or business-to-business, all interactions with external parties are, in fact, interactions with other people and as such a basic level of people skills is vital when it comes to dealing with anyone, either inside or outside of the franchise.
About the author
Carl Reader is an affiliate board member of the British Franchise Association, director of d&t Chartered Accountants and author of The Franchising Handbook, which is available on Amazon and at all good bookstores.
