Franchise My Business announces key appointment

Martin Hawthorne joins company as franchise development consultant

Martin Hawthorne has joined Franchise my Business.

He will take on the role of franchise development consultant at the specialist marketing agency to support a number of new clients.

With more than 25 years’ experience in franchising, Martin’s background is in national franchise management.

He’s held a number of roles, including manager of an AAA retail franchise, CEO of a 200-unit UK franchise, and launched various franchise start-ups.

Martin says: “The key part of my role is to provide modern, honest and straight talking advice to new franchisors. 

“I’m looking to create long-term business relationships with our clients and help them reach the next level in their franchising journey.”

He adds: “The unique provision we offer is based on the success of the franchisor. 

“It’s not good enough to set up a franchise by simply producing documents. 

“We work with them every step of the way and only succeed if they do. 

“It’s a business growing relationships, not a service. The support we offer is key and we will create it to work for the individual.” 

With his wealth of experience, Martin understands the challenges small franchisors face. 

“Starting slow and steady will always win the race,” he says. 

“It’s crucial to invest well at the start of the process with time, skills and technology. 

“An almost forensic and experienced examination needs to be made at the very start and at every new stage. 

“Franchise empires have and will continue to fall because the correct processes and systems were not put in place on day one. 

“These omissions become amplified the larger the network, until one day that overlooked detail brings everyone down.” 

Martin says a recurring problem is franchisors often chase growing their franchisee networks at the expense of remembering why their businesses were successful in the first place. 

“A franchisor has to remember that their profit ultimately comes from the franchisees’ customers,” he explains. 

“They should never stop innovating their core service and using all the tools necessary to drive positive customer engagement across every franchised location.”