Do I need experience of running my own business to be a successful franchisee?

Brian Duckett writes:

Generally speaking you don’t, because the job of the franchisor is to turn you into a successful business owner through operating its proven system.

The franchisor shouldn’t just train you ‘how to run the store’, it should also train you ‘how to run a business’. That should include how to do a business plan, manage your finances, market yourself and engage and manage staff.

Having said that, experience of running a business, even if it was someone else’s, will shorten the learning curve and bring with it useful knowledge of what has and hasn’t worked for you in the past. It certainly won’t be a disadvantage, although many franchisors would prefer not to take someone who has worked in their actual business sector, as they may bring bad habits with them.

Conversely, there’s an increasing trend for existing franchisees to become both multi-unit franchisees for the same franchisor and in some cases multi-brand franchisees for two or more franchisors.

A good food service operator is a good food service operator so, provided they have the right management team, this can be a great advantage for both franchisor and franchisee.

Brian Duckett is chairman of The Franchising Centre, part of the world’s largest network of specialist franchise consultants.