(FS9) Managing System Size or Focus Changes in Franchising
Dealing with the change in franchising is harder when you’re not paying attention to changes with corporate on a regular basis. As a franchisee, you should be kept up to date with what’s happening around you and in your company when there are any major developments. The worst thing possible would be to distance yourself and wake up one morning to turn on the news and find out about developments your franchisor has made.
When the System’s Size or Focus Changes
The change in the size of the company can affect you, even if it’s not in your location. How? Imagine your franchisor opens multiple businesses nationally and internationally. The number of businesses has more than doubled in the last few months, but he didn’t hire any more people for the office support. That means the few office support people are now handling more than double the workload from before. You will end up having less personalized attention because of this.
This can also change with field visits. If you have more stores in the area, a field consultant might not be able to spend as much time with you as they used to. Where early on when there were only 10 locations and he’d visit you once a month, now that there are 30, he visits you once a month for only 30-40 minutes before going to the next location. Or consider a franchise who instead of building more locations, starts another company or franchise entirely. This means that they have to devote time, money, and other resources to developing this new product, training for it, and gathering the equipment needed in order to sell it. This again means less attention for your specific franchise or shop.
Franchising Means You Are Still Independent Within a System
You should never become solely reliant on your franchisor or the field consultant as a babysitter for your company, but use them to help make sure you’re on the right track while you keep yourself in check. If you feel like you need more attention with your franchise, read the FDD and franchise agreement carefully for how much assistance they say the offer. Also think about signing with a smaller franchise, but only after researching what they have to offer in the way of support. A smaller franchise doesn’t always offer more support as they might be too small to afford it at all.
One of the most important things you can do for your business is to read the operations manual thoroughly and to understand what you must do in order to follow the franchisors rules for franchising and what you do not have to do. When you decide that franchising is the direction you want to take versus opening an independent business, you are agreeing to give up some level of decision making–but franchising is just that. You are still an independent body. It will still be your job to run your business and make it successful through operations on the inside. The franchisor just provides you with the instruction book on how to dress your business for success. If you do not want to enter litigation or legal problems with your franchisor, make sure you understand what you rights are when you agree to franchising and where you are not allowed to say no.
Continue Reading the Franchise Series 9 With:
- Fellowship Relationships to Expect in Franchising
- Supporting Changes in Your Franchising System
- Making Changes to Your Franchising Systems
- Building Successful Relationships in Franchising Systems
- Maturing Your Franchising Relationships as Time Passes
- Franchising Research, Development, and Office Support
- Working Your Way Through Conflicts That Occur in Franchising
- Reaching Out to Fellow Franchises for Advice
- Joining Advisory Councils and Associations for Franchises
- Bringing the Best To Your Franchises On Your Own