(FS1) The Role of the Franchisor in Franchise Opportunities
To put it as simply as possible: the franchisor is the owner of the brand or company. They are able to grant others the ability to use their name and reputation in order to open their own businesses with their trademarked service, look, and products. A franchisee is the individual who seeks license with the franchisor in order to start a business. The franchise’s job will be to run the store on his own using the business system the franchisor has already set up.
Seeing Like a Franchisor
Franchises come in many shapes and sizes by founders in many shapes and sizes. They can be founded by individuals with experience and a vision or they can be founded by individuals with no experience who have enough passion for something to go out and get it. In fact, you may not know some of these things about franchisors:
- Franchise owners for large companies (public or private) may still be close to their companies such as John Schnatter at Papa John’s. They don’t just disappear.
- Many franchisors started off as franchisees who purchased franchises when they were younger, and as they learned the ropes of owning a franchises, they eventually purchased the whole franchise (not just a single store) from the founder themselves.
- Franchisors can be huge chains or small and relatively.
- The size of the franchisor doesn’t change the feel of the personal vs. chain. Rather, the mood set by the franchisor is what makes a franchise seem more or less personal.
The Franchisor in the Relationship
Good franchisors will always give its franchisees the tools it needs to succeed through training and a system. You shouldn’t have to have owned or run a business before in order to succeed in business franchising. That is the perk of franchising: the franchisor has done most of the work for you already. He has already fallen into the pitfalls and mistakes that line the field, and has figured out how to not only conquer them, but to use them to his advantage and propel success.
Remember: business doesn’t normally fail because of lack of lack or product or high-quality services, but because their owner was unprepared. Every business will make mistakes or face hardship. It’s how the owner deals with it that will either ensure failure or recovery.
A Successful Franchisor
It’s in a franchisors benefit to see your store succeed, which is why you can be confident when it comes to franchising with a reliable company. It’s important remember that while you are paying a fee to have their experience and knowledge guide you, they also want to see their brand succeed and grow. Franchisees are an integral part of the success a franchisor has as franchisees are the face of the brand. Franchisees act as the communicators of the franchisor, sharing the stories and good experiences from the original business to the location the franchisee chose.
