Do You Want to Grow Your Company Bigger? Then Use Franchising

8. Have I done all that I can for my franchisee to sleep soundly every night?

Franchise is a very simple business in that sense: If my franchisee is happy and making money, then I am happy and making money. This is why it is crucial that the franchisee is content from the get-go; that they feel trusted, cared for, and receive the help they need.

Many successful businessmen don’t have the rules written down, but that does not mean they act based solely on intuition. On the contrary, they have a very strong business philosophy on their mind: What the company is about, and how things should be done. They have pieced together this knowledge, bit by bit, over the years. You could ask one of those businessmen, “You know what your company does, but can you explain it to a friend in 30 seconds?”

If the franchisee is disgruntled and feels like they cannot trust the organization, then they might develop the attitude that their interests stand separately from the organization’s interests. Image credits: Shutterstock

This is terra incognita for the franchisee, and it is impossible to grasp all this at once. That is why it is important to share this philosophy with the franchisee. Yes, on one hand, it means goals, standard operating procedures, code of practices, service descriptions, sales materials, evaluation criteria, checklists, etc. Exactly as was done in the Latvian restaurant Easy Wine that we mentioned in the beginning. Even if you have given the franchise without all that, it is not too late to document the most important activities of the company, step-by-step. The more materials like this you have to offer to the franchisee, and essentially work through together with them, the more successful they are. In addition, the franchisee needs to be introduced to the company’s soul. You can’t put that on paper. You might get a glimpse of this at a bar, talking about the company’s history, reminiscing the successes and the failures. Daily communication is also important – when starting a business, it should literally be daily. The franchiser has to maintain cooperation from the get-go, and clearly express their expectations. Because if the franchisee is disgruntled and feels like they cannot trust the organization, then they might develop the attitude that their interests stand separately from the organization’s interests. Opening the first franchise business should be done step-by-step, together with the franchisee, to see where confusion arises and what other instructions/documents are needed. Once there are more franchisees, it is wise to make them communicate amongst themselves. For instance, College Hunks Hauling Junk created franchisee groups, where they could swap experiences, and propose cool ideas.

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