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Be Wary of the Passionate Franchise Founder

Guest post by: Ed Teixeira

Article Overview: When visiting a franchisor's headquarters franchise candidates look forward to the opportunity to meet with the person who founded the franchise. However, it's important that franchise candidates keep the enthusiasm, often demonstrated by the founder, in proper perspective. The founder of a franchise can be the most important single individual to meet during a Discovery Day visit. However, prospective franchisees need to avoid being overly swayed by the passion these entrepreneurs can exhibit.

Be Wary of the Passionate Franchise Founder

When a candidate visits a franchisor's corporate headquarters, particularly a small or medium franchisor, there are several reasons to meet with the franchise founder(s):

• A new or medium size franchise doesn't have the accomplishments or track record of a mature franchisor. As a result the individual who started the franchise can add credibility to the franchise.

• The founder typically built the business from the ground up and has hands-on experience in operating and growing the business. This can provide knowledge to a candidate.

• Franchise candidates recognize the founder as a true entrepreneur compared to franchisor staff.

• They want to meet the key decision maker in the organization.

Although, these are valid reasons and may have merit, there is the potential for the franchise candidate to be overly influenced in his or her decision-making after meeting the person who started the franchise.

The individual who started a franchise that was built upon their initial business operation has a great deal of pride in their accomplishments. This pride on the part of the founder can manifest itself in a high level of confidence in the franchise opportunity. They may unwittingly or by design impress a candidate in a way it overly influences their decision about purchasing the franchise.

Jeff Johnson, CEO of FranSurvey, which has surveyed franchisees on behalf of hundreds of franchisors, feels that franchise candidates should focus on the quality of the franchise investment. "During the franchise process a candidate will meet some very charismatic people, including the franchise founder. This is why it's important for candidates to focus on the quality of the investment. The best source of that information is from existing franchisees."

When meeting with a franchise founder here are some tips that a candidate should keep in mind:

• A successful business and a subsequent franchise operation is usually the result of hard work, risk and significant sacrifice by the founder. In a similar vein, operating the franchise may be much more difficult than whatappears.

• The enthusiasm and self confidence of the founder can be contagious. The franchise candidate should maintain a realistic attitude regarding their own strengths and weaknesses.

• Since the franchise founder has achieved success operating the business they may portray operating the franchise as being easier than it really is.

• Promises of unwavering franchisor support by the founder, although well intentioned, needs to be validated by existing franchisees.

• Unfortunately in some franchise organizations the founder may not be in touch with the bad as well as the good in the franchise operation.

Individuals who convert a business into a franchise are understandably proud of their achievements. Most franchise founders have a strong desire to build their franchise company into a highly successful organization. Prospective franchisees need to keep these factors in mind when meeting with a franchise founder.

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Article Tags: discovery day, franchise, passion, prospective franchisees



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Re: Success - I study success intently, and would like to share: Here's two excellent and nearly identical success-formulas from a couple of the world's masters. FIRST FORMULA: 1. Passionate Desire 2. Clear, Definite Purpose 3. Committed Decision 4. Take Action In Faith (Bonus Secret Sauce: 5. Repeat Consistently) I made a video about this, but am not allowed to link it yet. Google "Ryze Success Steps" for it. Oh, and this is Napoleon Hill's (Master Of Success Laws)'s Formula. SECOND FORMULA: 1. Passionate Desire 2. Understand It Is Already Done (Faith) 3. Relax & Allow It To Unfold (Go about your life calmly) This one is courtesy of Abraham-Hicks (inspiration for the movie The Secret). Hope that helps!
Re: Enticing Franchises - Top 9 List - All Franchise listed above are in millions of dollars. Do you have the list of Franchise in thousands
Re: Info for would be franchisers... - [quote="Sebastien":1d29sdv1]Like Franchise Times, Franchise Update is a very practical magazine. There is no blah blah, just straight facts that anyone in the franchise community can relate to. I just want to mention that all these magazines are NOT franchisee oriented. I mean these magazines are for franchise professionals. If you're looking to buy a franchise, you won't find much information in there. To answer your question, getting published in Franchise Times was fairly easy. I don't want to brag too much but I think I am known in the franchise industry. I was the marketing guy at Franchise.com for a few years before joining my new company, the World Franchising Network. So people know me and I have a very good relationship with Nancy Weingartner, the Managing Editor at Franchise Times. I was talking with her at the last Franchise Expo South in Miami and she mentioned she'd like me to be profiled. I was like "ok, sure!". I like this franchise executive profile thing in Franchise Times as it is rarely BS. People are usually really natural in there.[/quote:1d29sdv1] Thanks for the follow up Sebastien! And I can't say that I'm surprised that networking with the right people and managing your relationships with them properly are the keys to being published. I guess the old adage holds true of "it's not who you know, but who knows you" that's important.
how much for a franchise fee? - Dear Colleague There is no easy answer to this question. Things to consider: [list=] The sizeof the Franchise Clent base Expected Turnover Intellectual Property costs (recoup) Number of Franchises Number of employees Original Set up costs Franchise admin costs An example: A franchise that I was involved in setting was to a simple "lawn mowing/home repair" franchise. The Franchise included national/local advertising - preparation of client lists - general admin - central accounting etc The Franchise involved 300-500 clients - and an annual turnover of about $300,000 . The annual franchise fee was $30,000. Hope that this gives you some idea Take care Ian[/list]


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