Get Out of the Weeds

The largest market share of turnkey businesses for purchase or sale are franchises. There is a franchise for every industry in the world and they are fairly easy to acquire and come with practically a pop out of the box pre-assembled systems… as it should be. McDonald’s is a prime example. In fact, a $40 billion, international, 28,707 strong example.

There are a few things we are going to talk about in regards to this. One purpose is to simply inform you a bit. The other, get you thinking about how well (simply and well communicated) you have structured your business systems:

• Business Format Franchise
• The Franchise Prototype
• Franchise Prototype Standards

Business Format Franchise

A business format franchise is a franchising arrangement where the franchisor provides the franchisee with an established business, including name and trademark, for the franchisee to run independently. The business format franchise came from an earlier model call the “trade name” franchise. The big change was in the rights. During the “trade name” days the franchise owner only had marketing right’s, now franchise owners have owning rights to the entire business including systems. This has allowed for a shift in focus to go from the quality and name recognition of the products carrying the business to sales techniques that carry the business. Mixed news. It has allowed franchisors to not always do their jobs so do your research when considering purchase! Poop news.

The good news though, is that you have the opportunity to freely design and detail systems that suit your specific location, demographics, genographics, etc. Woohoo!

The Franchise Prototype

It is really the franchise prototypes that allow for franchises to really shine with the techniques and tactics developed by the individual owners instead of the corporation.

Franchising itself is another line of business entirely. It involves just as many challenging issues and opportunities for business development as creating the initial prototype. Thus, the value in developing a fantastic, tried and tested, prototype first.

I want to challenge you to reflect on your business and, looking at every department, which ones are at that level? Which ones aren’t? What will it take to get them there? Can you think of a simple system to make that happen? If not, who can you brainstorm it with?

Here are the universal areas of your business no matter what your company does. Here are the SMART Business Building blocks ~

Do you market and deliver it with your company’s values as a guidepost?

Do you market and deliver it with your company’s mission as a platform?

Do you have a structure or strategy you use, such as Operational Excellence” from “The Discipline of Market Leaders” as your template for marketing and delivery?

A: Do you market and deliver it with your company’s own “flair” and personality?

Does your company’s “flair” and personality stem from team development and team contribution?

R: Do you have solid systems for doing; for all of your efforts and activities? Be it in logistics, CS, management, operations, matters not, can all the things that need to be done to get your “widget” to your client be repeated if you fell in a whole? Or, went on a vacation in Tahiti for three weeks? Or, opened up a new location in Dubai for 3 months?

T: Do you have solid tools for tracking all of your efforts and activities? Be it in logistics, CS, management, operations, matters not, can all the things that need to be done to get your “widget” to your client be tracked automatically &/or at least 50% automatically and is the other 50% in place? Do you know what’s working and where your bottlenecks are? Can you understand the data? Is it relevant data?

Wherever you said no or I’m not sure, what do you want to do about it?

PS: If you own a franchise, your biggest leeway is in your marketing and branding efforts. This can make a significant difference in your success as you can custom tailor your marketing and promotions to the direct needs of your local targeted customers.

Franchise Prototype Standards

Now, the above being said, no one in his or her right mind would purchase a franchise if the parent company didn’t have a solid plan of action set up to ensure the prospective success of the business. So, there are a few standards that are put into place that help jump-start the process of opening a successful franchise.

When considering developing your own franchise, you want create a model that will consistently offer high quality results. When considering buying an existing franchise, you want see already developed a model that will consistently offer high quality results.

1. Build/Have a user-friendly model that can be used by individuals of any skill set at every possible juncture.
2. Build/Have defect-free models.
3. Build/Have your model with Operations Manuals.
4. Build/Have a model that will provide guaranteed, consistent results, no matter what.
5. Build/Have a model that encompasses the same branding in color, culture, and facilities codes and Code of Ethics.

These are all ways the parent corporation makes sure their brand stays the same and in the front of the minds of customers. When you are purchasing a widely known brand and you’ve developed your own marketing strategy on top of the franchise model you will attract customers because they are you AND just for being you.

When you develop your company using the franchise as a model you have built the solid, trusted feeling of a widely known brand and your marketing strategy will flourish based on the franchise model. You will attract customers because you are you and you have instilled faith in your product.

Because I titled this piece (with the idea of easy repetition/replication) after a pop 80’s tune, I couldn’t help but look up the video – the song kept spinning in my head. OMG, I’m not sure if I would liked this song as much as I did had I ever seen this video before. You have got to watch this it is so bad. I might make this a new permanent part of my vlog news.

On a more serious note, here is a very well written and highly relevant article from the emyth people in regards to the value of franchise modeling.