by Rudolf A. Kotek
Motivation
It is commonly found in people who have worked hard on the job before but never quite fulfilled.
Maturity
Motivation gets you going, maturity helps you persist as you work long hours without complaining, get along with your personnel, handle money responsibly and handle crises with patience and good judgment. A Franchisee must be a dreamer and realist at the same time. You need to set goals and plans to achieve your dreams while being realistic and planning the attainable. You need to accept your limitations as short term handicaps and hunt for ways to grow beyond them. That’s maturity.
Money
Starting a business takes money. You must be willing to look honestly at your financial situation and determine how much you can put into your business. You also need to determine whether the business you are considering can provide enough income – especially if you are accustomed to a high income.
Knowledge and experience
To gain the confidence and loyalty of staff and customers, you must provide a quality product or service at a competitive price. That means knowing your business well, which you will learn how during the training program which every Franchisee should take just like the employees of a Franchisee. For Franchisees, Franchisor training is the source of knowledge. Because Franchisors know that how well the new owner applies their system depends on how well the new owner is trained.
Even temper
A Franchisee must be able to make decisions logically and with good judgment. That means handling pressure, conflicts and crises calmly and thoughtfully. If you are impulsive, you may make poor decisions. If you are hotheaded or have a quick temper, you may alienate customers and employees alike, putting your business at risk.
Tenacity
“Stick to the business” is a must for every Franchisee. When a job needs to be done, an employee needs feedback, or a customer needs special attention, you will need to see that it gets done. When faced with setbacks, you must draw on experience and maturity to make the best possible business decisions. It takes tenacity and determination to weather the bumps on the road to success.
Family support
Strong family support is invaluable to a Franchisee. Your family must understand that business comes first.
Franchisor’s game plan
A happy Franchisee wants to follow the game plan that is in place and doesn’t mind taking directions. When he or she sees room for improvement, the Franchisee speaks up but isn’t disappointed when the suggestions are not implemented. A Franchisee needs to be able to accept things as they are.
Tolerant
As Franchisee you have to have the ability to tolerate different point of views with Franchisor and accept consensus. You can express your opening but it takes patience and tolerance to hear all sides and to live with a consensus decision that, while maybe the best for the franchise group as a whole, isn’t the one you would make on your own.
Graceful
It is in the Franchisors main interest to make sure everybody is following the game plan and staying in line. If the Franchisor thinks you need to implement the system more diligently or believes you are ignoring certain practices or even taking your franchise in another direction, you’ll hear about it. If you have a hard time accepting suggestions or criticism, franchising may not be for you.
Trust
To succeed in franchising, you must believe in and support your Franchisors system and policies. After all, Franchisors make money from royalties, so its in their interest to help Franchisee build the largest possible business. Your Franchisor will search constantly for ways to help you achieve that potential, often developing new approaches or policies for you to implement. As a good Franchisee, you will accept policy changes in the spirit they are intended – even if react negative to the new policy.
Communication
Franchisees communicate often and openly with the Franchisor. The more Franchisees share their experience, the better the Franchisors operation can offer assistance and ideas. You will need to work closely with supervisors who can share their broad knowledge of how other outlets are operated and provide solid information from trusted and valued associates.
Operational systems
All Franchisees in a system follow their Franchise Agreement and operations manual as they conduct their business. Living by the same rules means you and your colleagues are building the system using the same blueprint. But now and then, some franchisees feel a little stifled by always “going by the book”, especially when it appears to prevent a Franchisee from implementing a great new idea.
Rudolf Kotik is the founder of RK Franchise Consultancy Inc, which developed more than 350 Filipino Companies into Franchise Systems. Email: rk@rkfranchise.com; Websites: www.rkfranchise.com, www.franchise.ph
