As you may imagine, there is often a lot of trial and error in developing a franchise system. A lot of time and research goes into developing the franchise name, marketing materials, training materials, product/service mix, pricing, operations manuals, product development and the list goes on and on.
I once recommended one of our handyman franchises to a candidate of mine. He had done his due diligence and was reviewing it with his accountant. His accountant talked him into going it alone as they could provide him the support he needed in starting his business. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the candidate to reconsider. Consequently, the candidate will spend a considerable amount of time and resources building the systems needed to run the business without the benefits of the franchisors' experience and will most likely repeat many of the same costly errors made by others. What happens is each of us has blinders on and we are not able to step back and see the total picture without making a concerted effort to do so. If you are on the defensive, it makes it even more difficult. What the accountant failed to see is the areas were they did not have the ability to help this individual. Most importantly, they did not have the experience gained by the franchisors in developing their business model and all that it includes. It takes more to running a business than having a good accounting system. When evaluating a franchise, It is important to do the research to make sure the franchise provides what they promise. During the due diligence period, the candidate has the right to contact and speak with as many of the franchisors' franchisees that he/she needs to feel comfortable in making a decision. I also suggest looking to see how flexible they are in learning from their mistakes and making the changes necessary to gain from the knowledge learned. If you have some thoughts or ideas on this topic, I would like to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me at the email address or phone numbers above.
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