MYTH BUSTER

I don’t need to work in my franchise.

To put it simply, being hands-on in your own business is an absolute must for franchisees. So much time and money is invested in getting the business started from the ground up and when it comes to the first day of operation, the hard work doesn’t stop there. If anything, it’s just the beginning.

You need to see the day to day running of the business first-hand in order to understand what works and what doesn’t. Sure, being across every minor detail can lead to some sleepless nights, but to own a business you must have your finger on the pulse. If you have taken a step back from your business and are managing it via a second party, you won’t be able to see the true needs of your business.

Without this full visibility, you’re not going to be in a position to make crucial decisions that will ultimately enhance the business functionality. You want to ensure the business is performing at its best, and being flexible in your operations is important for this to happen.

This came to light for me when working in my JAX Tyres franchise and discovering that a particular staffing model that was effective in other stores was not working in mine. So I needed to make a serious adjustment in order for my team to operate more efficiently. As I was in the mix, I was able to identify the problem, make the necessary changes to improve it and move on.

Cost control is another critical reason why you should be working in your business. In fact, you simply can’t run a business without knowing all of your numbers. First-hand exposure to the finances, budgets, expenditure and profit turnover is the only way to ensure your business is running smoothly. If you do not know the numbers and you do not prepare for potential setbacks, you run the risk of destroying your business and everything you have worked hard for.

When you are on the front line, you can establish great relationships with your staff, suppliers and customers. When customers see a consistent and familiar presence of a boss working hard within their own business, it builds a solid and reliable reputation between you, your store and the community. Also, your staff want to see a constant presence they can rely on and such a presence from the business owner builds loyalty and morale. It makes for a stronger team and a unified approach across all aspects of the business, from ordering stock to customer service. You can certainly tell the difference between a franchisee who pours everything into their business and one who steps back from it.

The amount of responsibility and investment required from a franchisee can almost be unfathomable and franchising is not for everyone. If something is not working, you need to be able to analyse and tweak things along the way, and with agility. You can only do this by staying close to the business and knowing it inside and out.

Of course there are moments when you’ll need to step away for a day or two, and you can step back from time to time. However, if you are planning to do so, you need to ensure you have smart measures in place so everything runs like a well-oiled machine. When I cannot be at the shop, I ring at least twice a day to check in with everything and I also ensure I am available at all times of the day to answer questions from staff.

At the end of the day, you only get what you put in and it is not feasible to operate a business without knowing it first-hand.