LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE

Buying a franchise can help you enjoy both work and play. How do you make the change to being your own boss?

At least half of your waking hours are spent working for someone else. If that’s what you want, and you find your work fulfilling, that’s great. But for many people, the nature of work has changed since the pandemic and they’re not feeling the sense of connection they used to. If you’re one of them, then you might have thought about owning your own business.

Being the boss isn’t an instant route to happiness and riches, of course, but it does enable you to make some important choices:

• Where you work

• When you work

• What sort of work you do

• Whether you work from home

• Who you work with

That’s not to say that you won’t work hard. You’ll probably find that, at first, you’ll work harder and longer than you ever have in your life. But you’ll be doing it for yourself and, if you’ve chosen well, not just doing something you enjoy or have a passion for – you’ll be building an asset for the future that will give you both the lifestyle and financial returns you want.

And while starting a new business on your own is hard, buying a franchise means you’ll get the training, systems, marketing, help and support you need to have the best possible chance of success. A franchise enables you to take your experience and abilities and channel them into something new.

No Experience Needed

Many people are surprised to learn that over 75 percent of franchisors say ‘No experience needed’ when they are looking for franchisees – and they mean it. Over the past 32 years, we’ve talked to thousands of Kiwis who have changed careers through buying a franchise. In the following pages, you can find teachers who have become property managers, journalists doing safety testing, dairy workers turned lawnmowing guys and execs who own laundromats. Some new franchisees have gone from knowing almost nothing about the industry to winning awards for their performance.

How is this possible? Well, franchisors select franchisees based on ability rather than experience, then train them in exactly what they need to know to run their own business. For example, a training programme designed to help you run a café franchise will teach you how to produce the products; recruit, train and manage staff working shifts; and comply with health & safety requirements.

And the training provided by any good franchise should also cover the administrative, financial and marketing tasks required to run a business profitably. It should provide the systems to help you do that, too: many franchises these days provide quite sophisticated tools to help you manage your time, boost your performance and compare your performance with other franchisees. All this provides a level of support that independent business owners can only dream of.

Getting Prepared

No matter how good the training is, opening your own business is inevitably a nerve-wracking time. Although this is a new experience for you, in most cases the franchisor will have done this many times before. They will usually supply an experienced field support person to work with you in your own territory both prior to and immediately after opening. They will help to reduce your nervousness by ensuring that everything is set up properly so that you can apply your training.

Once open, expect the field support person to stay with you for long enough for you to feel reasonably comfortable operating on your own. They are there not to run the business for you, but to ease you into independence.

The amount of time that this takes will vary enormously. In food or retail businesses, a week or so of on-site support before and after opening would be quite usual. In some franchises – particularly service-based ones – the training and opening periods may overlap if, say, the franchisor’s representative goes out to meet prospects with you and helps secure your first clients.

For Yourself But Not By Yourself

In a franchise, the process of turning a novice into a competent business person doesn’t end once you open. As you become more comfortable with the day-to-day operation of your business, you’ll get more confident and start to look for opportunities to grow – which requires a whole new level of support.

Some examples of services that franchises regularly provide on an ongoing basis include:

Field Visits These visits can be incredibly valuable. While part of their function is to review each outlet to make sure it is meeting the franchise’s standards, the major focus is on helping the franchisee build their business – finding opportunities for improvements in sales, service and cost control. They also provide an opportunity to resolve any problems and queries, and share feedback. Each visit should result in a constructive evaluation.

Marketing & Merchandising Most franchises have a national marketing fund to which franchisees contribute. The franchisor administers this and arranges national marketing, often in consultation with the franchisees. There may also be a requirement for individual franchisees to operate approved local marketing programmes in their area.

Ongoing Training This ensures that franchisees and their staff are kept up-to-date and provides an opportunity to share solutions to common problems. It not only helps maintain standards, but can also build relationships with other franchisees. Running a business by yourself can be a lonely experience, but being part of a franchise means always having someone to share your triumphs and disasters with.

Purchasing A sizeable franchise can negotiate good bulk-buying arrangements not only on product and equipment but on services such as insurance, telecommunications, IT, fuel and financial services. In some franchises, the discounts available can effectively pay much or all of the ongoing franchise fee (royalty). Read more about this at www.franchise.co.nz/articles/2947

Management & Business Advice Experienced franchisors increasingly provide assistance in areas such as goal setting, cash management and exit strategies – think of it like having your very own business coach or mentor at no extra cost. In addition, standardised computer systems make it possible to ‘benchmark’ your business against others in the system, enabling you and your advisors to see at a glance what you are doing well and where you might find room for improvement.

Compliance With increasing legislation in areas such as health, safety and employment making life more complicated for the individual operator, being part of a franchise that works out systems for you can be hugely valuable.

Product Development While franchisees focus on the customers, franchisors focus on the future to ensure that products or services are constantly improved or replaced where appropriate. The franchisor will also monitor the competition and advise franchisees of any developments.

Staff Matters Your franchisor may provide assistance in the recruitment and selection of staff as well as advice on pay rates and contractual matters. Hints on how to keep staff motivated and reduce staff turnover also help the franchisee maximise profits.

The Right Attitude

It’s clear from the above that for anyone looking at leaving a job behind and moving into their own business, franchising has a lot to offer. You’ll have the support and guidance of the franchisor behind you, and you’ll be provided with systems to help you handle most of the practical obstacles along the way. You won’t have to create products or services to sell, won’t have to work out where to source them or how to price them, and you won’t have to start advertising from scratch – you’ll have the benefit of an established brand name that will bring customers to your door.

But the success of your business will still depend very much on your own efforts, and that’s where your own determination and commitment matter more than anything else. Franchisors and advisors alike say that the biggest single obstacle which faces people moving from employment to self-employment for the first time is the need to change your mindset from ‘doing a job’ to ‘managing your own business’.

‘There’s more to it than just getting used to the idea that you won’t be getting a regular pay cheque every week,’ said one. ‘You have to accept that if you want your business to grow, it’s up to you to grow it, and if you have a problem, it’s up to you to fix it. With a franchise, you always have someone to turn to for advice – but you have to make that mental shift to get the best out of the opportunity.’

Read more about how to become a high-achieving franchisee on page 62.

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The other key factor in your success, you might be surprised to learn, will be the extent to which your family and friends support you. As one franchisor puts it, ‘Franchisees who have the active support and understanding of their family in establishing their business will out-perform others. Where the franchisee’s family is unsupportive or opposed to the business, it will almost always turn to custard.’

It’s something which was confirmed in a major study carried out by the highly-regarded Franchise Relationships Institute – in fact, the study found that Family & Social Support was three times more powerful in predicting franchisee performance than any of the other characteristics measured, including practical intelligence, service orientation, sales potential and drive for success.

And, of course, when you do create the lifestyle and income you desire, it will be your family who reap the benefits. They’ll get to see you more, have you available for school sports or other events, and enjoy a bit more personal and financial freedom. Just don’t expect all this from the very start.

Responsibility, Freedom and Choice

Moving from employment to self-employment isn’t exactly a walk in the park – there are too many things to think about. Owning a business means responsibility as well as freedom. If you choose the right business, buying a franchise can help you learn to enjoy both.

As Philip Morrison says in his article on page 33, it’s important to balance the risks and rewards so that you feel comfortable and have the opportunity to make the changes you want.

That’s how you can use a franchise to help you live your best life.