But with just over a third of startups surviving up to 5 years, and a majority of startups failing in the first 4 years, it is probably no wonder that nervousness about failure puts many people off.
Small businesses can fail for a variety of reasons. Typically, this can include insufficient funding, poor management, competition, insufficient market demand, as well as external factors like the economy, regulatory and legal issues.
However, according to the British Franchise Association, failure rates for franchises remain very low, with fewer than 1% per year closing due to commercial failure and 93% of franchisees claimed profitability.
There are lots of reasons why franchisees have a much better chance of success than a stand-alone small business, but one of the aspects not always mentioned is the training that you receive as a new franchisee and business owner.
Even if you have been in business for yourself before (according to research around 20% of franchisees in the UK were previously self-employed) and you may have some experience in staffing and business set up you should still make sure you take on board this training too. It should be tailored to the franchise you are buying and getting set up properly at the outset will help to ensure your future success.
Your initial franchise training is the first vital step in making the transition to running your own business and it should cover a comprehensive set of modules which could include the following:
Initial set up of your business with any registration or certification needed before starting to trade. An earlier stage could have been support in doing your business plan.
Recruitment of staff, including interviewing and onboarding.
Management of staff, including probation and their training.
You may need to set up premises for your new franchise and if so, support in finding the right location, negotiating leases and rent as well as organising planning permission and fit-out will be a crucial step in the process.
Your customers and how to sell to them, a key component in launching a successful franchise. This should cover different aspects of marketing, including digital advertising, networking, local advertising, as well as keeping customer data safe and secure. It will be tailored to your business type and your typical customers.
Accounting and bookkeeping – if you are lucky your franchisor will do that for you but there will be work for you to do to keep everything up to date. If you operate in the business-to-business market, you may have to offer payment terms, so credit control will be crucial. Monitoring your actual figures against your original business plan will also be key.
Using the IT platforms your chosen franchise has will be key to running your business effectively. This could be an in-house or off-the-shelf system, but training should be provided either way.
There will no doubt be other training on specific business areas for different franchises, for example, technical training for the services provided. The depth of this training could depend on whether you are going to be an owner operator or a management franchisee who employs others to do the work.
So, that’s a look at some of the initial training modules you should receive from your franchisor. But what happens next, can you expect anything more once you’ve had your initial training course?
Many franchisors will provide a mentor and regular updates in your early weeks and months. You should welcome this support as it is designed to make sure that you are on track and where you should be. This mentoring can really help as you learn the business in practice, building up your skills and experience whilst keeping on track. There is a lot to keep on top of in your early days as a franchisee so your mentor will be a great support.
Once your business is set up and launched, does that mean that your training is complete? Well, hopefully not, as one of the benefits of being part of a franchise network is being able to access ongoing training as your business grows and your learning needs change.
You should expect ongoing training at various intervals, on a range of subjects, depending on the type of business you run and the industry sector you operate in.
Sales training, new marketing techniques, upgrades in IT systems, new customer acquisition could all be in the mix. There could also be training available for your own staff.
And hopefully there should be additional training at various milestones in your business. Maybe as you move from being an owner operator to employing staff or if you are opening premises for the first time.
At Revive! for a number of years we’ve been offering different programmes aimed at helping franchisees take their businesses to the next level. These have included modules on leadership, business planning for growth, financial training, amongst other subjects and we’re about to launch our newest executive leadership programme.
Taking time out to attend courses might seem like a distraction when you are busy running your franchise but could make a huge difference to your business.
So, make sure you take advantage of all the training and support that your franchise offers, after all, it is what you are paying for when you buy a franchise.
Take the time to continue your own development as a business owner and franchisee, you will benefit in the long run and training could be one of the keys to your success.
