As the year comes to an end, it is important to take time to reflect on the achievements of the past 12 months and take stock of everything your network has accomplished. When franchisees feel valued and celebrated, they are far more likely to be happy and engaged – something that will not go unnoticed by potential franchisees. Needless to say, prospects will want to see that a franchise is run well, operates efficiently but – most importantly – also appreciates its network of franchisees. Here, the CEO of kids coding specialists Code Ninjas discusses November’s NinjaCon and the importance of providing a positive environment that enables franchisees to feel recognised, encouraged and supported.
At Code Ninjas, our annual NinjaCon conference is a testament to our commitment to recognising the value of meeting with franchisees from across our international network. For 2022, the first in-person conference in three years, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas was our venue of choice and quickly became an exciting hub of training, networking and well-deserved celebrations.
One of the valued UK franchisees who took the 10,000-mile round trip to join us was Lee Richards from Code Ninjas Epsom. Here is what he had to say when I caught up with him after the conference: “Up until now, I hadn’t had the chance to connect with many of the Home Office team in person,” said Lee. “Seeing so many others face-to-face was exciting – especially those I had only ever been able to speak to virtually. I particularly enjoyed meeting and catching up with the support team who helped me a lot during the early stages of my Code Ninjas journey.”
As well as rightly celebrating the fantastic achievements of the network this year, we also use NinjaCon as a place where franchisees can attend sessions and keynotes from experts on a range of topics – from marketing and culture to technology and curriculum. Our passionate franchisees were encouraged to investigate ways to successfully deliver our programme to our 30,000 international ninjas, share best practices and celebrate the opportunity to teach the next generation of leaders how to think and solve problems computationally.
For Lee and many other franchisees across the network, it gave them the opportunity to take home invaluable insight that will inform their businesses into the new year. “The sessions were so useful – especially discussion-led sessions where we could bounce ideas off each other. I came back with lots of helpful tips for running my business, insight on exploring ways to teach kids from all backgrounds how to code. All the information I came back with from NinjaCon will help me improve how we run things at Epsom,” explained Lee.
Spending the entire week with our mission-and-vision-inspired franchisees has helped us more fully commit to the effort placed in front of us. By using NinjaCon as a resource for franchisees to gain more knowledge, franchisees can remain inspired to maintain their dedication and hard work while creatively approaching challenges ahead. In terms of the UK market, we have successfully managed to reach our goals, which is down to the ongoing commitment of franchisees like Lee. It is great to see such passion from the rest of our Code Ninjas family on the other side of the Atlantic, and I cannot wait to see what they will achieve in 2023 and beyond.
Whether you are a franchisee or franchisor, it is always a good idea to take stock of your accomplishments – as well as setbacks – at the end of the year. Not only is it gratifying and gives one a sense of self, but it can also help you strategise for the future and set goals for the New Year. At Code Ninjas, we recognise that our franchisees are our most valuable asset, and that is why we place value on recognising their accomplishments. Ultimately, sharing in each other’s success and celebrating their wins is what a great franchise network should be all about.
