People compare the franchise discovery phase to dating and the franchisor/franchisee relationship to a marriage. It’s a great comparison and I believe that you need to fall in love with your franchisees to create a match made in heaven.
Starting any type of business is a big decision and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s not just a big step in your career, it’s a life choice and journey that will be full of ups and downs for you and your family.
By choosing to incorporate a business, you are choosing to enter a challenging future. You’ll face obstacles, hurdles and challenges that will test you to your limits. It won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding and if you get it right, you’ll unlock a future potential that could change your whole outlook.
One way to dramatically increase the percentage chance of business success is to enter a franchise agreement, rather than going it alone and partnering with a franchisor will bring a new business owner so many benefits. The franchisor has a tried and tested winning formula that has been proven by others. They’ll teach and train you in their methods and they will have a vested interest in your success.
As you begin to look at franchise opportunities you will ‘date’ franchisors. You’ll send them a message and judge the speed and quality of their reply. If you like what they say back, you’ll be interested in a second date and be interested in committing to a long-term future together.
In the discovery phase, you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions and dig into the franchisor’s history. You may uncover some red flags and reasons not to see them again. Or you may like everything about them and fall for the opportunity.
From the franchisor’s point of view, the discovery ‘dates’ are a chance to assess the quality of the individual. Are they a good fit and will you work well together for the long term? Are their values aligned with that of the business and brand?
If the answer to these questions is yes, both parties may decide to ‘marry’ and sign a franchise agreement. I guess that this is the point at which one could argue against a franchise being like a marriage in that wedlock is a life-long commitment, whereas some franchisors ask their franchisees to consider their exit plan at the outset. It may even be that the franchise agreement may only be renewed once or twice.
Despite the duration being in question, my personal opinion is that both parties should feel the same as an engaged couple does. Both parties must be sure that they wish to go ahead with the agreement and be madly in love with one another.
Ultimately, if it’s a good fit and the franchisor and franchisee relationship works, it can be a match made in heaven. Being in business is an opportunity to love what you do for a living and it’s important to love the people you work alongside too.
Otherwise, it’s the single life, playing the field and building a business on your own. Business ownership can be lonely and that’s why a franchisor can be the perfect companion.
