Joe Mathews's blog

Every new franchise goes through an intense period of learning and adjustment before they master the system they have purchased. This is typically a time when emotions run high and range from joy to complete frustration. The good news is that the phases are predictable, recognizable, and therefore can be managed and accelerated until franchisees reach mastery in “The Zone.”

One of the most overlooked by critical evaluations a franchise candidate can do when evaluating a franchisor is to determine the franchisor’s corporate culture. The culture is dictated by how the CEO and leadership team both leads (or not) and relates to the franchisees. There are 5 distinct corporate cultures prevalent in franchising, each with predictable long term results. By identifying the culture now, you can know to expect in the future. The results and ultimate success of the franchise are directly proportionate to the style of leadership that is being employed.

Let’s examine the types of leader you may encounter:

If you were to ask a franchise candidate, "Why do you want to start a business?" You are first going to hear such things as...

I want more control
More flexibility
More challenge
More time with the family,
Better work/life balance

ALMOST NEVER is financial reward among the first five or six things mentioned.  Why?  Because it is far down the list.  It isn't the reason people invest in franchises. 

Zig Ziglar says, "People don't buy drills, they buy holes."  Carrying that reasoning forward, people don't buy franchises, they buy a desired lifestyle.  The franchise is the drill.

As COO of a franchise company, it was my role to work hands-on with the franchisees who were struggling.  I had a guy I coached from Mississippi named Eddie. I worked my butt off trying to help Eddie get it and win. In his past career, Eddie sold potato chips off the back of a truck and made about 50K a year.  Despite my and his best efforts, Eddie failed. After 3 years in business, I couldn't get him over the hump of making 35K.  Eddie struggled to pay his bills.  Eventually Eddie made the decision to shut down and go back to work.  He lost his savings, but not his home.  

When researching whether or not the world needed another book on franchising, I found little existing commentary on the following critical topics.

1.  If most franchisees report they are successful according to their own definition of success (and they do) and knowing what they know now, they would make the same decision again (and they would), why do franchisors report roughly 1% of those who inquire about a particular franchise move forward? 

We decided to detail how franchisees buy business.  They buy on emotion and back it up by logic.  We wanted to expose emotion for what it was so franchisees don't buy into hype nor back off because of fear.  We wanted to help them make rational and informed decisions.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

This has long been the prayer that has successfully guided millions through 12-step programs. Well it occurs to me that Franchisees and 12 steppers have a lot in common.

In Search of Truth

Perhaps you are a potential franchisee and you are schlepping through the "homework" of deciding whether or not franchising is for you. You are carefully deliberating whether or not to catapult your life and career into a new direction or simply return to the way it was. You talk to the franchisees, you attend Discovery Day, you talk to the officers and CEO of the company, your attorney reviews your UFOC, and then it hits you. You realize everyone you talked to has their own agenda, their own unique way of looking at the world. Some have a vested interest in your joining the franchise, some don’t. You have lots of feedback, but how much of it can you trust?

It has often been said that KASH is king. You read me right. KASH is king! Usually when someone utters those words it is because they think money moves mountains. Money doesn’t move mountains, people do…people with KASH.  What is KASH and how do you get it? KASH is Knowledge -Attitude -Skills- Habits. 

Don’t overlook quality of life goals or you’re setting yourself up for dissatisfaction. Quality of life goals are more important that financial goals. Why? Because many people who invest in a franchise have already made a decent living in the past. Aside from earning a paycheck however, they couldn’t find a compelling reason to go to work in the morning. Money alone wasn’t enough to keep them going, and money will not hold your interest long either. While you will have some minimum threshold of earnings which you won’t dare to venture below, once that threshold is exceeded, you will find that quality of life becomes the driver.

What's a franchise? From Street Smart Franchising

The Webster’s Dictionary defines “franchise” as “the right or license granted to an individual or group to market a company's goods or services in a particular territory.”  Webster’s defines franchising in terms of a legal business relationship.  This is indeed an important aspect of franchising, but doesn’t tell the whole story.  In a popular book on franchising, the writers define franchising as “a system for expanding and distributing goods and services-and an opportunity to operate a business under a recognized brand name.”  In other words, franchising is a distribution model for getting products and services to market and as a business opportunity.  This again is an important aspect, but doesn’t capture the essence of what franchising really is or could be.