Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Special Edition | Page 11
MULTI-UNIT
NEED TO
KNOW
Buyer’s Guide
expansion capital in a particular industry.”
In other words, while multi-unit
franchising is the way to go for any franchisee seriously looking to grow their organization, it’s not a slam-dunk, it’s not for
everyone, and it’s far from easy. In fact it’s
hard work, and fraught with failure. Successful multi-unit franchisees must do at
least three things well:
1) You must be able to finance the
additional locations/territories. That
means deep pockets, or at least access to
deep pockets. This often requires business
partners and/or lenders who then have
skin in the game and can influence the
way you conduct your business. This is an
important reality to keep in mind if you
are an independent thinker and operator.
2) You must be able to form an organization with a management team and
infrastructure to command your expanding
empire. You may be able to remain handson with a handful of units, but when you
reach 10 or more it’s no longer feasible
for you to oversee day-to-day operations.
At some point, you will need to bring in a
team to handle everything from operations
to finance to marketing and HR. You must
learn to delegate and get out of the way.
3) Leadership is the final ingredient. You come to the game with vision,
ambition, and inspiration. The challenge is
communicating these crucial intangibles to
your expanding organization and keeping
them intact as they filter down to your unit
managers and front-line staff through your
in-house team. Necessary and achievable;
never simple nor easy.
If you have the background, experience, and drive to take on these challenges,
then multi-unit franchising offers you a
path to achieve your dreams. But you can’t
do it alone. Rely on people, partners, and
delegation—plus a large helping of your
own passion, patience, dedication, and
hard work—and yes, you can grow a multiunit empire.
SPREADING
THE RISK
Multi-brand franchising allows multi-unit operators
to balance risk and ride out the uncertainties of the
marketplace in many ways:
ECONOMIC CYCLES. Oper-
CASH FLOW. A franchisee
ating brands in different industries can
help minimize the ups and downs of an
uncertain economy. Casual dining as a
segment took a huge hit in the recession,
while bargain-priced fast food continued
to do fairly well; new car dealers suffered
while automotive maintenance and repair
businesses held their own and expanded.
with severa