Reasons your small business should think like a franchise

When you think of some of the worlds most successful businesses, you might notice that many of them are franchises. But, have you every stoped to think why that is? Apart from the obvious fact that franchise are built for growth, there are less obvious reasons as well. I’m going to tell you how you can apply some of these franchise model, recipes for success to your small business!

Start with the end in mind

“If your business cannot run without you, you do not own a business, you own a job.”

I’m a believer that when you start a business, you should be thinking about how your business can eventually operate without you. Even if your goal isn’t to franchise, If you can set your business up to do that, you ultimately create something of value that you can eventually sell. If your business cannot run without you, you do not own a business, you own a job. This isn’t to say you can’t play a critical role in your business, but that role should be well defined and able to be filled by another person. So how do you get your small business to this point? One of the best ways is to think like a franchise!

Learn from the big dogs

The easiest place to look when it comes to analyzing a franchise model is the fast food industry. Now, whether or not you personally are a fan of businesses like McDonalds, subway, or Chik-fil-a, the appeal to many people comes in the fact that as a customer, they know what to expect. Whether it is a McDonalds in Maine or Michigan they know they can walk in and have the same experience every time. People are creatures of habit and they like consistency. If your small business offers an experience that is stellar sometimes, but mediocre on other occasions, your customers will be less likely to return. So how to franchises create this consistency? It comes down to one major thing. SYSTEMS.

Systems, Protocols and Procedures

To break down SYSTEMS,

I want you to remember the 3 “S”

SIMPLIFY

STANDARDIZE and

STREAMLINE

Everything your business does should be looked at through this lens. If you can do this, you create a results that are repeatable. If you have the same input every time, the output will be the same. But if you don’t have systems to insure what you are putting in every single time is the same, then the output will be inconsistent at best. This is why franchises utilize things such as checklists.

“Franchises understanding their brand is defined by the customer’s experiences, not just the look of their logo.”

So why is this so important? Franchises understanding their brand is defined by the customer’s experiences, not just the look of their logo. Thinking of your own small business, what does your business or brand stands for. What are the most valuable parts of your customer experience? These are the things you want to create systems for to insure you are delivering on your values every. single. time.

When creating these systems, no task is too small to be noted. For example, when I owned brick and mortar stores, it was very important to me that each and every customer who walked through the door was personally acknowledged with a friendly welcome from my sales clerk on duty. The specific script that we used became part of the training process when hiring new team members. It was practiced until it became routine. I was also a huge stickler for creating good first impressions. How did the store look, how did it smell, how did it sound? Everything about the customers experience was created and maintained to be consistent through protocols and procedures my employees used every single day.

Having these Protocols and Procedures in place allow your employees to know what to do every step of the way, ensuring consistency. Unfortunately, protocols and procedures are only as good as the people executing them. This is where the importance of training comes into play. Making sure each of your employees has a well defined role and understands how to follow the systems put into place, is the key to this model’s success. This also applies to your own role in your business. What is your specific job description? Is this role where you are truly spending the majority of all your time?

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The possibilities for growth are endless

“If your business is built to run without you, then someday, hopefully, your business will live on long after you’ve moved on to your own next chapter.”

So what’s the best of all this? Besides creating a successful business, if you can run your business like a well oiled machine, you can take that model and expand. Opening up opportunities like opening a second location in another town, or eventually selling your business along with its “recipe for success” to another business owner. If your business is built to run without you, then someday, hopefully, your business will live on long after you’ve moved on to your own next chapter.

So really quick, let’s review. What makes a Franchise so successful?

• They understand the most important values their business or brand stands for.

• They manufacture a consistent customer experience through systems, protocols and procedures.

• They have clearly defined roles for each of their employees and properly train them to follow the systems put into place to maintain that consistency.

If you can do each of these things in YOUR small business, you’ll be well on your way to success!.