Growing Faster In A Franchise Business

By Kathleen Gosser, Ph.D.

Buying your first franchise is a big step in building your own business. It is exciting, and includes so much to learn.

By definition, franchising means you are provided with a business plan that has a proven track record of results. Your franchisor will provide you with this business model, which will guide you in getting your franchise up and running. 

This platform includes products, standard operating procedures, trademarks and brand recognition. From there, your franchisor’s level of training and development may vary, depending upon their point of view regarding the risk associated with providing support (see my first blog post on Joint Employer laws for more information).

Building Your Franchise Enterprise

You are given enough information and support to launch your first franchise—but then what? Owning one franchise is much different than owning 100. How do you begin growing your organization?

As you expand your enterprise, you have to understand how to build an infrastructure to support this growth. You need a broadened understanding of functions such as finance, development, human resources, operations, legal and administrative support. However, developing these departments within your franchise is something you must learn outside of your franchisor.

An Education to Support Your Ambitions

A growing franchisee must be able to create a strategic vision in order to develop his/her organization. With a solid foundation of business principles from a business school education, franchisees are better equipped to effectively accelerate growth and succeed.

The online Franchise Management Certificate from the College of Business at the University of Louisville delivers an understanding of the business principles needed to build that solid and secure infrastructure across all vital disciplines. In addition, you’ll encounter courses in leadership that teach proven theories of driving results, as well as courses in business strategy.

For more information on the program, visit uofl.me/2FA5P4n.

Dr. Kathleen Gosser (PhD, University of Louisville) is an experienced leader in the franchise industry and a passionate educator. In her 30 year career in the franchise industry, she has enjoyed numerous roles, including leadership of customer satisfaction programs, operations measurement, employee recognition, training and team member engagement efforts. She also had direct P&L accountability as the Region Coach of 10 restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky.

This blog post was originally published on Fransocial.