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Franchisee Leadership Makes A Difference

Franchisee Leadership Makes A Difference

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By Kathleen Gosser, Ph.D.

In order to ensure consistency, your franchisor will have established standards and procedures for their franchise locations. The goal of the franchisor is to guarantee uniformity so that customers have the same experience at each location. To ensure compliance with these standards, your franchisor will most likely have regular audits.

However, in order to excel in today’s world, a franchisee should have his/her own leadership footprint in the operations—going above and beyond the minimum standards set by the franchisor.

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. 

What is Leadership Footprint?

It is your mark as a franchisee on your business. You own the culture of your establishments. Though your franchisor will have goals and a vision, you should too. You should share your values with your teams so they understand and recognize your leadership.

You also should have your own strategic vision of where you want to take your franchise in the future. 

Having an annual operating plan as well as a 3- or 5-year vision is critical for success. Your franchisor will have goals for the entire system, but only you can know what you expect in your own operation. 

Defining Your Strategy

Understanding how to write a mission statement, vision statement and strategic plans is essential for success. You may be able to survive a year or two, but to be truly successful, you need to define the roadmap for where you are headed. This would include goals around sales, profits, people and growth. 

This is the type of information you won’t necessarily learn from your franchisor—and yet another reason why additional education from an accredited b-school is critical in your journey. With a program like the Franchise Management Certificate from the College of Business at the University of Louisville, you can learn the necessary skills to create a strategic plan as well as learn proven leadership theories.

For more information on the program, visit uofl.me/2E7vHTf.

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.
Growing Faster In A Franchise Business

Growing Faster In A Franchise Business

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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.

franchise, business
What You Won’t Learn From Your Franchisor

What You Won’t Learn From Your Franchisor

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By Kathleen Gosser, Ph.D.

So, you have entered into a franchise agreement with a well-established and successful franchisor. You have an entrepreneurial spirit, capital and drive. You believe that you are on your way to infinite success due to the guidance and support you will receive. You are all set… or are you? 

A signed franchise agreement does not guarantee that your franchisor will teach you all you need to be a successful business owner. While you will receive a proven business model, there are many facets to running a business that you may not receive from your franchisor.

Department of Labor Impact on Franchisee Training

In 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) provided insight on the interpretation of “Joint Employer.” The Wage and Hour Division of the DOL views joint employment in the franchise world to mean an individual worker is an employee of both the franchisee and franchisor.

This law has significant impact on the support, training and guidance a franchisor will provide.

There are provisions to make the final determination that include directing or controlling the work performed, employment conditions (hiring and firing), repetitive work (very often present in franchises) and the work is performed on the premises. In light of this interpretation, many franchisors are backing off the support they provide in terms of Human Resource guidance and advanced leadership skills training. 

An Education Gap in Franchising

There are other constraints in place that prohibit franchisors from providing all the information needed to make strategic decisions as a franchisee. Gaps in franchisee education include how to ensure you remain profitable, including managing labor and cost of goods sold, or how to fund your franchise and growth is not always readily available information. For example, while pricing recommendations can be made, the franchisee has the right to price however he/she chooses in the marketplace—thus an area where guidance could be extremely beneficial.

The Business School Proposition

How do franchisees find the information they need to be successful? Aside from gaining and learning from hands-on experience, they have to search for it. There is a great deal of information online; however, it takes some digging. There are courses available through the IFA as well. 

But nothing matches the education that can be earned from a business school.

Coupling a great franchise with sound business principles is a recipe for success. Business schools impart the knowledge you need to better understand the higher level strategic needs as well as the franchisor business model.

To meet this education need, the AACSB-accredited College of Business at the University of Louisville recently launched an innovative, one-of-a-kind Franchise Management Certificate, with the first cohort starting coursework in February 2019.

For more information on the program, visit uofl.me/2z6cmhL.

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.

CBEN Digital storytelling award
UofL Online Storytelling Team Strikes Gold!

UofL Online Storytelling Team Strikes Gold!

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The story of Rachel McClain, first graduate of UofL’s Healthcare Leadership competency-based education (CBE) program, won first place in the national CBExchange Digital Storytelling contest. The video was produced by UofL Online marketing team led by Laura Dorman, marketing manager, in partnership with VideoBred Production, and with the contribution of Dr. Lee Bewley, BS OLL – Healthcare Leadership, CBE program director.

Watch the award-winning video now.

The Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) is a group formed of colleges and universities working together to address shared challenges to designing, developing and scaling competency-based degree programs across the United States. C-BEN brings together educators and staff who work in competency-based education and witness the transformative and innovative nature of CBE on a daily basis. Many have seen first-hand the ways CBE impacts students’ lives—enabling them to fulfill lifetime goals and pursue new opportunities.

To help others see the power of CBE, C-BEN issued a call to share these success stories. The CBExchange Digital Storytelling contest evaluated short digital stories combining video, photography, music, animation, etc., that focused on the impact of CBE on students’ journey and opportunity for higher achievements. Winning first place, Rachel’s story stood out as the most powerful and well-presented.

Her success story also launched the “What’s Your Why?” video testimonial series, created by the UofL Online marketing team. This series aims to share inspirational student and faculty stories with potential UofL Online students, the online learners community-at-large, employers and beyond.

Read more about Rachel’s journey at uofl.me/cbengold.

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