University of Louisville Online Programs | Student Resources & Feature Stories

Business Knowledge Equals Business Results In Franchising

By admin | March 5, 2019

By Kathleen Gosser, Ph.D.

Buying a franchise provides you with the business format including products and branding; however, your franchisor expects that you have the business acumen it takes to run a great franchise, take necessary risks, follow all legalities and maximize sales and profits.

Is all of that business knowledge given to you with your franchise agreement? Sadly, no it is not.

It is up to you as the franchisee to have that knowledge to run a great business. The current marketplace is highly competitive and without deep knowledge of basic business skills, it will be difficult to succeed.

What business knowledge should you have to supplement your franchisor support?

Know the Legal Landscape

The first step is to ensure you understand all of the legal fabric of franchising. This includes a thorough knowledge of the Federal Disclosure Document and the franchise agreement. While ensuring an attorney evaluates all documents, it is important that you as the franchisee understand what these documents mean as this is your investment and livelihood that could be at risk.

Understand Financials

You also need to have a strong understanding of financials. This includes knowing what it takes to make a return on your investment. You’ll need to understand where to get the investment dollars you need in the beginning.

Then, managing a Profit and Loss statement is a critical role for every franchisee. Knowing all the manageable expenses in the P&L and how to minimize costs while maximizing profits AND taking care of your employees and customers is a skill that takes time. Knowing how to leverage labor costs and manage cost of goods sold are two areas of the P&L that will make the most difference in your profitability. Before you embark on a franchise adventure, having a clear foundation of knowledge in this area is imperative.

The Knowledge to Succeed

These are just two areas that require extensive business familiarity. While you could learn this in the marketplace, it will take a great deal of time. A solid business school education will provide the springboard you need to success quickly.

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.

The road to success starts in all different places

By admin | March 1, 2019

Amy Lear (pictured above) started her college degree 20 years ago, but put it on hold to support and raise her family. When her son was ready to start high school, she knew it was time to go back. “I had that expectation for him to go to college,” she says. “I wanted to lead by example.”

Amy met with an advisor at UofL and, after talking about her goals and experience, the advisor told Amy she had the perfect program in mind to build on her background and career goals — the online B.S. in Organizational Leadership & Learning (OLL).

During his time in the military, Robert Carlson attended college, but didn’t graduate. After leaving the service, he took time to reflect on his life and career goals. “It wasn’t so much how to make money because I knew that I had skills that would be marketable,” he explains.

Instead, he was more focused on who he wanted to become and what he wanted to do, questions he says he didn’t have answers for when he first went to college. Robert says he attended another university to finish his degree but it wasn’t the right fit. That’s when he discovered the OLL program through UofL Online and knew he’d found what he was looking for.

Building Confidence, Reaching Goals

Amy and Robert had very different paths, but both had the drive to finish their degrees with the benefit of work and life experience. “The Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership & Learning is a perfect program for adults with some college but no degree,” says Assistant Professor Matt Bergman. “We acknowledge what you have done within the workforce and translate that into academic credit.”

In the OLL program, validation of knowledge, skills and competencies starts with the first major course — Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). The PLA course helps students evaluate and document their learning from work experiences, college credits and specialized training to receive up to 48 credit hours (the equivalent of 16 courses). It not only helps students accumulate credit hours, it also helps build their confidence.

“The process is amazing,” says Matt. “It helps dig into their experiences and their evolution within the workforce.”

“To stop and evaluate those 20 years and really see those accomplishments that you probably take for granted was huge,” says Amy. “To have the opportunity to have 28 hours go towards my college degree and not have to pay the additional fees or attend those additional classes was amazing.”

A Supportive Learning Community

Matt says his favorite part of every semester is hearing the students’ stories and learning their reasons for returning to school to finish their degree, whether it’s career advancement or personal fulfillment. While the “why” varies, he says the OLL program is designed to support each student’s individual success.

“We have a solidarity movement in our program. We will lift each other up, we will create the space to make this a priority in your life and to fulfill the long-held dream of finishing your college degree,” he explains.

All of the full-time faculty in the OLL program have industry experience that directly links to the concepts taught in the classroom, but what makes the program stand out is the dedication to helping each student understand and be able to apply what they learn. “If I had a question, they immediately responded in email,” says Amy. “If that question needed to be answered in person, we were setting up a time and meeting face to face.”

And because the program is 100% online, students can access courses and tools from anywhere and create a schedule that works best for them. It allows students to complete their degree on their terms, with the option to accelerate their degree completion to just three intensive semesters.

For many students, the B.S. in Organizational Leadership & Learning is the degree they need for professional and personal growth, but it also provides an excellent foundation for advancing to the online Master of Science in Human Resources and Organization Development, or other graduate program that fits their career path.

Moving Forward, Fulfilling Dreams

“My wish for our students when they graduate is to fulfill their life’s dreams,” say Matt. “That sounds hokey but it is so true, because with that piece of paper, they have opportunities that were not available to them prior to graduation.”

“Participating in the OLL program really did change the course of my life,” Robert says. “If you want to be surrounded by people who get it and who respect the experience you have and who will help you continue on your trajectory, continue moving forward, then it’s the right program to get into.”

UofL Online can bring the campus to you with the online Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Learning. Find out more and apply today.

This blog post was originally published on Insider Louisville.

Winter ’19 Newsletter: Online Engineering Management Program

By admin | February 15, 2019

Faculty Spotlight
Prof. Rachel Hansen

What classes do you teach?
I teach Intellectual Property Law for Engineers and Management Law.

What do you like most about teaching in the engineering management program?
What I like most about teaching in this program is the relationships I build with students. It may sound unlikely to hear that in an online program, but through our communications we really get to know one another. I have helped students with law school applications, written numerous letters of recommendations, and even gotten into hilarious debates about college football!

What brought you to start teaching engineers in law topics?
I was brought into the EM program in 2013 by my dad, who had recently retired as Dean of Speed School of Engineering. The EM program needed someone to teach Business Law, and my dad knew that was one of the courses I teach at a college near my home. He told me about the opportunity, I applied, and the rest is history. That original Business Law class has transformed into the Management Law course I now teach, and I added the Intellectual Property Law course a couple of years later.

Where would you like to travel to next?
My current dream travel destination is Iceland to see the Blue Lagoon.

What is your favorite TV show?
My favorite TV show is College Game Day.

Student Spotlight
David Langner

What is your favorite EM class?
I have enjoyed Engineering Statistics II because it has taught me the mathematical concepts behind process variation, which I really wanted before being able to take on process related projects at work. I also had a lot of fun in Marketing and the Engineer. The entire class was a cool exercise in thinking about WHY companies do what they do, and how engineers play a part in that. Sometimes, it’s fun to step away from the math to explore the psychology and politics behind a company’s directives.

How are you using EM in your work?
There are two big things I’m working on now. On a technical level, I’m working on a regression algorithm that could help our Software Quality Assurance Engineering group predict how long certain test requests will take to complete. This is fun because I can wear my Electrical Engineering hat AND my Engineering Management hat in the same day. In terms of softer skills, I am really working on something that was taught in Effective Leadership…information delivery. So many times, engineers give an overwhelming level of detail when presenting to leadership. Meanwhile, leadership is thinking, “umm…ok. So does it work?” I’m trying to recognize when I need to simplify results, and when I need to get into the low-level detail.

What made you choose the UofL EM program?
First, I wanted to start making full-time money as soon as possible after my undergrad was done. (It’s criminal what it costs to take a baby to the doctor!) Also, I believed that a Master’s in EM would supplement my pre-engineering school experience quite well. I figured it would help me put math behind the things I had experienced in the workplace years ago.

ARTICLE: The Rise of the Master of Engineering Management Degree
This ASME article describes the versatility of the EM degree, detailing how all engineers can benefit from the knowledge and skills gained.

Program Registration Dates
Registration for Summer and Fall Classes starts in a few months. If you have any questions, please reach out to us. We would be happy to hear from you!

Dr. Liz Gentry
EM Director
elizabeth.gentry@louisville.edu

Leigh Ann Elles
Graduate Academic Counselor
leigh.elles@louisville.edu

Know someone who’d excel at the online Engineering Management program?

We’re always looking for new engineers who we can help take their career to the next level. Refer a friend by emailing elizabeth.gentry@louisville.edu and receive a small prize.

Franchisee Leadership Makes A Difference

By admin | February 13, 2019

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.