The Owner Dependency Problem
Does your business depend on you to function? Then I’m sorry to say you don't have a business… You have a highly demanding job.
Owner dependency is very common among franchisees, and if the problem is not properly addressed, it can even prevent the business from future growth.
This blog post explains what owner dependency looks like, why it occurs, its risks, and how to break free before it worsens.
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What is Owner Dependency
Owner dependency is not about working harder; it’s about whether your business can operate and grow without you being at the center of everything.
What does it look like when your business totally depends on you? Some clear red flags include:
- Your phone is blowing up all the time.
- Your team is calling you for any little thing.
- They are constantly asking for your guidance.
- Your people can’t make decisions, especially important ones, unless you tell them what to do or how to act.
If you are experiencing any of these situations, you’re probably working IN your business, at the front counter and at the back of the house, taking care of the day-to-day of your operations, and not ON your business, thinking of the long-term strategies that will make your franchise scale.
Another big red flag of owner dependency is that you cannot go on vacation or even get sick because everything will stop until you can get back and be available 24-7 once again.
Another sign that reveals that you suffer from this ownership problem is that your family time is affected by your inability to delegate. If your family misses you and you can’t do all the fun things you used to do because the day-to-day of your franchise business consumes you, you are a victim of owner dependency.
Must read: The Art of Delegation: Best Practices for Franchisees
A Common Franchisee Struggle
If you identified with any of the situations described above, know that you are not alone. There are many reasons why this is so common among franchisees. One of them is that a lot of times, people get into franchising without really understanding what they're getting into or committing to.
Many people become franchisees, thinking that when they invest in a proven brand, the franchisor will give them everything they need to be successful and achieve time and financial freedom. That is not true.
There’s also the fact that most franchisees lack prior small-business experience. They may have worked at a big corporation or an office supervising a team; however, that’s not the same as being a small business owner who plays every role in that business, especially at the beginning.
If you don't have that small-business experience and the competencies that come with business ownership, such as delegation, it can be very hard to run a franchise.
Another reason why owner dependency is a common challenge for franchisees is that they don’t know that this is not how they're supposed to operate. They are stuck thinking it is normal to do everything, all the time, and to have the business depend on them.
They don’t know they are supposed to create systems, processes, and procedures to be able to delegate operations to their unit leaders. They don't even know that at some point in time, they're supposed to have leaders who take on their responsibilities and activities.
The Risks of Owner Dependency
There's a saying we have here at the American Franchise Academy: “If nothing changes… nothing changes.”
If you don't do something to fix this situation, the problem will get worse:
- You will continue getting stuck in the day-to-day of your business.
- You will keep taking phone calls after phone calls from your team to make small and big decisions for your business.
- You’ll be unable to work on strategy and growth and get stuck operating a single unit.
- You’ll keep asking yourself how other franchisees do it, and how they can grow when they have so much to do.
- You’ll be overwhelmed with everything you must oversee.
- You’ll feel fooled about the franchise investment you made because you won’t achieve the time and financial freedom you were seeking.
- You’ll be disappointed because you never thought being a franchisee was going to be like this.
- You’ll think franchising was the wrong decision.
The dream franchise business can turn into a nightmare, and you could end up exiting it, whether by closing it or selling it to someone else.
I’m sure this is not what you want your story to be like!
Don’t miss: 4 Things You Need to Know to Be a Successful Franchisee
How to Solve Owner Dependency
The good news is that fixing this problem is actually simple.
Ask yourself: What would happen in your business if you stepped away? Not for a day, but for weeks or maybe even a month. For some of you, that thought may panic you, but it shouldn’t be that way.
The answer to this question will tell you a lot about where your business is today and whether you want to stay where you are or make a change.
If this blog post made you take a good look at your business and inspired you to take action, we have a couple of solutions you might want to explore:
- COMMAND, our flagship mastermind program, where franchisees learn how to build the systems, processes, and procedures they need to have a profitable franchise enterprise, run through franchise leaders, not by themselves.
Explore the COMMAND Program here - The Multi-Unit Franchisee Success Series, a webinar series to go from an overwhelmed franchise owner to a confident, profitable multi-unit operator, built specifically for multi-unit franchisees who want to scale without chaos.
Register for free here
Remember: you are not alone. You can move your business forward and achieve that dream of time and financial freedom, with a clear structure and no burnout. And we are here to help you!
Reflections:
- How would you rate your delegation skills?
- How much time could your business survive without you?
- Do you have leaders you can trust?
- How much is your freedom as a business owner worth?
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