Did you know that if you promote from within your organization, you increase your chances of success than if you hire an external candidate?

• Especially when it comes to the critical positions for your operations, such as the district manager, internal promotions will get you a bigger probability of hitting the bulls-eye.

The reason is simple: you know that person, their work ethic, and if they are a cultural fit to your organization, as well as their operational abilities and skills, and how they manage operations. All of this information gives you a window view into how they perform if you promote them. However, you have to do it the right way to secure success.

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Want to be successful when promoting from within? Take note of these six characteristics that the best district managers possess.

1. They are self-driven

This is probably one of the most important aspects the...

(Part 2 of the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference 2023)

Continuing with the 2023 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference series, in this blog post I’ll share the key points and takeaways of a session about succession planning.

But first, let me tell you a little bit about this important franchising event. It is focused on the knowledge and development of multi-unit franchisees, giving them information, knowledge, and tools to achieve their dream of true time and financial freedom through a multi-unit franchising business. 

Did you miss part 1 of the series? Take note of these 11 growth strategies for choosing a new brand

I think that business owners should think about their succession plans from day one. Yet, the panel of this session pointed out how, for many of them, that was one of the last things on their mind at the beginning.

They were focused more on survival rather than strategic planning for the future. But as soon as they stabilized the business and start ...

(Part 1 of the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference 2023)

Every year, The American Franchise Academy, and myself, participate in the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, an event that focused on the development, growth, and support of franchisees that are multi-unit or that want to grow their organization with either more units or more brands. 

• In the following weeks, I’ll share the content of some of the sessions that I participated in, around knowledge, best practices, and valuable information for the franchisees’ success. 

To kick off this series, I’ll start with one of the best sessions of the whole conference, a panel called “Growth Strategies for Choosing a New Brand”, with four very experienced, very knowledgeable, multi-unit multi-brand leaders: 

• Gary Robin, a multi-unit multi-brand franchisee from Supercuts and Ideal Image.
• Robert Branca, the largest Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee with more than 200 units. He also owns...

Even though the franchise model has been around for over 150 years, there's still a lot of confusion about what is a franchise and how to accurately explain how this business model works. 

In this blog post, we’ll go over what is a franchise, a review of the history of this model, and what they offer to entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners. 

Whether you’ve been around the franchise model for a significant amount of time, or you are new in the industry and want to learn more, this information will help you better understand the benefits of franchising, make the most of your franchise investment, and run a successful franchise unit or multi-unit enterprise.

The history of franchising

Pre-1800

To talk about the history of franchising, we have to go back to the 1800s. That's right! Back then, kings, queens, and local governments would give high church officials or high-class individuals the right to hold a market and do business in their territories in...

People often ask me what is the best franchise in the industry, how to discover which one is better for them, and which one should they buy. The answer to all of these questions can be very tricky because there are many different things that you need to look at to decide which franchise brand is the right franchise for you. 

There are many things that you need to consider when choosing a franchise. Even though here at The American Franchise Academy do not recommend any specific franchise, or sell franchises, in this blog post I’ll share six elements that you should consider before you invest in a franchise. 

This is what we do. We educate franchise leaders so that they can manage the franchise they have chosen or built so they can be as successful as possible, focusing on the business management and leadership processes to increase their chances for success.

• There are over 3,000 brands in the United States for you to choose from, but there are only a few that are...

There are a lot of things you obtain when you invest in a franchise, but there's also a lot you don’t get. 

If you are considering investing in a franchise, this blog post will give you key tools to decide. If you are already a franchisee and you are struggling with your business, this information will help you understand why this is happening and what you can do to change this.

• Either way, after reading this you’ll better comprehend what you are getting from a franchise and, most important, what you do not get from a franchise. 

This will open your eyes so you can make smart decisions for the present and future of your business!

4 things you get when you invest in a franchise

When you buy a franchise, the franchisor, which is the owner of the franchise brand, gives you in return a proven brand. That means you get:

1. A defined product or service that customers are willing to exchange money for. You also get all of the guidance and training you need to ...

Many people wonder if franchising is a good investment. I’ve been in the franchise industry for more than 35 years, therefore, I believe that franchising is a great investment. 

• It’s just that franchising is not for everybody. 

In this blog post, we’ll review why franchising is a great investment and how you can make sure you are making the most return out of that franchise investment.

The two parts of businesses

Here at The American Franchise Academy, we conceive businesses in two parts:

1. The brand is the first part, which includes the product, the service, or what you sell in return for the customer’s money.
   It has to be a good enough brand so that people are willing to exchange their hard-earned money in exchange for your product or service.
   It also implies the service processes, the image, and the marketing that is produced by that brand. 
2. The management systems are the second part of the business. This includes how you get profit...

Many people think that if you get a franchise, you can become rich. But investing in a franchise has nothing to do with the profit you can produce over what an independent business can produce. 

• Yes, there are certain advantages. But in general terms, the franchise is still a business. 

That means that how much profit franchises make doesn’t depend on the model itself, but on your understanding of the business financials and the application of certain business principles. 

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The good news is that you can increase your chances of getting a profit by following these rules.

Know what’s the break-even point of your business

The break-even point is the number of sales or revenue that you must have to cover the business cost and have no loss, but also no profit. 

Franchises have...

When you invest in a franchise you receive detailed step-by-step guidelines to duplicate the proven brand systems. These are contained in an operations manual, which you must follow to know how to operate the business.

Having this document is a great benefit for the new franchisee because then they can sell a desirable product or service and reproduce the brand, image, and marketing efforts the same way the franchisor does. This brings customers and revenue to their business.

But this is only half of the process in the franchise industry. And, although it is great to have a brand that brings revenue, revenue is not profit. 

• In order to have success in the long term, you also need to implement business systems, documented in a management manual. 

Today’s blog will review what should be in that management manual and the benefits of investing time and effort in this key task.

Who should write down the management manual?

Bad news the franchisor doesn’t...

A new year always comes with predictions and forecasts. In this blog post, we’ll review the things that may remain the same, what may change, and tips on how to tackle 2023 to make it the best possible year for you and your business! 

• In the previous post, we shared the good, the bad, and the lessons learned in 2022. But now I want to go over strategies to maximize the opportunities and win big in 2023. 

It all starts with facing the reality of what is happening in your business. That means knowing what's real, what's not real, and what you need to deal with because, unless you open your eyes and see what is there, you won’t be able to make it better.

Once you do that, you have to look at “the low-hanging fruit”, meaning, to detect what are the things you can do, that are under your control, to move the needle forward. Only then you’ll be able to win more than others.

That is something that the CEO of Domino’s Pizza taught me a long...