The secret to multi-unit franchisee success lies behind the systems that allow them to delegate operations with confidence and focus on leadership, strategy, and growth.

• There are four systems that these franchisees implement in their organizations to do exactly this. The best part is you can learn these strategies to be just like them!

First, let’s define what is a system. This refers to a set of processes and procedures that, when implemented well, produce a predictable and consistent result. 

This is why franchising is so effective! In this business model, the founder of a proven brand created systems around a well-positioned and desirable product or a service so that you, as a franchisee, could duplicate those processes and procedures with a high level of excellence, and then obtain the expected predictable results in your own business.

Do you Have the Right Franchise? 5 Clues to Find Out

Success systems defined by the franchisor

There are three types of...

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...

Acquiring a franchise requires a significant investment. And usually, the higher the investment, the higher the Return on Investment (ROI). 

• But are franchisees investing the right amount and in the correct places, to ensure their long-term success?

That is what we’ll dig into in this blog post. First, we’ll go over what is a normal franchise investment and then, how we at The American Franchise Academy think this process should be, to have a great impact on your business.  

What a traditional franchise investment looks like

After you have selected what you believe is the best franchise, you’ll have two types of expenses: one-time investments (or the startup cost of the franchise) and ongoing ones (which you'll constantly have).

One-Time Costs

• Franchise fee

This is the initial payment for the right to open the unit. Multi-unit franchisees will have to pay it every time they open a new unit. It could be anywhere between $20,000 to $50,000...

There is a little-known fact in the franchise industry and most franchisees only find out about it after they start to operate on their own. That’s when they realize something is missing and they have to overcome this to be successful. 

• This is the biggest secret in the franchise industry and the reason why a lot of franchisees struggle when they begin operations. 

The good news is that once you discover the truth you can take action and overcome it. The better is that on this blog post you’ll learn not only what the secret is but what you can do to achieve the goals and the dreams you expected when you decided to get into franchising.

What is this secret about?

The secret is that when you acquire a franchise you do not get everything you need to be successful. Even though a lot of expectations and assumptions are that you do, the reality is that you do not. So, what are the things that you do get? 

1. A brand created by a founder that, after...

 Being mindful of your expenses is a critical responsibility for a multi-unit franchisee. However, that alone cannot drive your long-term success. If you focus only on cost control, you won’t be able to move forward with strategic thinking and growth for your business.

• Every franchise brand has a proven financial model, we call it unit economics. 

There are five things about your business and the franchise brand that you need to be aware of to truly maximize your profits, make the most of your investment, and be successful as a top-performing franchisee. 

1. Understand the Unit Economics of the brand

This is the first step for you to be a successful franchisee. Financially speaking, you need to know the limitations of the brand you invested in. That means, knowing how to maximize the average indicators based on the experience that the franchise has had in its existing years.

Some of those indicators are:

• The average revenue of the franchise.
• The...

Choosing the right franchise is a very challenging process. Some franchisees may have already started operations and still wonder if the business concept they acquire is the ideal one or not.

How can you tell if you have the right franchise for you? What can you do if you realize that the brand you chose is not your best fit? Answering these questions as quickly as possible is very important for your success as a franchise business owner. And that’s what we’ll be exploring in this blog post.

5 ways to detect if your franchise is the right one

First, you have to understand that every franchise is different, especially in terms of the effort and the support needed to operate. The unit economics in the business model is also different, even within the same industry.

Once you are clear on this, there are several reasons that'll make you suspect that a franchise is not perfect for you.

1. You have less revenue than you calculated

In most franchises, the level of...

Building a profitable and proven brand is hard! But franchising allows entrepreneurs to own their business and achieve the time and financial freedom they want and deserve. Without franchises, many people wouldn't have the opportunity to make the American dream of business ownership a reality. 

But there’s a catch. Many franchisees come from a corporate background or haven't had a job for a little or a long time. And when they finally invest in a franchise, they realize how different it is to be an employee vs. owning a business.

Why is this? When you work for a company, your role within the organization dictates what you focus on day in and day out. Someone defines your goals and monitors your impact on the overall results. And, most importantly, you're clear on what your job is and the activities you must execute every day to accomplish the business objectives.

When you are an entrepreneur, especially a franchisee, that's not the case. You don’t have that...

Many franchisees struggle to achieve the goals they expected when they bought their franchise because success in this industry requires more than just hard work, time, dedication, and commitment. 

Sure, some investors eventually are able to grow into a successful multi-unit organization and become top-performing franchisees. Still, most franchise owners don’t achieve this level of success. They continue to struggle daily, trying to compensate for the things they don't know or don't have with more work, longer hours, and using the franchise as their job.

Why does this happen? Because even though they know something is broken, they don't know precisely what it is or how to fix it. That’s where the challenge comes with most franchisees. 

The good news is that there’s a solution. We at The American Franchise Academy came up with four steps that will help you determine what's missing within your business and what you can do to fix your franchise so you can...

Franchisees who want to grow their organization from a one-unit job into a multi-unit enterprise require the help of a district manager to accomplish the business and financial results they expect. 

But this multi-unit leader often gets frustrated because there’s a lack of clarity in the industry as to what is their role. So much so, that this is the first reason why these particular leaders struggle to be successful.

Why is this? The position usually gets promoted from a single unit manager into a district manager and ends up becoming super general managers, instead of true multi-unit leaders that focus on the things that actually impact and make a difference in the organization. 

To prevent this confusion, we at The American Franchise Academy have identified three specific roles that these fantastic and hardworking team members have to play. 

1. The protector of their people

Protecting their staff is the first thing they have to focus their time and...