If you’ve been considering buying a franchise, you may wonder if you have what it takes to be successful. In this article, we discuss the top three traits of a successful franchise owner. See how you stack up.
Successful Franchise Owners are Great Leaders
One of the most important skills you need to turn a successful franchise is the ability to be a great leader. Leadership is different from management. As Steve Jobs often stated, “Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could.” Do you have what it takes right now to be a strong and effective leader? Do you believe you can inspire and motivate a team to be the best they can be every single day? Do you feel you can garner loyalty from your staff as well as your customers? Some people are born leaders, but don’t worry if you aren’t one of them, most experts believe leadership can be learned.
So how can you learn to be an influential, respected and effective leader? Probably the best place to begin is with one of the countless books on leadership. A great one to start with is John C. Maxwell’s bestseller “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You.” Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, coach, and author who has sold over 19 million books. Another very interesting read would be leadership expert Simon Sinek’s “Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t.” Sinek, a leadership expert who teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people, will show you how to build your leadership skills,…and fast. This is an easy and immediate way to start building your franchise leadership skills while you research franchise opportunities.
Successful Franchise Owners are Coachable
When you become a franchisee, you’ll need to check your ego at the door and adopt a deep willingness to learn and grow. A successful franchisee must be extremely open and coachable as the franchisor teaches and trains them on how to run every aspect of the business. Unlike starting your very own business, a franchise already has every process and procedure mapped out with a great deal of detail so there is very little autonomy. It helps to always remember that the franchisor is focused on helping you become as profitable and successful as possible. That being said, if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t take criticism well or who thinks they already know everything, franchising may not be the best fit for you.
Successful Franchise Owners are Hard Workers
Although buying a franchise eliminates many of the headaches and risks involved in starting your own business, don’t be fooled, you will need to work hard to make it a success. Most franchisees put in long hours, especially at the beginning as they’re learning the ropes and building a core team. Depending on the type of franchise you purchase, you may be the only employee for a while as you get the business up and running. That could mean super early mornings or very late nights or both along with very few days off – at least for a while. So be sure that you understand building a successful franchise will involve hard work and will take a lot of sweat equity to make it happen.
While there are other characteristics and traits that will help you be a successful franchise owner, if you have these top three, you are well on your way to franchise success!
