Not long after opening the doors to your first franchise business, you may already be aspiring to open additional locations. After all, the benefits of multi-unit ownership could bring increased profits, saved costs of sharing resources across multiple locations, reduced fees and royalty breaks with the franchisor, and more. But before taking the leap, you need to consider a few things to grow effectively.
First, understand the “why” behind choosing to grow. Is it simply to make more money? Or, are you ready to transition from working in your business to working on it? When becoming a multi-unit operator, you need to be ready to shift your focus from the day-to-day operations to the bigger picture of growth and development.
Next, make sure the timing is right before you expand. While you have the benefit as a franchisee of following a proven system, each location will have its own nuances that will need to be addressed. With more locations comes significantly more operational issues to control and manage. It is counter-productive to run two lackluster franchises rather than focusing on running one outstanding location. Make sure that you have all the kinks worked out in your first location, so that you don’t risk spreading yourself too thin.
And finally, be ready to give up some control. As you grow, your day-to-day hands-on execution will transition into recruiting the right kind of leadership, then training to your standards and eventually delegating. Having best practices worked out and the right technology in place will help you to empower your staff to keep the business running smoothly when you can’t be around.
As a former multi-concept franchisee I know how rewarding it can be to see your business grow. Franchising truly has limitless potential, but it’s important to have the drive as well as the right resources to take on the challenges that come along with growth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Bidwell is President and CEO of Neighborly. He led Neighborly and its concepts at every level. He was a successful and visionary franchisee and served as president for three Neighborly subsidiary franchise companies. In 2000, Neighborly named him chief operating officer (COO) and in 2007, Bidwell was also named president. In January of 2014, he was named president and CEO of Neighborly.
