An insight into franchising from a Franchisee's perspective

Written on the 15th of March 2011 by Will Fulton

Buying a franchise is a great step if you are a first time business owner - especially if you’re coming out of a successful job in a similar field to that of your target franchise. That was my motivation for getting in. I also figured it would take way too long to set up endless business systems so why reinvent the wheel? I did very little due diligence prior to getting into ActionCOACH and have some perspective on this approach with the benefit of 5 year’s hindsight!

Here’s what you may want to be thinking about…

A key task as you look at what’s available is to consider how motivated you are towards DOING the work with your target customer base versus FINDING the work from your target prospect base. This distinction between operations and sales is important as you will want to evaluate what systems you will be relying on the most from your franchisor.

It’s sometimes said “your business is about what you are LEAST good at”.  So, if you are fairly outgoing and confident with FINDING work, then have a look at how strong the franchise’s systems are for delivering a high quality product or service to their customers (and any points of difference between them and their opposition). This will be important to you as you find new customers with your sales skills. Sometimes getting customers may be a relatively straightforward process, but customer retention and delivery may be compromised without solid back-up systems.

On the other hand, you may be very confident with the delivery side of your service or product but be less confident about drumming up SALES with your new customer base. If this sounds more like you, then the marketing and sales systems of your target franchise should probably be looked at in more detail. How well and to what extent your franchisor generates leads or clients for you will let you know how reliant you’ll need to be on either them or you.

Talking to other franchisees in the network is another great indicator of life in the system. This is one step I did do before getting into ActionCOACH.  I was already quite keen to join ActionCOACH but talking with others really cemented the decision. Think up some good questions before you phone around.

Overall, I have found that self-reliance is the hallmark of all the best franchisees. Too much reliance on the franchisor breeds a “feed me” mentality; too much dependence on the operator rather than the franchise system can sometimes breed resentment. Do your homework and give yourself enough (some!) working capital to get started.

Best wishes with your decision and back yourself to be the best!

This article was contributed by Will Fulton from ActionCOACH.

Will Fulton has seen the franchise system from many angles. He has been a franchisee with ActionCOACH for 5 years winning many awards including 2007 Australasian Coach of the Year. He’s also a Director of Advanced Cabinet Solutions who licence joiners to manufacture using a unique system for waterproof cabinet construction. He has trained franchisees in all stages of franchise ownership from induction training through to experienced operators. This has taken him to the USA, UK, Ireland, Australia as well as NZ with his training systems. In addition to his franchising activities, he operates an internet company and is a keen property investor.

An insight into franchising from a Franchisee's perspective

Written on the 15th of March 2011 by Will Fulton

Buying a franchise is a great step if you are a first time business owner - especially if you’re coming out of a successful job in a similar field to that of your target franchise. That was my motivation for getting in. I also figured it would take way too long to set up endless business systems so why reinvent the wheel? I did very little due diligence prior to getting into ActionCOACH and have some perspective on this approach with the benefit of 5 year’s hindsight!

Here’s what you may want to be thinking about…

A key task as you look at what’s available is to consider how motivated you are towards DOING the work with your target customer base versus FINDING the work from your target prospect base. This distinction between operations and sales is important as you will want to evaluate what systems you will be relying on the most from your franchisor.

It’s sometimes said “your business is about what you are LEAST good at”.  So, if you are fairly outgoing and confident with FINDING work, then have a look at how strong the franchise’s systems are for delivering a high quality product or service to their customers (and any points of difference between them and their opposition). This will be important to you as you find new customers with your sales skills. Sometimes getting customers may be a relatively straightforward process, but customer retention and delivery may be compromised without solid back-up systems.

On the other hand, you may be very confident with the delivery side of your service or product but be less confident about drumming up SALES with your new customer base. If this sounds more like you, then the marketing and sales systems of your target franchise should probably be looked at in more detail. How well and to what extent your franchisor generates leads or clients for you will let you know how reliant you’ll need to be on either them or you.

Talking to other franchisees in the network is another great indicator of life in the system. This is one step I did do before getting into ActionCOACH.  I was already quite keen to join ActionCOACH but talking with others really cemented the decision. Think up some good questions before you phone around.

Overall, I have found that self-reliance is the hallmark of all the best franchisees. Too much reliance on the franchisor breeds a “feed me” mentality; too much dependence on the operator rather than the franchise system can sometimes breed resentment. Do your homework and give yourself enough (some!) working capital to get started.

Best wishes with your decision and back yourself to be the best!

This article was contributed by Will Fulton from ActionCOACH.

Will Fulton has seen the franchise system from many angles. He has been a franchisee with ActionCOACH for 5 years winning many awards including 2007 Australasian Coach of the Year. He’s also a Director of Advanced Cabinet Solutions who licence joiners to manufacture using a unique system for waterproof cabinet construction. He has trained franchisees in all stages of franchise ownership from induction training through to experienced operators. This has taken him to the USA, UK, Ireland, Australia as well as NZ with his training systems. In addition to his franchising activities, he operates an internet company and is a keen property investor.

WESTPAC NEW ZEALAND FRANCHISE AWARDS 2011/12

Written on the 9 December 2011 by Brenda Cowles, Events & Membership Coordinator www.franchise.org.nz

Top Awardees Build on Last Year’s Success

Once again, this year’s awards attracted a record entry and those who reached finalist status were commended by the judges for the overall quality of their entries.

The highly contested Supreme Franchise System of the Year award went to Paper Plus NZ Ltd who last year won the Retail Services category, but this year took out both the category and the supreme awards.  In the judges’ opinion the application demonstrated effective work systems coupled with sound leadership. In addition to a strong focus on exceeding customer expectations and impressive levels of performance, the judges were also impressed by their innovative approaches to support their franchisees in their challenging marketplace.

The Supreme Franchisee of the Year Award again went to a last year’s category winner with Columbus Coffee, Ashburton claiming both the category and supreme awards. The judges commented that the impressive application showed that they had benefitted from the feedback they received last year and that it reflected a strong focus on customer satisfaction and the monitoring of business performance across a comprehensive range of measures provided solid data to understand and improve their business.

The Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards, held at the Rendezvous Hotel, Auckland on 12th November and attended by more than 220 members of FANZ and their guests, is the annual showcase for outstanding performers in franchising and suppliers to the franchising sector.
Guest of Honour, the Hon Simon Power, Minister of Commerce, thanked FANZ for inviting him back again to the Awards ceremony and reflected on the work the Government has achieved in the Commerce portfolio, including to support SMEs, over the past three years. The Minister also commented on the substantial contribution to the economy that is made by the franchising sector
David Foster, Chairman of FANZ said, “In entering the Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards each entrant opens up their business to the scrutiny of the evaluators and judges.  Through this process those entrants learn more about their business, its strengths and its weaknesses to enable them to chart the directions for their businesses to follow for ongoing success”.
Head Judge and Management Consultant, Peter Garnett MBE, who was also a member of last year’s judging panel, commented, “The Judges were impressed by the quality and calibre of the applications submitted by all of this year’s entrants, from both Franchise Systems Owners and individual Franchisees.  The robust nature of the evaluation and judging process provides a valuable oversight of the health of the industry. New Zealand’s franchising sector can be very proud of its commitment to customer service, the implementation of sound business systems and processes and for the excellent results being achieved - despite the challenging economic climate.”  

The 17th Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards Winners:

SUPREME AWARDS

Westpac Franchise System of the Year – Paper Plus NZ Ltd
Westpac Franchisee of the Year – Columbus Coffee Ashburton

CATEGORY AWARDS

Business Services Best Franchisee of the Year sponsored by Franchise Accountants – Paramount – Remuera
Business Services Best Franchise System of the Year sponsored by Franchise Accountants – Paramount Franchise Services Ltd
Food and Beverage Best Franchisee of the Year sponsored by Super Liquor & Pernod Ricard New Zealand – Columbus Coffee – Ashburton
Food and Beverage Best Franchise System of the Year sponsored by Super Liquor & Pernod Ricard New Zealand – The Coffee Club Franchising (NZ) Ltd
Home Services Best Franchisee of the Year sponsored by Rendezvous Hotels, – Exceed Maintenance – Mission Bay
Highly Commended – Exceed Maintenance – New Plymouth
Home Services Best Franchise System of the Year sponsored by Rendezvous Hotels, – Exceed Maintenance
Highly Commended – GroutPro New Zealand
Lifestyle Services Best Franchisee of the Year sponsored by Waipuna Hotel & Conference Centre – SKIDS Willow Bank and Sancta Maria
Highly Commended – SKIDS Remuera, Bayfield, Anchorage Park
Lifestyle Services Best Franchise System of the Year sponsored by Waipuna Hotel & Conference Centre – SKIDS (Safe Kids in Daily Supervision)
Retail Best Franchisee of the Year sponsored by WHK – Paper Plus – Cromwell
Highly Commended – Civic Video Mount Eden
Retail Best Franchise System of the Year sponsored by WHK – Paper Plus NZ Ltd

SPECIAL AWARDS

Master Franchisee Award sponsored by Franchise New Zealand Magazine & Website – SelectCleaning - Wellington
Franchise Export Award sponsored by Baldwins Intellectual Property – GroutPro NZ
Service Provider Award sponsored by Westpac New Zealand – Franchise Accountants
Media Campaign of the Year sponsored by The New Zealand Herald – Paper Plus NZ Ltd
Highly Commended – Exceed Maintenance