How to become a successful franchise owner

Chris Morris, co-founder of NGI finance and NGI franchise funding, describes the top 10 personality traits that are important to have when deciding whether to enter the world of franchising

Anybody that has a desire to become their own boss knows that it is not an easy decision to make. How can you make sure your new business will be successful and as a minimum enables you to make enough profit to be able to drawdown a salary that fulfils your cost-of-living needs?

Ultimately, it is about ensuring a swift impact on the marketplace and making money as quickly as possible. All the positive aspects of running your own business, such as working the hours you want, exceeding earning potentials and being in control of your own future, come once you are established.

Ever more people are now recognising the fact that the most popular and secure route to becoming a business owner is through franchising. It offers true flexibility but at the same time, you are not alone whilst you are trying to find your feet. You have the backing of a proven and successful brand that will be with you throughout your journey in business ownership.

Starting a new business from scratch can mean that you have no support structure, you must adapt and learn from your mistakes. Investing in a franchise means that those mistakes have already been made and resolved so all you need to do is listen, learn and work hard.

Of course, we are not saying that the moment you sign up to become a franchisee you are guaranteed success - you are not. There are no quick or easy steps, your success is down to you and how you adapt to becoming a business owner. With the right attitude and the right mentality, you can fulfil your dreams.

The key question is, how do you know if you are right for the world of business ownership? To help try and answer this question, we have created our top 10 personality traits which we feel are most important when deciding if the franchise world is the right business investment for you.

Professionalism
Ensure that you have the right professional attitude and can adapt your character to dealing with all types of individuals. Be confident in your abilities, demonstrate leadership capabilities and motivational techniques to ensure all staff and suppliers know what is expected and can in turn help you make your business a success.

Listening
You are never going to be an expert in every single aspect of business ownership, and nor should you want to be. Don’t be frightened to ask for advice and guidance, but most importantly listen to what is being said, take feedback on board and remember, as part of a franchise you are never alone.

Processes
A successful business will have the right processes in place to ensure every aspect of the business runs smoothly. Be process driven and capable of developing systems that will improve and enhance operational efficiency to ensure the business continues to run as efficiently as possible.

Goals
Be a person that sets goals and targets. If you have no targets, then how do you know what success should look like? Develop personal goals and business goals for six, 12, 24 and 48 months. Remember to keep revisiting your goals and adapt according to how your business is performing.

Motivation
If you don’t have the right levels of motivation then it is likely you will not succeed as a business owner. Be driven to become successful, work hard and commit to the business. Select a franchise that will make you happy, that you will be passionate about and that will keep your interest for the long term.

Challenges
You will face different types of challenges on a regular basis. Often you won’t be able to prepare for them, you will just have to accept them, adapt and overcome them. Embracing this from the outset, being able to think on your feet and most importantly being able to find solutions to overcome them will be very important. 

Conflict
You won’t always be able to take a stern approach to conflict, at times you will have to accept that issues will occur and you might have to take responsibility for them yourself. Of course, it needs to be an equal balance, stand up for yourself and your business when the time is right and accept that you need to resolve a conflict when a mistake has occurred.

Communication
Whether written or verbal, good communication skills are a must. You will need to be able to adapt your communications to different audiences. For example, the approach you take with a supplier might be slightly different to the approach you take with a customer. Most importantly, if you have a team, ensure that you communicate with them regularly, don’t leave them isolated or unaware of what is happening.

Resilience
Just as in day-to-day life, every business owner will experience highs and lows. You need to celebrate the highs and embrace the lows. Maintaining resilience even when troubling times are ahead is vitally important. Never give up, don’t let any form of failure become a part of your culture.

Ask
As a business owner you will have to continually make decisions, but that doesn’t mean you are on your own and that you cannot ask for help or advice. Surround yourself with the right business professionals that can guide you when you when required and can praise you when you have been successful.

The wonderful world of franchising opens up a wealth of opportunities for anybody that has a desire to become their own boss. Begin the process by learning from those who have already been successful.

They can educate you on what works and what doesn’t, offering you support, guidance and to be on hand as and when you need them. You will have full autonomy to run the business how you want to, but safe in the knowledge that if you need a little help then it is on hand.

If you want to take the right steps to business ownership, then explore how franchising can start you on your journey.

Why is investing in a franchise so beneficial?
• You are investing in a successful business model. As a new business owner, you will become educated in what success looks like and what your focus needs to be on. You can learn from mistakes made by others to ensure that you can avoid them.

• You are backed by the infrastructure and support of a well-established business. This will include business processes, marketing toolkits, ideas on how to promote the business in the correct way and how to immediately attract new clients.

• You can be competitive from the outset. If you start a business from scratch your initial outlay can be expensive, with little to no revenue likely to be received within the first six months. When you invest in a franchise the initial outlay is relatively low and by following the right guidelines, you can quickly start to generate income.

The author
Chris Morris is the co-founder of both NGI Finance and NGI Franchise Funding, running the day to day of both businesses. Having previously worked for Lloyds bank for 20 years where he ran a £200 million asset finance business in the South East.