When you first step into the realms of a Franchise Opportunity one of the first things to stand out will most certainly be the bulk of the “rule book”, or the document that sets out the foundation under which you may work within your contract. There will also be a extensive amount of detail around the consequences of not sticking to these rules, some of which will be harsh.
It is also disturbing for a new franchisee to recognise that the good ideas that he comes up with on how to improve the operating of the business are nine times out of ten not taken up the franchisor, and more than that are discounted going forward. This is all very much part of the Franchise culture. A culture that causes a substancial amount of pressure and annoyance for individuals having recently purchased a Franchise For Sale and less so for those who are experienced at the franchise model.
Those with more experience of the ways in which a franchise model works can appreciate the necessity for conformity across the board. This usually means that the same rules apply to all franchises across the country but similarly it could apply overseas too.
The model must be easy to reproduce all over the territory in which it operates and therefore should be designed to allow regional differences in the process. The model must also take into account that the franchisees running each franchise will have different skills and so it must be clear and useful enough for all to cope with. This can sometimes mean that an individual with enhanced skills in a particular field is restricted in his actions as the rest of the franchisees would simply not be able to operate at that level.
A lot of the compliance boils down to the ease in which the Franchise operator can review and control the full team. If every franchisee for example was submitting sales figures in a different arrangement it would be very time consuming to appraise the overall picture and so all franchisees must use the same reporting process. If one franchisee decided that he was going to put a deal together for a particular bundle of products in a selected month the sales of the franchisee in the adjacent patch may be affected. This could rocket to a complaint to the franchisor. A few of these kinds of situations needing attention and the franchisor is spending all his time resolving disagreements rather than continuing to grow his organisation.
So the rule book, although huge, is there for a very good reason, the continued expansion of the entire organisation. If you are considering a Franchise Opportunity do not necessarily be put off by a large and detailed list of do’s and don’ts. Often it is a signal that the franchisor has a great vision for the company and has the fortitude and drive to get it there. This of course is just what a potential franchisee wants to hear as the brand and organisation growth will have a massive affect on the profits for each franchisee.
