(Part 4 of the Multi-unit Franchising Conference)

I enjoy attending franchise events to learn from successful franchisees and brand executives. I recently went to the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference 2021, and in this post, I’m sharing my notes and perspective on the session titled Operations Track: Protect Your Eroding Bottom Line.

Watch the whole Multi-Unit Conference series subscribing to our YouTube Channel and registering at the bottom of this post to get a notification on when the rest of the post gets published.

This was a panel of four franchises from different industries that shared their thoughts and experiences on how to maximize profitability and maintain quality at all your stores. They focused on three main topics: product cost, technology, rent, and labor cost.

1. Product cost

How to face the increasing cost? The panel agreed that you have to have the courage to increase prices to the point that you have your variable cost where they need to be so you can have ...

(Part 3 of the Multi-unit Franchising Conference)

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Multi-unit Franchising Conference, and I’ve been sharing various blogs with the most interesting insights for your business success. In this post, I’m sharing the advice that Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin Donuts from 2009 to 2019, gave on how to transform your business culture. 

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Nigel held executive-level positions in brands such as Papa John’s, Blockbuster, and Burger King, and he wrote the book “The Challenge Culture, Why the Most Successful Organizations Run on Pushback”, where he shares his management philosophy. The topic of his session moved around this mindset.

What’s a challenge culture? He clarified that it doesn’t mean that the structure or...

(Part 2 of the Multi-unit Franchising Conference)

Attending the Multi-unit Franchising Conference last August was very insightful. As I mentioned in another blog post, I decided to share with you all the knowledge I acquire there, divided into separate entries. This is the second one, where you’ll learn some lessons given by several multi-unit and multi-brand franchisees.

Missed the first one? Learn here about the keynote session: 5 Steps to Make the Impossible, Possible.

If you want to watch the whole Multi-Unit Conference series, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and leave us your e-mail at the bottom of this post to get a notification on when the rest of the information is published.

The panel was called “Lessons from the Edge”, where four multi-unit franchisees shared the challenges they faced, and the learnings they got from these last months of the Covid crisis. Let’s review them one by one: 

Dawn Lafreeda, Franchisee at Denny's

Challenge: As it...

(Part 1 of the Multi-unit Franchising Conference)

I recently attended the Multi-unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas, and as you can imagine, I gathered an amazing amount of information. So, I decided to divide all the knowledge into a series of entries to share everything that I learned and reflected on.

On this blog, I’ll talk about the keynote, which was given by Ben Nemtin, a Canadian best-selling author, and producer of the documentary The Buried Life. He talked about a very relevant topic for all of us entrepreneurs: how to go from impossible to possible.

Within the next weeks, I’ll be sharing the rest of the sessions, and trust me, you don’t want to miss them! Subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this post to get a notification on when the rest of the information is published.

Seeking Work-life Balance? Rather Aim at Work-life Harmony

I’m sure that one of your goals as a business owner is to have is to work-life balance, because you work...

You didn’t read it wrong. A lot of leaders believe in the motto “hire slow, fire fast”, but I strongly disagree because people are the most important resource in any organization. When you hire and retain the best people, you have the biggest advantage for your business.

Contrariwise, if you don’t have a strong human resource, you won’t be able to execute any process, system, or strategy to have a successful business. That will ultimately bring you struggle and overwork.

Sadly, many organizations are focused only on profitability, promising that once they make the desired profit, they’ll pay more or provide better benefits to their employees. But they have that upside down. 

In my +30 years of career, I have worked with hundreds of franchisees and I can assure you that the top-performing franchisees are the ones that put people first, not profits. That’s the key to the reach the profitability you expect.

Here are three reasons why...

When you decide to leapfrog to a multi-unit organization, your role as a franchisee evolves. It’s natural: you go from operating one unit, where you are the sole manager and you make all the decisions on your own, to being a leader of a growing organization, with multiple stores, different teams, and particular challenges that will need the design of certain strategies to get solved. But, at the same time, you can’t do all of these on your own.

The transition may be hard for some. In fact, one of the questions that my clients often ask me is: What is my role as a multi-unit franchisee? To help you avoid confusion and know what to delegate and what you should take under your responsibility, take note of the six particular roles that you have to play in your organization.

1. The Developer

When you invest in a franchise, the brand provides you with different processes and operations manual to help you duplicate the brand which I call the Brand Systems, but that’s only...

I will never forget the day I became general manager of a Domino’s Pizza restaurant. I was very excited for this growth opportunity, going from a pizza delivery girl to a store manager, but I soon discovered the size of the challenge: the unit that was under my responsibility from that day forward, was losing money.

My district manager had faith on me, he knew that I had all the knowledge, the skills, and the ability to turn this business around. So, he taught me all about the break-even point. Because of this, within 30 days, not only did we get to break-even, but we actually got a little bit of a profit.

The history repeats itself with many of my clients. That’s why I consider that the break-even point is the most important number in your business. If you are aware of it, you can learn a lot about your units, whether it’s one or multiple, and implement the right strategies to make the most out of your business.

Do you want to learn how to calculate the...

It’s so sad to see a franchise closing its doors! That’s why I dedicate this week’s blog to explore the most common reasons for failure in this model. If you are a multi-unit franchisee, take note of these red flags and, most importantly, take action to save your business!

Reason #1: Not knowing how the model works

There’s a significant difference between owning one unit and managing multiple ones. When you only have one unit, you are there executing the strategies, working with your team, and managing the operations daily. However, when you become a multi-unit franchisee, your responsibilities change because your main job now is to inspire others to do that execution the best possible way.

Making this shift requires specific skills and management systems that you have to learn and develop by yourself. Because when you invest in a franchise, you acquire the right to duplicate a proven brand, product, service, image, and regional and national marketing. But...

Being able to develop a leadership bench of your future leaders is a critical skill for your business, especially if you are a multi-unit franchisee or an independent business owner with multiple locations. 

Otherwise, your growth, development, and success hit a brick wall since you’ll have no managers to oversee your operations. Not only that. If no one helps you, you won’t have the true time and financial freedom, which is the ultimate goal of having a multi-unit business. 

Luckily, following the next steps, you’ll be able to create that process within your organization. Take notes (and actions) to start building the future of your enterprise!

Step 1: Own the responsibility to develop that bench

Many franchisees and business owners complain that when they have an opening of a new store, they struggle to find a shift lead, an assistant or general manager, or even a district manager. They take time interviewing prospects to hire the best candidate, with...

This month we celebrate out 5-year anniversary!!!  We couldn’t be happier and more excited for where we are and the future that we have laid out for the academy!   

For the last five years, the American Franchise Academy has worked to help our clients create the future of their dreams. We do that by providing the knowledge, tools, resources, and support that they need to be successful.

Here are the stories of five of our amazing clients that trusted us as their ally to design their future. 

1. Phillip

He was our first client and he planted the seed that made me venture into the creation of this academy and the writing of my first book, The Franchise Fix. He decided to invest in a franchise after a successful career in insurance even though he didn't have much business management experience and non in food service.

He reached out to me for coaching because he wanted to take control of his business, make the right decisions, and get what he was lacking to be...