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...

As a business owner, you get access to a lot of information and reports, and it can be difficult to understand how the numbers work and which data is really useful and which you should discriminate.

To achieve the financial and growth goals, you have to focus on what I call “The Business Trinity”, which refers to the three most important numbers in your business. You must monitor them every day to make sure your business is going in the right direction, and correct the path if it is not.

How to determine your Business Trinity

These three numbers are going to differ depending on your industry and your business model. They are not magic numbers that apply to everyone, because not all franchises are created as equal. It’s not the same to be in the personal care industry, in the car wash industry, or the food service industry. 

To determine the three numbers for your business, you need to take these three steps:

1. Within your business reporting, look for the...

Should you multi-unit and multi-brand your business? There are clear advantages to choosing this multi-unit path: when you operate multiple locations, you become the owner of an enterprise that grows, you can delegate operations and generate enough money for you to find your financial and time freedom.

On the other hand, if you operate a single unit, the franchise becomes more like a job, because you have to open and close your business and also manage it since you don’t have enough cash flow to hire a district manager and delegate the operations.

But to obtain the desired outcome in the multi-brand model you need to have the right systems, the right knowledge, the right tools and processes to manage your business. But first things first. Let’s review what are the pros and cons of this franchise modality.

Pros of a multi-brand franchises

• You will have diversification

Having a multi-brand franchise will diversify your investment and your risk in case one of the brands...

Going multi-unit is the fastest way to obtain financial and time freedom, and have a sustainable business. If you choose this path, eventually you won’t be able to do everything on your own and you’ll need to delegate tasks. That’s when a district manager can help you.

Taking this step won’t be easy: you’ll go from running your operations directly to giving someone else the responsibility of your overall business. So, you have to be certain of when it is the right time to bring this professional to your company to help you scale your operations. 

Before hiring a district manager, consider these 5 factors

To help you with the transition, here are five considerations you need to analyze:

1.  The size of your business

How many units should you have to hire a district manager? There’s no right answer for this question because it depends on how many units you have now, how much you’ll want to grow, and your cash flow.

If your goal is to...

Franchising is a great way to achieve financial freedom and independence. Using this business model, many people across the world have been able to open their own business and see the dream of business ownership become a reality.

 Within the US franchise sector, which is composed of over 4,000 brands and over 775,000 business units, the vast majority of franchisees are single-unit operators. 

 Operating one unit is good way to enter the entrepreneur world, but if the goal of the investor is to have true financial and time freedom, this path is the slowest. And there’s a catch because the business may become, basically, another job. Think about it: the franchisee is in charge of managing operations, and opening and closing the business every day, tasks that are a manager’s responsibilities.

This is why so many franchisees and independent business owners explore the multi-unit model. If you are considering making this switch, continue reading to...