(Part 4 of the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference 2023)

This year's Multi-Unit Franchising Conference keynote was really inspiring. It was given by Nicole Malachowski, from American Airman, the first Thunderbird woman pilot, combat veteran, and fighter squadron commander, the first of her class. It was really amazing to hear her story and the lessons she has learned along the way. 

Although most of us won’t ever know what it takes to be a Thunderbird pilot, what she shared really resonates with what we do every day as leaders and business owners that are growing an organization. 

Hopefully, you’ll find this blog post very applicable to you and to the team that you work with. 

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to review the rest of the 2023 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference series!

The secret: Pushing the envelope

To begin with, she explained how The American Airman is one of the most elite organizations and the pilots who enter have highly...

(Part 3 of the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference 2023)

As I’ve been doing in the past few weeks, in today's blog post I’ll review the insights of one of the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference 2023 sessions I participated in. Now it’s turn to discuss how to develop the next generation of leaders in your organization. 

• This topic is near and dear to my heart because I was able to have a career and improve myself in the franchise industry because of those opportunities. 

The franchise industry allows people to grow within the business structure thanks to the design of systems and processes. This model can also help them achieve the American dream of business ownership and success. 

The reality is that among the franchise enterprises, there are many superstar employees, just like I was, that are hungry to grow and succeed. These employees are looking for their next opportunity and it is up to you, as a franchisee, to offer...

(Part 2 of the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference 2023)

Continuing with the 2023 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference series, in this blog post I’ll share the key points and takeaways of a session about succession planning.

But first, let me tell you a little bit about this important franchising event. It is focused on the knowledge and development of multi-unit franchisees, giving them information, knowledge, and tools to achieve their dream of true time and financial freedom through a multi-unit franchising business. 

Did you miss part 1 of the series? Take note of these 11 growth strategies for choosing a new brand

I think that business owners should think about their succession plans from day one. Yet, the panel of this session pointed out how, for many of them, that was one of the last things on their mind at the beginning.

They were focused more on survival rather than strategic planning for the future. But as soon as they stabilized the business and start ...

(Part 1 of the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference 2023)

Every year, The American Franchise Academy, and myself, participate in the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, an event that focused on the development, growth, and support of franchisees that are multi-unit or that want to grow their organization with either more units or more brands. 

• In the following weeks, I’ll share the content of some of the sessions that I participated in, around knowledge, best practices, and valuable information for the franchisees’ success. 

To kick off this series, I’ll start with one of the best sessions of the whole conference, a panel called “Growth Strategies for Choosing a New Brand”, with four very experienced, very knowledgeable, multi-unit multi-brand leaders: 

• Gary Robin, a multi-unit multi-brand franchisee from Supercuts and Ideal Image.
• Robert Branca, the largest Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee with more than 200 units. He also owns...

In the summer of 2023, The American Franchise Academy will celebrate its 7th anniversary helping franchisees build successful multi-unit enterprises through quality training programs. And yet, many people out there still don't know who we are within the franchise industry. 

So, in this blog post, we’ll go over who we are, what we do, and how we deliver the resources that franchisees need to be successful and achieve their financial and business goals. 

But first, I’ll introduce myself because I believe that for you to understand any company, you need to know who the founder is and what’s their story, why the company was created, and what is their mission, vision, and values.

Who’s the founder of The American Franchise Academy?

My name is Aicha Bascaro and I am the founder and CEO of The American Franchise Academy. I love to help people materialize the American dream of business ownership through franchising. 

I’m an immigrant and I...

Even though the franchise model has been around for over 150 years, there's still a lot of confusion about what is a franchise and how to accurately explain how this business model works. 

In this blog post, we’ll go over what is a franchise, a review of the history of this model, and what they offer to entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners. 

Whether you’ve been around the franchise model for a significant amount of time, or you are new in the industry and want to learn more, this information will help you better understand the benefits of franchising, make the most of your franchise investment, and run a successful franchise unit or multi-unit enterprise.

The history of franchising

Pre-1800

To talk about the history of franchising, we have to go back to the 1800s. That's right! Back then, kings, queens, and local governments would give high church officials or high-class individuals the right to hold a market and do business in their territories in...

 We are in business to make money. That’s why aspiring business owners decide to jump into the journey of entrepreneurship, franchise ownership, and business management. 

As we grow, we hire leaders to take over and manage our business, with unit managers to supervise our stores and, when we go multi-unit, we hire district managers to oversee the district so that we can have true time and financial freedom. 

Of course, we expect them to manage our business as we would, and also, their commitment and focus on maximizing profitability in every unit and district. But for them to be successful and fulfill your expectations, they need to have access to key information.

This leads to questions like:

• How much information should you give?
• What type of data do they require to produce the results you expect?
• What’s the best way to provide this so that they can make the best possible use of it?

Providing the information for the sake of it is not enough. There has...

Everyone wants to have great leaders in their organization. And the number one way to have them is if you as a business owner are a great leader yourself. 

• It's not easy being a great leader, especially these days. And while we are not all born natural leaders, I truly believe that leaders can be made, trained, and developed!

As a continuation of our last blog post, on this one, we’ll be covering the second six actions of an effective leader. We, at The American Franchise Academy, have identified these as the principles that no matter the time, the person, or the generation, are intrinsic to great leaders.

Don’t miss: 6 Actions That Make Great Leaders - Part 1

These are not just characteristics, but actions of a leader. This is what great leaders actually do. 

Look at these 12 actions and proactively and consciously exercise them every day in your interactions with your people. Through that practice, you will become a great leader!

7. Be Inclusive

...

What makes a great leader? There are many definitions to answer that question. Across the different leadership positions I’ve had, and the many CEOs and directors I’ve worked with in my +30 years of experience in the franchise industry, I have seen what a good leader looks like, what a bad one does, and the characteristics of great leaders

• Among the many definitions that there are, one is my all-time favorite, coming from John Quincy Adams. He says “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a great leader”. 

I love it because it tells us how being a great leader is about inspiring others to be a better version of themselves. Not only is it an honorable thing, but a great purpose in life. 

How can we inspire people? We can motivate them to improve themselves through our actions because people don't do what we say, they follow what we do. 

Here at The American Franchise Academy, we have defined...

People often ask me what is the best franchise in the industry, how to discover which one is better for them, and which one should they buy. The answer to all of these questions can be very tricky because there are many different things that you need to look at to decide which franchise brand is the right franchise for you. 

There are many things that you need to consider when choosing a franchise. Even though here at The American Franchise Academy do not recommend any specific franchise, or sell franchises, in this blog post I’ll share six elements that you should consider before you invest in a franchise. 

This is what we do. We educate franchise leaders so that they can manage the franchise they have chosen or built so they can be as successful as possible, focusing on the business management and leadership processes to increase their chances for success.

• There are over 3,000 brands in the United States for you to choose from, but there are only a few that are...