How a Franchise Agreement and a Franchise Disclosure Document differ
There are two documents that are of vital importance...
One of the biggest advantages of buying a Canadian franchise is that you don't have to start the business from the ground up. However, this doesn't mean you don't have work to do.
In fact, a lot of new franchisees underestimate what they will need to do to succeed. They simply don't realize that there's more to owning a franchise than just selecting a brand and opening their location. In reality, being a new franchisee is almost like climbing up a mountain, with a lot of effort and time needed to reach the top, so to speak.
As a franchisee, you are climbing up that hill with help--you've got a harness, a rope and a pickaxe, but you still have to make that climb yourself. And just like the mountain climber, you will face challenges, including the three common challenges new Canadian franchisees often face below.
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Building up the brand
Joining a franchise isn't a walk in a park, but although it may be difficult, it can also be exciting. You are taking an established brand and bringing it to a new audience or uncharted territory. There are many ways to do this, including using the marketing and sales tools the franchise provides, going with some local guerilla marketing, networking with local business owners, showing appreciation for your customers, creating referral partner relationships and using paid ads. This will take time, and it will be something that requires consistent, dedicated time and focus.
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Managing employees in an effective way
You might do everything yourself at the very start of your franchise, you will likely need employees at one point. However, finding the right people here is essential and can present quite a challenge.
You likely don't have your own HR department to handle hiring for you, so you will need to find and vet potential employees yourself. If you've never hired people before, you will need to become knowledgeable in and comfortable with the practice quickly.
Once you hire people, you'll need to determine how to motivate them. Your team will impact how your franchise and customer base grows, so it's not just about hiring a reliable employee and being done with it. You need to nurture and lead your employees so they help your business develop.
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Creating a strong company culture
The culture in your business will have an impact on many aspects of it, including customer service, sales and even your available pool of talent. A business with a poor company culture often struggles to find people willing to work there. Creating a company culture for a franchise isn't as difficult as it is in an independent business because the core culture is already defined by your brand. However, it's up to you to take that core culture, bring it into your market and add some local flavor.
Keep in mind that a company culture involves more than just perks. This is how your employees operate and feel, so it's important to get it right. With the right culture in place, you'll see better employee retention rates, more collaboration, more employee accountability and increased sharing of job responsibilities. It also creates a better experience for your customers when your employee is happy, something that happens when the company culture resonates.
