“When the franchisor walks into a single store owner’s shop he is the boss; when he walks into a store where the owner operates multiple franchises he is a partner,” says John Baladakis, owner of multiple Pick n Pay franchises in South Africa.
This is just one of the advantages of owning more than one franchise within a network. If you’re considering building a business empire, why not work with what you already have?
Here are some benefits of owning multiple units of your current franchise.
1You’ll benefit from the added support
When you own one store, your livelihood depends on that single store’s success. As a multi-unit franchisee, you are reducing your risk because when some stores under-perform the ones that do well can support the failing stores.
Another form of support you can expect is from your franchisor. If you’re seeking to expand, find out how much assistance your franchisor is offering. Franchise-fee discounts and any other available benefits of owning more than one franchise should be discussed.
A franchisor could save up to R30 000 in recruitment efforts from your interest in being a multi-unit franchisee, so you can expect substantial support if you ask for it.
2Your buying power increases
Buying in bulk is much more profitable when you’re purchasing stock or supplies for more than one location. Substantial savings can be achieved by breaking down bulk items and dividing them among the stores.
Expenses per unit decrease, because you’re able to spread the costs over multiple locations. This increases your market share and purchasing power. The concept also applies to your marketing and advertising costs.
An additional saving is the ability to shift slower-selling products to a higher volume location for quicker sales if necessary.
3You’re a CEO running a corporation
As a multi-unit franchise, your focus changes from managing the processes of one store, to overseeing the management of the people you’ve put in place to manage those processes.
Micro-managing is futile and counterproductive to the success of your multiple locations, so you’ll have to learn to trust your managers – the operations and field managers, accounting personnel, training staff, human resources and other employees.
In order to become a true CEO building a true corporation you can’t be running the show from the floor anymore. Your job is to manage the overall success of all your businesses.
“I believe the key to being a successful franchisee and, at the same time giving free rein to your entrepreneurial drive, is to recognise that you can have the best of both worlds,” says Baladakis.