Franchising is a business proposition. To be successful at it, you need hard business skills: marketing, sales, financial management, and more. Many of these skills can be learned through training or on the job. You don’t necessarily have to be an expert at any of them before you buy your first franchise. As in the corporate world, however, success is not just about hard skills. It’s also about “soft” skills, harder-to-learn qualities related to emotional intelligence and personal traits. Because franchisees are business owners who often must guide the organization, manage employees, and set strategy, leadership skills are especially important. And there are five leadership skills, in particular, that I believe every franchisee needs to have.
Decisiveness
One of a franchisee’s key responsibilities is making decisions about the business. As the business owner, you have to make both small and large decisions. It’s up to you to choose what kind of culture to create within the franchise, how to serve your customers, whom to hire, how to spend the business’s revenue, and what to do if things don’t go as expected.
Entrepreneurs, including franchisees, tend to fall into one of two categories: visionaries (people who are good at focusing on the big picture and ideas) and operators (people who are good at focusing on details and day-to-day activities). Both types face challenges when it comes to decision-making. Visionaries can sometimes be so aware of possibilities that they can’t stop the ideation and make a choice. And operators can be so focused on details that they overthink situations and become paralyzed.
Either way, as a franchisee, you need to know what your type and your weaknesses are and work past them to be decisive. Otherwise, your employees—and your business—may flounder from lack of direction.
Accountability
As a franchisee, you must be willing to accept accountability. The franchisor’s agreement is with you, not with your employees or customers, and they will expect you to follow the business system and meet certain revenue targets or other financial obligations. A good franchisor will provide plenty of support to help you do this—but at the end of the day, they’ll expect you to deliver.
Successful franchisees, then, have a mindset of responsibility as one of their leadership skills. They accept their role as the person who is ultimately accountable for producing results and even welcome the challenge. If numbers lag, they approach the problem with a solution-oriented mindset and always ask first, “Where have I fallen short? What can I do to improve the situation?”
Humility
In my ebook, “Chart Your Course to Franchise Success,” I mention that I always try to surround myself with people who are smarter than me. When I do that, I gain the opportunity to learn. Continual learning is key to continual growth, whether for your business or yourself.
As a franchisee, you also must be willing and able to accept support. Access to support—in the form of the franchisor’s business system and the franchise owner network—is one of the key benefits of franchising. It won’t do you any good, however, if you don’t use it.
To be willing to learn and accept support, you have to be humble. You must recognize that you don’t know everything you need to know or understand how to do everything you need to do. And when you exercise humility, you become a more caring and approachable leader, which creates an environment where your employees—and therefore your business—perform better.
Inspiration
The best franchisees are able to instill both themselves and their employees with a sense of purpose. When you and your employees feel that you’re part of something bigger than yourselves, you’ll all work hard together to make that something succeed.
Business consultant and motivational speaker Simon Sinek calls this purpose the Why. It’s the larger-than-life reason your business exists. If you aren’t familiar with his work, I strongly encourage you to watch his TED Talk or read his book on the subject. You’ll gain inspiration that will, in turn, help you inspire yourself, your customers, and your employees in a way that fuels your business’s success.
Integrity
To my mind, this last quality is the most important of all leadership skills. People who have integrity conduct themselves according to a high moral and ethical standard, regardless of the circumstances, whether it’s easy to do so, or whether anyone is even watching. And having integrity isn’t just about being honest. It’s also about being authentic and consistent, so that people can trust you and know they can expect the best from you in every context.
When you operate your business with integrity, your customers will have faith in your product or service. They’ll feel loyal because they’ll know you’re going to treat them fairly—an all-too-rare experience these days, unfortunately. And they won’t just keep coming back for more, they’ll tell their friends and family about you. Integrity has a way of being contagious, too. When the franchisee has integrity, it usually inspires employees to operate that way as well.
Trying to determine whether you have what it takes to lead a successful franchise? I can help you do a self-assessment that will show you which path is best for you. Just a 15-minute call gets the process started—and my services are always free to my clients. Book a spot on my calendar today to take the next step!
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