In interview with Franchise Direct, Drew Myers, head of Recruit Military spoke about how he believes military veterans are ideally suited to franchise opportunities because of the skills they have developed during their military career. They are also well disciplined and willing to persevere to achieve their goals. These are key personality traits that franchisors look for in potential franchisees. Many franchisors have recognized this, and are actively seeking out veterans to recruit as new franchisees. This is obvious by the growing number of franchises offering tailor made veteran franchise packages.
This suitability, combined with funding supports available to veterans, makes franchising an obvious consideration for veterans who might be interested in starting their own business. Franchise Direct has developed this information center to provide a comprehensive overview for all the funding, support and opportunities available to military veterans interested in starting their own business through a franchise opportunity. Read on to find out more.
What is Franchising?
Franchising is a business structure and a marketing system where the franchisor conveys on the franchisee the right to operate the business, in an agreed manner, in return for ongoing fees. A franchise is, or should be, a fully operational business concept with established and clearly documented processes. The franchisee becomes a business owner but with the support of the franchisor (typically in the form of training and marketing support etc.) and with the benefit of clearly defined procedures that have been developed and proven successful.
At its best, franchising is a partnership where the franchisor gains the capital of the business owner and more importantly their drive and commitment to the success of their own business. The franchisee gains important benefits in terms of branding and has the advantage of not needing to re-invent the wheel. You are buying into a system with established processes. A road map to success, if you will.
The Operations Manual
The operations manual is a key document for a franchise, detailing all of the procedures that should be followed for the successful running of the business.
Jim Wilson, Military Vet and writer on franchising for military veterans, writes that a “veteran's familiarity with the structure and manner of producing those services from his/her military experience. Franchises are operated according to an Operating Manual in which the franchisor provides all procedures that must be followed to run the franchise [...] veterans are familiar with having such a manual that details much of what they need to do to fly a plane, drive a tank, set up and operate a field hospital or kitchen”.
This element of franchising provides the veteran (and all franchisees) with necessary knowledge to allow them to apply their talents to make their business a success. It fills gaps in their knowledge. As importantly, however, following documented procedures is a skill set that veterans have developed in their career to date and this skill is one that franchisors value and that can dramatically contribute to success. Veterans are familiar with following documented procedures.
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