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If you’re actively searching for a franchise opportunity, you probably have a lot of questions going through your head. Like:
- What franchises should I look into?
- How much will I need to invest?
- How long will it take to make money?
- How will I know if I’m looking at good franchise opportunities?
- Where do I go to get a small business loan?
Without a doubt, those are all good questions to ask. Everyone looking to buy a franchise asks them.
But what about the questions that aren’t top of mind? Like: How am I going to learn everything I need to know about owning and operating my franchise business?
Keep reading.
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There are two ways for you to learn how to own and operate your franchise business.
1. Formal training by your franchisor.
2. On the job* training.
*Your “job” as the owner is to operate your franchise business successfully (read: profitably). And a few weeks into running your new business, I have no doubt you’ll get the feel of it.
But let’s talk about #1.
What Happens After You Officially Become A Franchisee
Once you’ve paid your franchise fee and have signed your franchise agreement (the binding contract) several things occur.
For example, if you’ve purchased a franchise that requires commercial space, you and the real estate department of the franchisor will start scouting for a location.
Another thing that happens? You’ll be added to the franchisee training schedule.
NOTE: There are a few other things that will happen once you’re officially a franchisee, but for the purpose of this article, let’s stick with training.
Where Will You Get Trained?
Odds are you’ll travel to franchise headquarters to get trained on various aspects of your new franchise business.
However, thanks to technology, some franchisors now include online training, too. In most cases, the online portion occurs well before you travel to headquarters for in-person training. It’s known as pre-training, and it’s becoming more popular—especially given recent events.
As a matter of fact, every franchisee I’ve talked to about this type of training liked it a lot. In addition, they all felt it helped them feel way more prepared for their in-person training at headquarters.
What Do You Get Trained On?
In a perfect world, you’re trained on everything you need to know about operating your franchise business. In reality, typical franchise training programs come pretty close to that ideal.
Here are some of the things you’ll learn about during franchise training:
- The brand
- Details of the product and/or service offerings
- Business operations
- Equipment
- Software
- Internal IT system management
- Specific marketing and advertising programs
- Inventory management
- Employee management
- Payroll management
- The point-of-sale (POS) system
- Financial management
- Working with vendors
- Customer acquisition
- Customer retention
Whew! I know. That’s a lot of things to learn!
Yes, This Can Feel Overwhelming
I could tell you not to worry, but experience tells me that rarely helps.
All new franchisees feel overwhelmed at some time before they open their businesses. It’s completely normal.
That’s because if you’re like most first-time franchise owners, you only know so much. But isn’t the “not knowing how to start a business” one of the major reasons you went down the franchise path to begin with?
Moreover, if you did a thorough job researching the franchise business you’re getting ready to open, the existing franchisees you talked to have already told you about the quality of the training they received.
TIP: Always include questions about franchisee training when you contact existing franchisees during your due diligence. Ask them how well prepared they felt when they opened their doors.
Ongoing Training
There’s more to training than learning how to get your business open.
When the franchisor launches a new product or service, you, as a franchisee, will need to learn about it. In addition, with technology seemingly always being updated, and in some cases, changed, you’ll need to be trained on those changes.
In most cases, you won’t need to travel to headquarters to get trained on new items. Instead, your training will take place online in a group setting. Sometimes, this additional training is held at a regional location near to where your franchise is located, or a trainer from corporate may be sent to your location.
Finally, if you ever feel you need a refresher on some of the things you learned during your training at headquarters, you can reach out to your franchisor.
Bottom line: Include finding out about the quality of the franchisee training program as you research franchises to buy.
The Franchise King®, Joel Libava, is a top franchise expert. He’s written over 2,000 different articles on franchise ownership and personally consults with people who are looking to buy a profitable franchise. Go here to find out how The Franchise King® can help you become your own boss.