Concerns regarding how a business venture will fare in today’s economy can overshadow the very real power that businesses of all types have in their hands to create an enduring presence. Franchisees have exceptional benefits in that their business plan and support network is tested and delivered with success in mind. Training also augments these benefits, which is not often accessible to new startup businesses.
According to a research study examining executive responses to various questions, a number of businesses dealing with hardship often attempt to place responsibility for lack of success on external factors when in reality internal factors are all too commonly at fault. Some of the major factors contributing to challenges? Consider these states or situations that business leaders face. Likewise, consider the respective empowering aspects that can be developed out of them and how these aspects are well-aligned with franchising, an industry focused on building and training investors as part of a system.
- Indecisive Company Policy & Culture vs. Decisive Company Policy & Culture
- Indeterminate Preparation & Planning vs. Deliberate Preparation & Planning
- Lack of Agreement vs. Aligned Agreement between Parties
- Discord vs. Harmony between Parties
- Lack of Strategic Marketing Objectives vs. Commitment to Strategy
- Erratic Decisions made without Strategy vs. Decisions made based on Strategy
Each of these areas highlights potential outcomes of greater or lesser efficiency and development for a business. Businesses that honestly self-assess with a synchronized effort to move forward strategically often experience fewer internally-derived challenges and are better able to cope with external pressures.
External challenges such as increased taxes and fees to manage daily operation and unpredictable customer behavior are realistically always going to undergo some ebb and flow associated with changing economic climates and legislative activity. How a business operates internally will figure highly into whether or not the sum of its challenges are in fact out of its hands or directly in its power to change.
Franchisors and franchisees are part of a system that thrives when policy and implementation are part of the fabric sustaining the business, one which sets the brand and its services apart from the crowd. Potential and existing franchisees do well to consider how the franchise system of their choosing is measuring up. Are self-assessment and rigorous commitment to strategy apparent in the franchise agreement, in the way other franchisees do business with the franchisor, in the way the brand is marketed, and in the way the franchisor deals with franchisees? These are excellent questions to ponder, as well as the benefits of joining an established system that has worked out tested solutions for many of the challenges facing businesses.