60 Business View - January 2015
FRANCHISE
3. Franchisors and franchisees have
gotten more sophisticated and
metric-driven.
Franchisors have more insight into their franchisees
than ever before thanks to profiling and real time data.
“We have a dedicated Business Intelligence Team that
pulls relevant data each day on each of our franchis-
es,” said Randy Shacka, president of Two Men and a
Truck. “We are able to see where they are doing well or
struggling in real time, which enables us to help them
achieve optimum performance.”
Franchisees prior to the advent of the intranet and we-
binars were often an island unto themselves with the
exception of annual conferences and quarterly visits
from the corporate office. Technology, in addition to fa-
cilitating training and the sharing of best practices, en-
courages more collaboration and competition among
franchisees.
4. Franchisors are increasingly more
selective regarding potential
franchisees.
In the past, it is said that some franchise companies
would accept as a franchisee anyone who could “fog a
mirror and write a check.” Today, most franchisors are
far more discerning regarding whom they invite to be
a franchisee.
“We used to put a premium on individuals who have
a passion for birds,” Carpenter said. “Today we still
look for folks who have the passion for birds, but more
importantly they must have the ability to successfully
manage and grow a business that provides a high en-
ergy customer experience.”
The shift by many franchisors towards a manager vs.
an owner-operator business model makes multi-unit
ownership easier than it used to be. In addition, it has
made investing in a franchise an exit strategy option
for executives currently holding full-time jobs.
“Corporate executives today realize that once they en-
ter their 50s that they risk being viewed as too costly
and perhaps having their position eliminated as a re-
sult. Because of this, I’ve seen an increased number
investing in franchises to ensure they will have a rev-
enue stream should this happen,” said Rick Bisio, a
franchise consultant for 22 years and author of The
Educated Franchisee.
Another advantage of a manager vs. owner-operator
franchise business model is that it makes a franchise
unit more appealing to potential buyers.
“People will pay more for an enterprise than a ma and
pa store,” said Carpenter.
5. Obtaining franchise financing went
from really easy, to exceptionally hard,
back to easier again.
Loans were essentially unavailable to franchisees in
2008 and 2009, as banks were restructuring. Even
candidates with perfect credit scores couldn’t get any
capital to start a new franchise business. According to
