Making multi-unit ownership a success

If you already own a franchise, you'll know about the dedication and time required.

Mandy Dzelzitis | Franchisee | Worldwide Online Printing

If you already own a franchise, you'll know about the dedication and time you need to put into your business to make it a success.

Running more than one franchise requires a lot more time and effort, and can become unmanageable if you're unprepared for the extra workload and responsibility.

The good news is that there's a number of things you can do to succeed.

When the opportunity came up for me to purchase an existing Worldwide franchise, after careful consideration I decided I had the knowledge and the drive to take on a second store. But although I'd worked at Worldwide for eight years and knew the systems well, I had to make a few adjustments to help me run two busy centres.

Here are my tips to help you successfully operate multiple units.

Make time management a priority

Managing more than one store usually means managing more than one team and more customers.

It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day activities of a busy business and overlook key aspects of your business such as staffing and planning for future growth, or focus all your time one business while neglecting the other.

To make it work, you should look closely at how you divide your time between your stores and between the different functions of your business.

Trust your staff to get the job done

Whether you run one, two or three franchises, you need to build a strong team that you can trust. That means hiring the right staff, properly training new and existing staff, and providing ongoing support.

I've always been very hands-on, so being able to give up some of my responsibilities was an important step for me. I've learnt that you have to let go and delegate more than you think you should.

It's difficult to do at first, but you need to give your staff the chance to prove to you and to themselves that they're capable of getting the job done. Not only does this help you to get on with other tasks, it also helps your staff improve their confidence and learn new skills.

Never stop communicating

I'm a firm believer that communication is key to any business's success, and especially so in franchising, where a lot of information gets passed on from the franchisor to the franchisee. It's important to keep all your staff informed of any changes or new initiatives within the franchise group.

Keep an eye on the big picture

And, while you're doing all that, you need to always keep sight of the big picture so you can grow your business. That includes keeping up with the latest developments in your industry, training staff and constantly looking out for opportunities for new business.

Before taking on a second franchise, I had a business mentor for 12 months. Without that experience I think I would have found it a lot harder to operate two franchises. If you have someone you can learn from, make the most of their knowledge and experience.

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