Reflect on your goals when looking at franchises for sale
Mark Rusbatch | CEO | Mister Minit
Hiring and training staff is one of the important issues that you may consider when looking at franchises for sale. A clever business owner recognises that there are people who possess a greater skill set in a particular area than him or herself, and will make use of their potential within their organisation. This will become increasingly essential as your business grows, as it is more difficult for you to be able to do everything yourself. We caught up with Mark Rusbatch, CEO of Mister Minit to talk about training staff, delegating responsibility and being comfortable with the mindset that you are only in control if you are not in control.
When looking at franchises for sale, you may be tempted to take on all the responsibility of running that franchise by yourself. This may be particularly the case with prospective franchisees that are new to managing a business. A good question to ask yourself is if you have the confidence to be able to let go and place your trust in your team members.
Many franchises for sale involve diverse day to day operational tasks. This might include interacting with customers, coordinating logistical activities, and managing your people and finances. You cannot effectively perform all of these tasks without wearing yourself out and hindering the growth of your business, especially if you plan to eventually expand your business or take on multiple locations. It is important to remember that you can only grow through your people. Develop the confidence to be able to give responsibility to your team and trust that they know what they are doing in those areas. It may be difficult to unlearn the jack-of-all-trades mentality, but once you do you will see the benefits of this approach to your organisation. Allowing your team members to find their own way will assist in their growth, and will allow you to concentrate your efforts on developing your business. If you are a little unsure or hesitate to delegate, find subtle behind the scenes ways to have a back up at first as you let go.
Once you are prepared to delegate responsibility, the next step is to ensure your team members are fully equipped to be able to work with minimal oversight in their particular role. When looking at franchises for sale, another key question to ask is what systems are in place for you to be able to effectively train your team.
"A clever business owner recognises that there are people who possess a greater skill set in a particular area than him or herself, and will make use of their potential within their organisation."
Training your team ultimately begins with you. All franchises provide training courses to assist new franchisees in operating their business. When considering franchises for sale, it may be worth investigating whether the training courses offered provide knowledge on human resource management and hiring the right kind of team members who are passionate and care about their work. While you may only be managing a small number of staff when you start up, these courses will be extremely valuable in the long term when you take on more employees as your business expands, or you purchase more franchise locations to become a multi-unit owner. At Minit, in addition to training franchisees, we recognise the importance of developing a franchisee’s team members to help them to take on responsibility. All team members attend training sessions to ensure that they are fully equipped to be able to manage a store outlet. The goal is to get team members to be better than you in their areas of responsibility.
As a new business owner it is highly likely that you will be devoting a significant amount of your time into your new business venture. Often this can be at the expense of other goals unrelated to your business. When looking at franchises for sale, another important question to ask yourself is what you are hoping to achieve with your time in the longer term, and plan to work towards that goal.
Be generous with your time, but respect it. Ask yourself what you aim to achieve in the long-term. By giving your team members increased responsibility, you encourage them to think for themselves and assist in their growth, which in turn will grow your organisation. Delegating will also allow you to focus on other tasks, or improve your work life balance. While in the short term you may not notice much difference in the hours you are working, over time you will get the multiplier effect as a result of leveraging your business, allowing you to reduce the number of hours you work.
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