Tips for the New Franchisee.

Gaurav Marya’s first book, which is currently available in its fifth re-print edition, The Science of Reproducing Success, talks about how franchising has emerged in India as a growth industry with great potential. It further tells us how franchising provides the last-mile connect in the world’s largest consumption market. Written below are parts taken out from the best-seller book’s preface and inside chapters.

Some words of advice for the new franchisee.

Remain Focused: When you are new to the franchising world and are setting about your first franchise, you might have dreams of expanding it into the next billion dollar business venture. Dreaming is good, but it is also good to remain focused on the task at hand – which is of establishing your first venture and making a success of it. The rest of your dreams will find their place once the one on hand is taken care of.

Be True to Your Word: Credibility is the most important thing that you need to build and command when you are in the franchise business. Be it your word t your customers or to your franchisor, you need to keep your promises and deliver all that you have committed.

Be a Part of One or Several Networks: This is an era of networking. The world is not the limit and the Internet and the social media networks have made access to anyone and everything simple and easy. However, being a part of a network and meeting people in person goes a long way in helping you maintain and expand your business.

Have a Sound Online Presence: It is the age of instant news and smart phones. The online market sells and the social media has a tremendous influence on trends. It would do any entrepreneur, new or established, a big push to have a good online presence through their own company websites and also through the various sites such as the Facebook, Peer Power, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter and so on. Having a blog or two and a fan page too are some of the things that you might want to look at for business and network building.

A Word on Franchising.

Gaurav Marya’s first book, which is currently available in its fifth re-print edition, The Science of Reproducing Success, talks about how franchising has emerged in India as a growth industry with great potential. It further tells us how franchising provides the last-mile connect in the world’s largest consumption market. Written below are parts taken out from the best-seller book’s preface and inside chapters.

Though franchising may not be suitable for all forms of businesses, or for the fiercely independent entrepreneurs, it can offer numerous opportunities to those willing to work hard for a common goal. If you take the time to do the necessary investigation and analysis, your chances of success both as a franchisor and franchisee are assured.

But the important question remains: Why Franchise? The answer is: To reproduce success. Rather than just selling a business, what franchise companies really do is sell an idea. They sell the formula that they have developed and have been successful with. This formula can come in various combinations, but generally it comprises a trademark, a uniform operating system, training and consultation, and promotion. The franchisee has to follow that formula for success for its own success. And all that it has to give in return is an initial franchise fee, and ongoing royalty payments.

So apart from acquiring the formula of a proven and efficient method of conducting business, which is provided by the franchisors, the franchisee also benefits from the management assistance and training, as well as marketing assistance, which is provided by the franchisors. Franchisors normally conduct national or regional marketing campaigns developed by professional advertising agencies and help franchisees run local ad campaigns. The acquired cumulative experience of the franchisor is available to the franchisee at a nominal cost, which further helps making his business ready for success.

Sometimes franchisees are helped by their franchisors not just in preparing business plans and strategies but also in obtaining financing for their outlets. Financial institutions too may be more willing to lend the necessary fund to the prospective franchisee if a well-known franchisor is backing the applicant. It would be easier to obtain the funds when approached as a franchisee with a well-established franchisor, than as an entrepreneur with a new business concept. In the end, franchising provides an ambitious business aspirant with the benefit of the skills, knowledge and best practices in management, from people who have run a successful business over many years.