It’s elk hunting season!
Last night, my buddies and I had a great conversation about all the different years we’ve hunted together and our experiences. Over the years, we tried this and that, what worked and what didn’t work, and the stories that come from those experiences are great fun to reflect upon, even if it wasn’t so much fun when it happened.
In the 15-20 years I’ve been elk hunting, there are a lot of experiences of things that I’ve tried that have worked and things that haven’t worked. There are things you do, and there are things you don’t do based on previous successes and experiences out in the woods. There’s a formula to success when you are elk hunting.
As I am hiking through the woods today, reflecting on that discussion, I realize franchising is a formula for small business.
What you’re buying into is all those years and experiences of trying things that worked and didn’t work. You are buying the collective experience of the founders of the brand but also the current experience of the other owners that are improving upon the “mousetrap” in real time. I have found that real time peer to peer experience share can move the needle in your business so much faster than other options
For example, I hired this person, and they were not the right person. I tried this marketing, and that didn’t work. This is how the sales process should go….The cool thing in franchising is you get to see other stores’ data and/or know who is growing the fastest or doing the best. You don’t get that when you are independent.
If you want to be in business, there are a million different ways to do it. Franchising is a good route if you want to avoid mistakes and buy into a proven formula.
To break it down, franchising isn’t about the franchise. It’s about owning a business that works. It’s about leveraging other people’s experiences and the nuances of running a business. Like elk hunting, there are a million different ways to hunt, and there are a million different ways to find an elk. But there’s also a formula based on previous successes.
David Weaver is the Founder of Franchise Your Freedom and a senior consultant with FranChoice, the premier national network of franchise consultants. David helps people all over the country find the right franchise fit by sharing his personal experience and philosophy on how to select the right brand. He shares proven strategies and over a decade of experience growing franchise companies for himself with those that are doing it for the first time. You can learn more about David at FranchiseYourFreedom.