An Insight Into Franchising From Someone That's Done It All!

Written on the 16 June 2010 by Bruce Doyle

Bruce Doyle, Entrepreneur, Executive and Business Coach, Master Licencee for ActionCOACH and Owner of The Total Freedom Group, shares his business experiences and insights into the franchise industry.

My first exposure to business coaching was approximately 13 years ago, when I met the founder of ActionCOACH Brad Sugars.  At the time, I was running a chain of gourmet food stores throughout Melbourne.  Brad just happened to be shopping in our Malvern store when he was introduced to me through a mutual friend. What has happened since this meeting is nothing short of amazing.

Brad and his team assisted me in fine-tuning my businesses to a point where it could operate predictably and profitably without me.  I was so impressed by these results that I decided to invest in an ActionCOACH franchise.

Four years ago I made the decision to purchase the Master Licence for  a fair chunk of Australia and now, nine years later since I first came across ActionCOACH, I have built the largest and most successful team of coaches in the global organisation.  I will continue to grow my team to keep up with the increasing demands from small to medium businesses in Australia and around the world.

So why do this when I could have continued growing my Gourmet Food chain?

Simple.

One of the things that attracted me to this franchise was how successful you could be as a franchisee.  It stood out from other opportunities, because most of the franchises I’d looked at previously seemed to be set up the wrong way around, with the franchisor making heaps and the franchisees struggling, therefore stalling the growth of the business.

To me, a successful franchise will be growing consistently, have high retention of franchisees and the franchisees will be working together as one large team to assist with innovations and future development.

Looking back to when I joined Brad at ActionCOACH, there were a handful of coaches scattered across Australia and New Zealand. Now eight years later 1200 Franchises across six continents in 24 Countries, and voted the Number 1 Business Coaching Franchise Globally - the perfect example of the success that can be achieved with the right people and the right business model.

So here's some advice from someone that has experienced all areas of business and franchising (and believe me, you should take all the advice you can get before jumping into a franchise!):

When looking for a franchise, speak with as many franchisees as possible to determine if they are ‘Raving Fans’ of the business or are ‘Doing it Tough’!  If they are all finding it difficult to achieve success, the franchise may not be a great investment for you.

So make sure you do your homework when considering a franchise:

• Do they have a proven track record?
• Are their franchisees happy?
• Do their systems work?
• Is there continual innovation to improve the business?
• Are they focused on research and development?
• Is it a great team that work together with a strong culture?

A franchise opportunity that can offer all of these things is one that you should pursue.  Remember, there will always be risks in business, but you can minimise these risks by doing your research into the franchise before you commit to anything.

Good luck!  I hope franchising proves to be as successful for you as it has for me!