Don't Make These Common Mistakes as a New Franchisee

As a new franchisee, you should strive to create a successful business for yourself and your employees. However, there are common mistakes that many new franchisees make.



How can you avoid making these common franchising mistakes and keep your company running smoothly?

If you want to keep yourself from making mistakes as a franchisee, you're in luck. Here are some common mistakes that you should keep in mind at all times.

Financial Mistakes

Your first consideration as you open a new company should be how you will finance your franchising opportunity. Without proper precautions, all of your hard work and solid ideas could go down the drain.

Start thinking about how you will fund your franchise before getting down to business. Whether you can fund the franchise yourself or if you will need to take on loans does not matter; all that matters is putting a plan in place as soon as possible. Make sure you have a primary plan plus a backup to prevent potential mistakes.

Seeking Advice from the Wrong People

It's important to take advice from other franchises when you're starting out as a new franchisee. However, knowing who you should take advice from can be one of the biggest franchising challenges you will face.

Always take your advice from experienced franchise experts, especially if they specialize in your field. This will give you a better idea of how to run your franchise in the future. Getting advice from inexperienced individuals is a huge franchisee mistake that may hurt you instead of help you.

Overexpansion

Everyone wants to grow their franchisee business as quickly as possible, but overexpanding your company before you're ready is a huge mistake. There are many logistical and financial problems that you may experience if you spread yourself too thin.

For one, you may find that the money you're spending on traveling to your various businesses outweighs your profits. The further your secondary businesses are from your home base, the worse this expense will become. You may struggle to train new employees and keep your company running smoothly over far distances.

Wait until you are sure your company is ready before expanding too far. This will give you the time and knowledge to appropriately expand your business.

Releasing Sensitive Data

Many franchisee mistakes come from accidentally sharing sensitive data with others. While often accidental, these types of mistakes can take a huge toll on your company in a very short amount of time.

Any private information you share about your franchise can and will be used against you, either by your competitors or by journalists. Once you've released this information, there is no way to take it back. Always be careful with the information you share about your franchise to avoid catastrophes down the road.

Letting Your Standards Drop

As a franchisee, you should strive to keep your standards high so that your company can continue to produce top-quality products and services. If you allow your standards to drop, your business will begin to suffer.

Take the time and initiative to train your employees well and avoid cutting corners while producing new goods. Otherwise, you may begin driving even your most loyal customers away!

Using Poor Communication

Proper communication with your franchiser is key when running a successful franchise. Make sure you read any messages you get from your franchiser and keep in contact whenever possible. That means answering phone calls, emails texts, or any other forms of communication you get!

Franchisers work hard to make sure that you get the information about their franchise that you need. If you want to stay on good terms and succeed with the franchise, do your part as the franchisee and keep up your communication with them!

Focusing on Short-Term Goals

Yes, short-term goals are worth spending some time on. However, if you spend too much time focusing on your short-term goals, you may miss out on long-term opportunities! You are not working with a get-rich-quick scheme- you're working with a franchise for larger opportunities.

Pay attention to long-term goals and stick with them. If you want the franchise to succeed, then long-term goals need to be followed!

Ignoring Your Marketing Plan

When you started out with a franchise as a new franchisee, you should have been spoken with about their marketing plan. Marketing is an important part of any strong business, as it keeps clients interested in the products and services you sell. A strong marketing plan also helps generate leads and find new potential clients for your business.

Marketing is usually the job of the franchisor, not the franchisee, but that doesn't mean you should downright ignore marketing. You will need to spend time marketing for your franchise at your specific location. Otherwise, new potential clients may not even know to reach out to you.

Don't force your franchise to do all of the marketing on their own. Spend the time and money to create a solid marketing plan for your area; that way, you can start developing your own client base closer to home.

Avoid These Mistakes as a New Franchisee

While it's easy to make mistakes as a new franchisee, there are some common errors that you can easily avoid. By keeping these in mind, you can start off as a successful franchisee and help your franchise succeed. Don't be afraid to ask for advice from your franchisors if you ever have questions!

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