Non-Entrepreneurial Franchisees and Franchising: Is It a Good Match?

Are you a person who likes to play by the rules and think inside the box? You don’t push the limits and aren’t driven to change the world but maybe just improve it. For you, success is success, and if you can find success following another’s system, all the better! You’re a businessperson but not an entrepreneur. So do you have what it takes to be a successful franchisee? Will your non-entrepreneurial nature hinder or help you when it comes to the world of franchising? We asked franchise experts for their thoughts on the topic.

Joe Lindenmayer, president of TSS Photography, a franchise specializing in youth sports and school photography, believes that in order to be a successful franchisee, it’s more important to be able to follow a system than to be an entrepreneur. “A good term I once heard is a ‘frantrepreneur,’ and while I can’t take ownership of this description, a true run-and-gun entrepreneur might feel a need to reinvent the process the franchisor has or feel compelled to change things that are proven to work,” Lindenmayer says. “Being more towards the lower end of the entrepreneurial scale might, in fact, benefit them because, while they may have ideas to improve things, they will have more trust and confidence in the system more if they aren’t a serial entrepreneur. This will yield the benefits of a proven system and a step-by-step approach that ensures a higher level of success.”

In some cases, being entrepreneurial may actually cause friction with franchisors, says Jeff Elgin, CEO of FranChoice Inc., a network of franchise referral consultants. “The last thing that a franchisor wants is a true seat-of-the-pants entrepreneurial person coming into their system and constantly trying to reinvent the wheel by doing things differently than what the system tells them to do,” Elgin says.

Meanwhile, Tim Howes, principal of Spyglass Strategies, a franchise consultancy practice focused on improving individual and organizational performance, cautions against entrepreneurial types becoming single-unit franchisees. Instead, he recommends that they purchase multiple units or become area developers. “Area developers or multi-unit franchisees are typical entrepreneurs, because they are looking to grow something,” he says.

While non-entrepreneurial individuals may be a great fit with franchising, each franchise system is different and embraces varying levels of entrepreneurialism. Therefore, the key is to ensure that your personal level of entrepreneurial spirit is a good match with the franchise you’re investing in. “In many traditional, long-standing retail brands, you’ll likely have little room for personal entrepreneurialism,” says Lindenmayer. “In a younger, service-based brand, you might have more room for personal expression. Meeting the company leadership at a Meet The Team Day or Discovery Day gives you a great barometer of how much or little entrepreneurial room there is.” For example, Lindenmayer says TSS Photography and his other franchise concept, Young Masters, welcome candidates from both ends of the spectrum.

Likewise, the level of support and hand-holding provided will also vary depending on how new or established a franchise system is, so if you are less entrepreneurial, it’s important to make sure that the franchisor will meet your needs for support. “Non-entrepreneurial people need a system where there is a good amount of structure and order in day-to-day operations,” says Howes. “They need strong ‘Business 101’ training from the franchisor and good ongoing support.” In franchise systems where internal support is lacking or the concept is not yet solidified, an entrepreneurial franchisee may be a better fit.

How do you find the franchise that best fits your nature? Follow these steps:

• Look at key features of the franchise concept. “Has the system been in business for five or more years?” asks Lindenmayer. “This means operations [issues] have likely been ironed out and there are more systems and procedures in place to help you.”
  
  
• Identify your strengths and examine the roles you will need to fill in the business. Are you comfortable in operations? Sales and marketing? Human Resources or finance? “Forcing yourself to become someone else in business can be a big mistake,” cautions Lindenmayer.
  
  
• Talk to other franchisees. “Interview franchisees of systems you are truly interested in joining and ask them about their background prior to joining the system,” advises Howes. “Ask about support and the challenges they faced, and get direct advice about what it takes to succeed in that particular system.”
  
  
• Try to find franchisees similar to you. “If you conduct your validation calls or visit some people the franchisor recommends after meeting with you and you don’t feel a bond to those people, run,” says Lindenmayer. “A misread on who you are or what you expect on the business can be avoidable with complete honesty to the franchisor, but if they expect you to change, it seldom works, and you might be filling their slot instead of fulfilling your dream.”