Franchising's Top Five Start-Up Priorities

We need dozens of ingredients stirred together when starting an achieving, successful franchised business. Here's a brief description of the five I believe to be most important: 

‍First Priority: Form a capable team. There's no substitute for talent. Strong aptitude applied to a mediocre opportunity can produce outstanding results. On the other hand, weak aptitude applied to a fantastic opportunity is likely to produce only moderate results. With talent you can achieve almost anything. Without it you will achieve much less. Hire it. Admire it. And keep it.

‍Second Priority: Get the location right. "How do they sell so much of that stuff at those prices?" We've all heard these words of amazement. More often than not, it's because the business is well-located. A good location isn't a necessity for all franchised businesses. If you're in retail, however, heed the oft-used cliche: The three most important ingredients of success are location, location, location. It's usually true.

‍Third Priority: Select a quality franchisor. You needn't be a rocket scientist to learn that the quality of franchisors runs the gamut–from inept to extraordinary. There's a tendency to think the abilities of the franchisor won't make much difference. After all, you're in business for yourself. Not true. Many franchisors have hampered the growth of their franchisees by inadequate investment in their business or lack of business sophistication. It's not uncommon for successful franchisees to surpass the skills of the franchisor in many areas. When this happens, the franchisee begins to wonder what he or she is paying for. These people become apprehensive about making additional investment in their franchise and often go elsewhere. The (franchisee) tail wags the (franchisor) dog in many situations. That's bad news. Choose a franchisor capable of aggressive market leadership, then hop on for the ride.

‍Fourth Priority: Have a numbers person. Many entrepreneurs suffer from numnorance, the ignorance of numbers. Every achieving organization has at least one good numbers person. Numnorance and entrepreneurial achievers are like oil and water. You seldom find them together.

‍Fifth Priority: Choose your industry carefully. Capital and success travel in the same crowd. Lenders court some industries and shun others. Be sensitive to the reputation of the industry you're considering. Financing often depends more on lender perception of the industry than the individual's reputation.