Michael H. Seid - Franchise Management For Dummies

Franchise Management For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL WHERE APPROPRIATE. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies .

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017936488

ISBN 978-1-119-33728-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-33723-2 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-119-33714-0 (ePDF)

1. Table of Contents

by Robert Cresanti, CFE, President and Chief Executive Officer,

International Franchise Association

In your hands is a powerful book that holds essential keys to running a successful franchise business. It is crucial that prospective business owners and entrepreneurs understand how to properly navigate the franchise business model, and Franchise Management For Dummies by Michael Seid, CFE, and Joyce Mazero offers a step-by-step approach to establishing, operating, and expanding your franchise. Ive had the privilege of working with Michael directly in his role as an active member of the International Franchise Association Board of Directors. When I first joined IFA, I was repeatedly told to first speak with Michael and read his writings about franchising, including the older title, Franchising For Dummies, published a decade ago. His insights served as foundational elements to understanding the business model. To this day, when I need advanced/master crafted counsel on franchise issues, Michael and Joyce are at the top of my must call list.

I cannot think of anyone more qualified than Michael and Joyce to write this much-needed book. It contains in-depth information on the history and framework of franchising, including the three types of franchising: traditional, business format, and social. Theres instruction on how to research and select the franchise concept thats right for you and what to know when franchising to multiple units. It also includes sections on raising capital, choosing and managing locations, conducting legal due diligence, setting up supply chains, hiring, training, acquiring existing franchises, and mapping out exit strategies. There are even chapters for lovers of top ten lists, covering the ten keys to success and ten questions to ask before investing in a franchise.

Applicable to all levels of franchising from a single-unit franchisee to a large franchisor, Franchise Management For Dummies spans the entire life cycle of a franchise business from start to finish.

Franchising is about people and relationships, both inside and outside your organization, which is why the sections on working with fellow franchisors and franchisees is so important. Attracting and keeping customers is another one of my favorites. The lessons in this book go beyond franchising to address how to build relationships and design processes that are beneficial to everyone in the organization.

This book is essential reading for anyone who is seriously examining the road to small business ownership. Michael and Joyces deep knowledge of the franchising industry, easy-to-remember terminology, and thought-provoking format makes this the ultimate blueprint for franchising.

According to a January 2017 report from IFAs Franchise Education and Research Foundation and IHS Markit Economics, employment growth in the franchise sector again outpaced the U.S. economy as a whole in 2016, building on a multi-year trend that is expected to continue in 2017. The franchise business model accounts for nearly 8 million jobs at more than 744,000 establishments in the U.S. alone. It offers a path to business ownership at a reduced risk by using existing brands and operational practices.

Im grateful to Michael and the IFA Board of Directors for their dedication to protecting, enhancing, and promoting franchising. Franchise Management For Dummies is an extension of these efforts, as it clearly defines franchising, and in doing so lays out the compelling case why the business model is so important to the U.S. economy and throughout the world.

Welcome to Franchise Management For Dummies! In our opinion, its not an overstatement to suggest that because of franchising, our lives have improved immensely. We now have access, on seemingly every street in the world, to an ever-growing expanse of high-quality branded products and services delivered consistently from location to location, regardless of where we shop. Franchising is also responsible for creating significant wealth in the United States and globally through local ownership of businesses supported by franchise systems. Each of those locally owned businesses creates jobs that drive our economic health.

Franchising has also become the most important and largest vehicle for training entrepreneurial skills, while providing the first rung on the career ladder for many young people. Just consider the sheer number of people whose first jobs were working at a branded franchised location. In addition, in the past few years the methods and standards found in commercial franchising are being applied to many of the health and economic problems in the developing world.