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Test
your franchise personality!
"Perfect
Fit"
by Joseph R. Mancuso & Donald Borian
IT’S TIME TO PUT YOURSELF TO THE TEST: DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES
TO BE A FRANCHISEE?
So you want to become a franchisee? Good idea?
But since it takes time and money to get into franchising, there’s one very
important question you have to ask yourself before you tackle this undertaking:
Are you qualified to become a franchisee?
The immediate, prideful answer is likely to be "Yes! I’m qualified to become
anything I want to be!" That’s a good, positive attitude—but while we’re
not impugning you or your abilities, we have to issue this caveat: Being
a franchisee isn’t necessarily for everyone. It isn’t the same thing as
owning a nonfranchised business, nor is it the same as working for someone
else.
A franchisee is a unique hybrid of both boss and employee: You own and run
your franchised outlet, but you follow the system and dictates of the franchisor
who has (presumably, anyway) perfected the business. In return for the expertise,
support and established reputation you receive from the franchisor, you
pay a percentage of your sales. In the best case, this is a synergistic,
win-win situation.
To be able to maintain the balance necessary to achieve success in this
field, it takes a certain type of personality with very specific working
traits and temperaments. What you are probably asking now is: What are these
traits, and do I have them?
We’ll examine these traits (and also debunk certain myths by showing you
which traits mean very little as predictors of success). But first we’re
going to test your aptitude to become a franchisee.
TEST YOUR FRANCHISEE APTITUDE
Joe remembers that Don used to say that during franchising’s
early days, before regulation helped clean up the acts of dubious franchisors,
there were two basic and critical criteria for potential franchisees: the
check test and the mirror test. First, did the franchisee’s check clear
the bank? And second, if you held a mirror under his nose, did it fog up
(meaning the candidate was still breathing)? Furthermore, Don joked, some
franchisors didn’t believe the mirror test was that important, just as long
as the check cleared!
This story exemplifies how much times have changed. Even if franchisee screening
wasn’t that loose and cynical back then, it sure has come a long way since.
In fact, in the marketing and sales survey that we will cite extensively
here (explained and described later), nearly 90 percent of the franchisor
respondents reported having rejected financially qualified franchisee applicants
because of lack of other qualifications that were judged to be more important
to the long-term well-being of the franchise.
It is of no use to the stable, properly run franchisor to accept a franchisee
merely because he or she can come up with the money; a franchise that eventually
fails costs the franchisor far more in time, money and reputation than the
quick infusion of upfront money is worth. The days of the "check test" may
not be history—there will always be unscrupulous operators—but times have
changed.
Today, franchisors know what they want when it comes to franchisees. And
to help determine who has these traits, a growing number of franchisors
have turned to some form of franchisee testing. How do you measure up against
the traits these franchisors are looking for?
To help answer this question, we have gathered some solid data. Using survey
responses, and with the assistance of a clinical psychologist, we have created
the following test to help prospective franchisees compare their traits
to those found in many of the most successful franchisees.
ARE YOU SUITED TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL FRANCHISEE?
(The following test) for potential franchisees was
specially prepared with Dr. Harry E. "Bud" Gunn, Ph.D. In addition to writing
books and speaking on a variety of psychology-related topics, Dr. Gunn specializes
in developing tests to assist various industries and corporations in hiring
and evaluating personnel.
To determine your potential for success as a franchisee, answer each question
as accurately as you can in terms of your own feelings and experiences,
rather than providing the answer that you think a candidate should provide
to be a successful franchisee.
Remember, this test is designed to measure your aptitude to be a franchisee,
not your worth as a person or your overall business acumen. As we have noted,
the life and career of a franchisee is not for everyone, and it is important
to find out if it is right for you before investing considerable time and
money to explore specific options within franchising.
Take
the TEST!
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