The most important thing when it comes to running a franchise is keeping to the franchise agreement. If your franchise agreement seems to be written in legalese, don’t panic! Franchise lawyers can help you decipher what your rights and obligations are in respect to the business and the franchisor. There are other major aspects to running a franchise too, including managing people, governing the financials both for tax purposes and for cash flow, and getting a handle on customer service. Read on to find out more about these points.
Keeping to the Agreement
One of the most crucial aspects of running a franchise is ensuring that you keep to the franchise agreement with your franchisor. This could cover a whole lot of things concerning how you do business, from costs incurred to how you do marketing and the processes and IP your franchisor shares with you. If you aren’t sure how to understand your franchise agreement, then it’s a good idea to hire reputable franchise lawyers to help you interpret it and find out what your key obligations are in running the business.
Managing People
If you’re the boss on site for your franchise business, then you’ll spend time not only doing the work involved in whatever type of franchise it is, but also managing people. For example, there will be people calling in sick and you’ll need to replace them with other workers who can cover shifts. You may also need to reprimand staff members who flout the parameters of their employment agreement, such as consistently coming in late or even stealing from the business. You’ll also need to know when to give praise where it’s due, and promote staff members who show initiative. Franchise lawyers may be able to help if any legal issues pop up with an employee.
Governing the Financials
At the end of every financial year, you’ll need to give your financial information to a tax accountant so they can do your tax. This means you need to keep accurate financial records throughout the year so that all information is at hand when you need it. This is both for legal and taxation purposes, but it can also be helpful to get a perspective on your business. Taxation looks at the year that has just been, but you’ll also want to know what’s happening now and in the near future. Many business owners use financial software to forecast how their business might perform over the coming months to keep ahead of the game. If you don’t know how to do this, talk with your accountant.
Customer Service
Customer service can make or break your business. If you’re choosing to work inside your franchise business rather than simply being an owner, then you need to polish your customer service skills. As far as the customer is concerned, they are always right, so it helps to do everything you can to meet their needs. Building rapport with repeat customers over time will help to develop a sense of trust, and will increase the chance that they’ll keep coming back. If you don’t have a good memory, now is the time to improve it, as remembering the names of customers can go a long way to building rapport. There may be some customer service procedures provided by your franchisor that you can reference. If you haven’t been given any, talk to franchise lawyers about your franchise agreement and what was included in it.
