Basic Blend
In addition to attracting good employees and loyal customers, take a look at your business systems. Good ones can help you succeed; bad ones can destroy you. Make sure that all your systems - communications, production, financial, etc. - are integrated.
And don't forget to include technology in that equation, though how much emphasis you should place on it depends on your business. An accounting franchise, for example, must spend a lot of time and money staying abreast of the latest accounting software. The owner of a restaurant, on the other hand, may simply need a PC to track accounts payables and print payroll checks. It's important to develop your own technology strategy.
"You've got to take a step back and say, 'Do I really need that?'" says Scanlon. "Some people get consumed by technology. Look at technology as a tool and walk away from whatever you don't need." Your franchisor might have some proprietary software or tips on what you need.
When your technology plan meshes with the rest of your business systems, your organization will run efficiently and productively. "They all have to communicate well," Scanlon says. "They all have to function as an integral part of the whole, and they all have to work toward the same end, which is making a profit."
The Bottom Line
Let's face it; no one goes into business to lose money. Everything you do, therefore, must be done with the same goal in mind: to drive up profits. That's true whether you run a postal-service franchise or a computer learning center.
Start-up costs can be a positive driver if you don't need a fixed location or a lot of equipment. "Since you don't have to build a large location, you have a much less expensive cost of entry," says Howard Bassuk, president of Franchise Network, a San Diego franchise consulting group. "So, that's a personal driver. If you don't have to sink all that into a visible plant, you could have more to launch your business."
The owner of home-based maid service, for example, can use the money he saves on a physical location to market his services. If you operate a business that requires the added expense of a fixed location, keep in mind that the visibility of a storefront will attract customers, another means of driving your business.
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