Who Should You Have On Your Franchise’s Leadership Team?

There are multiple qualities to look for when it comes to selecting members of a leadership team. You want a person or people to be able to motivate and encourage others, someone who is responsible and dependable and can take your business to the next level.

The decision to open a franchise is a big one, and now you need to establish a presence and find success as an entrepreneur so that you can turn a profit and give yourself a pathway to financial freedom. 

Lauren Coulter, director of franchise sales & development at Biscuit Belly, knows all about building a successful leadership time for a franchise. Her business, which she runs alongside her husband, offers franchise opportunities, and her role is to help those who are interested in franchising a Biscuit Belly go  through the onboarding process. 

As for the team that Coulter is on, the husband-and-wife duo delegate their tasks according to what they can do well and in an acceptable amount of time.

“Our team runs on the EOS Traction model,” explained Coulter. “My husband is the ‘visionary,’ and I am the ‘integrator.’ That is, I take his wild ideas, determine which we can actually execute well and in a timely manner and then I help my team make them happen.”

While she operates on more project management duties, Coulter is well-versed in launching franchises of Biscuit Belly and helping her franchisees from when they first express interest through the launch of their brick-and-mortar locations. 

When Coulter is looking for her own people to build a leadership team, there are a few different qualities that she looks for.

“We have developed a fun and innovative culture, so first and foremost, I look for people who are the right culture first,” she said. 

Coulter admits it can be difficult to find someone who has experience, leadership and guidance while also having the qualities of someone who has the ability to work for a smaller start-up franchisor. 

“A struggle we have had in the past is finding the right person with experience who we need to grow this thing, along with someone who is okay to work within the confines of more limited resources,” she explained.

While building a leadership team for a franchisee, Coulter said she will bring in store-level management teams to participate in interviews with a potential leadership team member, not only because they will be working closely with each other, but because they also want to give these employees an opportunity to have a “say” on whether or not a franchisee is hired with Biscuit Belly.

Coulter said she does offer advice to those who are looking to start a franchise and build a leadership team. 

“Definitely spend the money up front to make sure your marketing and legal work is incredibly buttoned up,” she said. “You don’t have to have every single thing figured out, but our rule of thumb has been to stay 60 days out from whatever items we need to happen.” 

That means when she hires leadership with Biscuit Belly, she brings on new team members, contracts with vendors and anything else with a 60-ish day lead time so that if things don’t work out, she has a buffer to help out. 

Building a leadership team can be a tedious task, but Coulter said if you take the time and effort to do it the right way, you can see the payoff.