When and How to Evolve Existing Operations as Brands Grow

The initial goal of a franchise is to continue to welcome new franchisees into their systems year after year. It’s no surprise then, that as a franchise continues to grow, the organization's operations must evolve in order to meet the ever-changing challenges of new franchisees, new markets and more. Since there’s no magic system in place for franchisors to duplicate in order to be successful, 1851 Franchise caught up with industry experts who shared their favorite tips.

David Burgess, Chief Operations Officer at Famous Toastery, recommends focusing on the processes you have created, saying, “I don't think there is a set number or silver bullet about growing and building a strong support team. It really depends on the strengths of the system and processes you have in place. They really determine if you need more or if you are ready to grow.”

According to Burgess, if the current systems your franchise has in place aren’t established or creating an environment where employees, from the top down, are set up for success, then you’re not ready to add more franchisees. He continued, “You can put the most experienced General Manager in place or bring in a franchisee who has great experience, but if you don’t have the training and systems in place to develop your team you’re going to fail.”

That top-down approach to leadership seems to be a trend across the board, regardless of location, size or franchise category. At Best in Class Education Center, opening new a dozen new center across the country in 2017 meant reassessing internal operations.

“Last year we opened 12 new centers across the U.S. and it was a really exciting time for us,” shared Sharon Peterson, Best in Class’ VP of Franchise Recruitment & Development. “We want to grow the right way and one of the things we were cognizant of was making sure we had adequate support for our franchisees. As we grew externally, we grow internally.”

The company almost doubled the size of its corporate team in order to ensure franchisees had the support they needed. According to Peterson, the new members of the team are able to provide more coaching and mentoring while opening up new lines of communications so each and every franchisee feels heard and is set up for success.

Peterson shared, “At the end of the day, our franchisees are facing challenges. We want to help them achieve their personal goals and I think that has helped with our growth and is helping us to grow the right way.”

Both Peterson and Burgess agree that having high-level support at the corporate level allows everyone to be successful. At the end of the day, the franchisees and their employees are the ones who are the face and the name of the company. If they’re unhappy, there’s no way for any brand to succeed.  

It’s important to remember that these franchisees bought into a model they believed in. So, as you grow, remember where you came from so everyone in the system is proud to be a part of your unique community.

“Sometimes concepts forget who they are and I think that is a trap that everyone can fall into,” shared Burgess. “We don’t want to grow too big and take on too much, we want to be able to take care of the people that walk into our restaurant. We don’t want to forget who we are and what built us.”