Increase the Value of your Franchise
Nov 07, 2023
Franchising is a long-term project, but it isn’t a neverending business. Once franchisees achieve time and financial freedom, most retire comfortably to enjoy the fruits of their efforts and years of work.
Some leave the business to their children so the next generation can keep the legacy. Others prefer to build an attractive organization throughout the years and increase the value of the franchise to then sell it to the best bidder.
When the time comes, you will also have to decide what to do. Especially if you sell, you must create a business that is worth as much as possible. In this blog post, I’ll share three things you have to do to increase the value of your franchise business.
But first, a word of caution. Try seeing your business from the buyer's perspective and calculate the business’ worth objectively and without any emotional bonds because this might make you lose sight of areas of opportunity and improvements.
The goal is that when a buyer comes in the future, you will be ready to present the business attractively to get the most out of the transaction.
1. Maximize profit
Your business needs to be as profitable as possible to give you the most money not only when you're selling it but also while you still own the franchise. To do so you have to:
- Own your sales. This means that instead of just being content with the sales your franchisor provides, you try to maximize each of your units by owning the community around your neighborhoods, to make them love your product or service and become loyal ongoing clients who visit your stores over and over again.
It also implies having a local store marketing plan, an amazing product or service, and an overall great customer experience to increase your profits every single year.
- Control your expenses. To make your business as profitable as possible you also have to become a master at controlling waste as well as train and educate your team so they too can be amazing on this matter.
Doing this requires the daily implementation and execution of clear systems and processes on things like labor or product cost.
The better you become at controlling your waste and increasing your sales, the more you’ll be able to increase the profitability of your business. This will also make it more valuable and attractive for future buyers.
The most important measure when it comes to selling your business is, usually, net profitability.
The business value will start at a multiple of that net profit. So by maximizing your profits, you’ll already be in a very good place.
2. Have a great team
A team of well-selected, well-trained people who are inspired and motivated to do a great job every day will execute the brand systems and the business management systems with a high level of excellence.
It is also critical that you create a culture of success, achievement, and positive attitude across the organization. If you can do that, not only will the business be easier to operate since you have a well-run machine. When a buyer sees the type of energy that goes on in your units, they’ll feel more attracted to buying your franchise and its value will go up.
Buyers don't want an extra load of work when they buy a new business. So they really appreciate when an organization has a positive working environment they can easily take over and maintain to receive the same return you had or higher.
So remember that with every effort you make to create a better culture and train your people, you are simply increasing the value of your business.
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3. Delegate operations
To get the most value for your franchise when selling it, you must have great leaders who can run the organization without you.
Think about it! If a potential buyer sees that the business depends on you to be successful, they might back up because once you're no longer there, the performance of the organization is more than likely going to go down.
But if you have great leaders to whom you have delegated most, if not all, of your responsibilities and they do an excellent job, that means they can take over and keep running the business just as well as you did.
That’s why you have to focus on hiring, developing, and inspiring these leaders so they can run the organization even without the ongoing involvement of the owner. That makes your business very valuable because, as I mentioned, taking the organization over will be seamless for them and they can just continue to get the profit they want.
Maximizing profitability, having a high-performance team, and great leaders will not only increase the value of your franchise. These actions will also allow you to have a better quality of life, a better job, and a better business every day.
- Overall, if you work towards these goals, your business will be nothing but better every single day. And, when it's time for you to retire, its value will be up tenfold.
Achieving this type of organization is not an easy task. But don’t worry, the American Franchise Academy can help you in this endeavor!
Our Command Program shows franchisees how to implement policies, processes, and procedures so they can increase the value of their business, have a quality job and quality life, and also, get the most return on investment when it's time to exit or sell the franchise.
Get more tips on what you can do to thrive and operate a successful franchise by following us on all social platforms, including our YouTube channel and podcast.
Reflections:
- How would you value your business if you were an external buyer?
- When it comes to controlling expenses and waste, how much of a master are you?
- Are your employees and leaders well-trained, motivated, and inspired?
- Can your business run smoothly without your ongoing presence and intervention?
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