Manage by yourself

Franchising offers people the opportunity to manage and run their own business at a far reduced risk than setting up alone. With the support of an experienced franchisor behind them, franchisees are largely accountable for their own success and therefore franchising has become particularly popular in recent years. 

Most franchises are simple in nature and follow an easily replicable business model where franchisees are usually responsible for distributing an innovative product or service. These simple 'distribution' type franchises offer the chance to make a good living from a tried and tested commercial idea.

However, a number of established franchisors are now offering opportunities at a higher level, providing the prospect to run not just one but several businesses or territories at the same time. Franchisees essentially become managers, overseeing the day-to-day operation rather than necessarily getting involved in the detail of its execution.

Running a larger franchise operation offers the advantage of economies of scale and therefore the chance for franchisees to capitalise on exponential profit margins as the business grows.  With increasing pressure expected to continue on the current economic climate, the possibility to streamline processes in this way has now become a very attractive proposition for the right people.

However, these so-called 'management' franchises involve a higher level of responsibility as staff and premises are usually needed. This also means a slightly different skill set is required to succeed.

With a simple distribution franchise model, franchisees usually distribute a product or provide a service themselves. Although franchisees may have little or no previous knowledge of the industry, following intensive training - and provided they pick up the nuances of the operation quickly - their business will rapidly become established. Similarly, it will not be necessary to have any management experience to succeed in this simple business model. Common sense, enthusiasm and dedication are the main qualities needed to make this type of franchise thrive. 

Due to the quality of the training provided by franchisors, a management franchise doesn't usually require any prior industry knowledge either. The focus is on the management and development of a business and this requires a person who is a self-starter who can build and maintain business relationships with clients and a small team of staff. However, it is likely that a degree of general corporate experience will be advantageous as managing staff, a warehouse or a fleet of delivery vehicles is more demanding and are skills often best developed over time rather than through intensive training. 

It is likely the successful management franchisee will also need an existing understanding and competency when it comes to finances as they will be required to manage larger budgets, produce forecasts and generally have more involvement in the financial control and planning required by a larger operation.

Interestingly, the type of people that have been seen to succeed in management franchises have often previously occupied a sales management type role. Often those who have managed a field sales team have gained the skills needed to run a remote team that is frequently required in this type of franchise. Organisation and time management are also key skills which have generally been developed by successful sales managers, as are customer-facing and negotiation skills critical in the business development role required within a management franchise.

• Management franchises offer exiting potential for people with some existing management skills. Greeting card publisher and franchisor Card Connection is now offering the opportunity to take advantage of the economies of scale achieved by running a management franchise for the right candidates. For further information, go to www.card-connection.co.uk.