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Both Elon Musk and Guillermo Perales are very successful business owners. But their business styles couldn’t be more different. Musk is a maverick who seeks to change and innovate. Perales, which Sun Holdings owns more than 1,200 franchise restaurants, stands out for replicating the same pattern of success. Before you consider becoming a franchisee, you need to know if you are Musk or Perales.
What is your business personality?
Both types are entrepreneurial spirits who want something more than the typical nine to five job. Both are hungry and yearn for success, but one likes to follow the rules and one likes to do them.
Wealthier franchisees like Perales are lever pullers. They enjoy and rejoice in pulling the same lever and making money. They know that if they follow the systems that the franchisor has, they will get the same successful results. They are not looking to create a better mouse trap. And their ego doesn’t think they have a better path. On the other hand, an entrepreneur eager to create something new, and always believing he has a better way, will do better to start his own business and not join a franchise.
Entrepreneurs come in many different flavors. They share common traits such as curiosity and creativity, and take responsibility. In addition, successful franchisees are collaborative, confident, resilient, detail-oriented, and hardworking. While any personality type could be an entrepreneur, the most common Myers-Briggs personality types that thrive as entrepreneurs are ENTP, ESTJ, ENTJ, INTJ, and ISTJ.
Knowing your personality type can help you determine if you would like to start your own business or be part of a franchise. In addition, your personality can also help reduce the type of franchise business that best suits you. For example, according to SCORE, introverts thrive on an inbound retail concept like a QSR restaurant, while extroverts can enjoy an outbound retail franchise like a gym.
The formula for the success of franchisees
Succeeding at the franchise is pretty straightforward. It follows the systems and processes that the franchisor created and has been proven to achieve results. If we look at the top franchisees in the world, 99.9 percent have done so. They have not tried to reinvent the wheel. They used a proven roadmap and, along with strong business acumen, achieved financial success.
You can easily see the proof in the pudding when you see that a successful franchisee buys an unsuccessful store from another franchisee who did not follow the systems. When the new owner replicates the same systems and processes followed in their other stores and makes the store meet those specifications, the store spins.
The franchise depends on all the franchisees following the same systems. Think about it. When a customer goes to McDonald’s to buy a Big Mac, he is confident that the Big Mac tastes the same in New York as it does in New Mexico. If you have a rogue franchisee trying to make a better Big Mac, it undermines the brand and success of other franchisees. As a franchisee, you have a responsibility to follow the rules with your franchisee counterparts and the brand’s heritage.
Franchises work because of existing systems and processes. These ensure a consistent product for consumers and constant rates of return for homeowners. Private equity investors are increasingly investing in franchisors and franchisees because they like the predictability inherent in the business model. They know they can spend a lot of money on the franchise with consistent results.
Related: The franchise offers owners a proven model and …
Find the right franchisor
To be successful in following a franchisor’s systems, you must first find the right franchisor with whom to enter into business. Once you’ve determined the industry you’re most passionate about, the trick is to find a newer franchise brand that already has established processes.
Mature brands like McDonald’s and Subway definitely have strong systems. But they don’t offer new franchisees other ingredients needed for financial success, such as prime territories, low start-up costs, and the opportunity to cope with a surge of growth. For anyone starting out in franchises now, the key is to find an emerging brand with good bones.
Every year many new brands come on the market. You need strong research skills or the help of an experienced franchise consultant to help you evaluate specific emerging brands. For example, my company works exclusively with emerging brands, and while the concepts are new, we rely on their systems. Rise, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop and Taffer’s Tavern rely on technology to improve the operation of their restaurants. JARS, Duff’s CakeMix, and Curry Up Now feature processes that eliminate the need for skilled chefs and, in some cases, the need for traditional, expensive restaurant kitchens.
Related: How franchisees and franchisees can dominate their relationship
Get rich today
If you are the type of person who likes to follow proven systems and processes and have a roadmap for success and financial independence, there is no better way than franchising. It gives the right personality a chance to be your own boss instead of an employee. But, with the assurance of knowing that if you simply pull the same lever that other franchisees have, you also have the key to the franchise’s wealth.
Related: 7 Ways Franchises Help Franchisees Get Funding
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