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CATEGORIES: Podcast
Is it time for you to step your game up and multiply your business? I have been in franchising for over a decade and have hundreds of individual locations as well as 7 different brands to my name.
Diversifying my businesses has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. It has insulated me from failure in any one area, given me an in-depth knowledge of franchising from multiple angles, and created so many revenue streams I can barely count them all. I can’t recommend this route highly enough to any franchisor or even franchisee who has rolled with the punches, built up experience, and is ready for a bigger challenge.
On today’s episode I discuss exactly what those challenges are, how to know if you’re ready to make the next step, and how to best prepare yourself to grow. If you’re considering opening new locations or jumping into a second brand, this is the episode for you.
This journey has not been easy, but it’s been incredibly rewarding, and I love sharing my experience with others who are on a similar path. Join me on today’s podcast as I dive into what it took for me to branch out into different cities, different brands, different industries and more.
Timestamps
1:59 - Challenges presented by different styles of franchises
7:30 - The advantages you have on your second franchise
15:17 - Growing your team and when to give the right people equity
16:44 - The advantages of diversifying
20:10 - The right mindset and thinking differently
25:13 - Fear and finding the right franchise to run
Working Smarter Means Hiring Smarter
If you truly want to build a well oiled machine that eventually provides you the freedom to take a step back, then hiring people who are better than you is essential. This is an area where many business owners fail due to ego, feeling threatened, or simply not knowing talent when they see it. Don’t let that business owner be you.
When you have the chance to hire someone who is smarter than you, has a better work ethic, knows more about a certain aspect of business, you always hire that person. As the ringleader, you should never be the smartest guy in the room. Your talent is bringing people together and building a team. If you’re doing it well, that should be the only area in which you reign supreme.
Diversifying Your Diversity
There’s more than one way to build a diverse revenue stream, and the more diverse you become the more insulated you are from failing in any one area, or even in a recession. Opening locations in multiple markets is a great first step, as is branching out into multiple brands. But have you considered different industries? Retail vs. service? Food vs. household services vs. elder care?
By getting into as many different areas as you can, you will do more than just diversify your portfolio of businesses, you will become stronger in each one by building experience and understanding problems from new angles. The more you know, the more you grow, but the reverse is also true: the more you grow, the more you know. Never be content, there’s always a new area to explore if you get creative.
When to Share Equity
We all covet equity, but knowing when to share some of it with a key player on your team will make you a stronger business owner, better leader, and ultimately will grow your net worth, not take away from it. We all have certain employees that have their sights set on bigger things - or at least we all should. When you spot the go getters on your team, make sure they know that there is room for them to grow with you, or you might find them branching out and becoming a competitor.
Your team will work harder if they are included in your long term vision and have a chance to build their net worths as well. Once you start sharing equity and watching your team grow, you can open more locations and build a much larger empire in the process. I have lost top employees by not sharing equity with them soon enough, and that’s a mistake I won’t make again.
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