According to franchise coach and longtime franchisee Joel Libava, aka "The Franchise King," there is a set of personality characteristics that is more suited to franchising than others. "It’s so important for people to figure out before they even start looking around if they are really right for franchising," he tells Entrepreneur.com.
Personality traits have a lot to do with franchise success.
According to Libava, some of these characteristics are inborn and not likely to change, while others can be developed or intentionally chosen. Here are some characteristics that will benefit franchisees.
1. Coachability
People who don’t come into a franchise situation ready to learn and accept advice and support from the franchisor will probably have a harder time enjoying life as a franchisee. Willingness to learn and grow as a franchisee has a lot to do with the ultimate success of the franchise.
2. People Skills
All the experts agree that for franchisees, people skills are very important. Franchisees need to deal with suppliers, employees, trainers, franchisors, and often, inspectors, the public, etc. While some people have innate people skills to navigate all these situations, others will need to develop them as time goes on.
3. Work Ethic
While a franchise has several advantages over being an entrepreneur, franchise success does require a great deal of hard work as well as the willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done right. Having an evident and strong work ethic will furthermore inspire your quality employees to work hard as well.
4. Follows Rules
An independent person who doesn’t like following rules is not a good candidate for franchising, which involves following an established system that has been proven to work. Rebellious types as well as those who don’t think the rules apply to them will not have an easy time with detailed franchise contracts or a structured business model with firm expectations of franchisees.
5. Motivated by Results
From the results of previous franchises to the results of following a proven system for success, franchisees who are motivated by results will do well. Seeing the business grow and the profits start to roll in is exciting for pretty much anyone, but if it is also motivating, then a franchise may be a good match.
6. Big Picture Thinker
Franchises have a lot of moving parts – finances, staffing, the facility, inventory, sales, customer satisfaction, etc. Having the ability to understand the franchise as a whole as well as handle the different parts is key to a franchisee’s success.
7. Cool and Collected
Franchises have lots of situations that can make even the calmest person upset. The ability to stay cool and collected can help you figure out how to deal with these frequent "crises" and may even lead to better solutions.
8. Hiring Skills
Not everyone can make good decisions about who to hire as employees in their franchise. Hiring decisions go back to people skills and seeing the big picture, as well as deciding which candidates you think are going to be excited about the brand the way you are.
Franchise Gator offers support and advice to franchisees along with thousands of franchise opportunities for people of many different personality types.