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Jan
4
2021
OWNERSHIP

Tips to Maximize Your Franchise Opportunity

Tips to Maximize Your Franchise Opportunity

If you’re opening a franchise business, you don’t want to miss these tips for making the most out of your franchise opportunity.

There are many reasons why an entrepreneur may opt to open a franchise business, but profitability is often high on the list. While a franchise opportunity does alleviate some risk on the owner’s part, it isn’t fool proof. As in any business venture, the return will depend on what is put in from the very beginning. This includes thorough research and due diligence to carefully evaluate the opportunity before any contracts are drawn up and signed. Read on to learn how to choose the best franchise network for you and tips to maximize the opportunity.

Have Realistic Expectations

The first and most important point to remember is that no matter what franchise opportunity you decide to go with, success is never guaranteed. When opening a franchise business, there is a learning curve and a lot of hard work involved. While you shouldn’t allow that to discourage you, it’s important to keep in mind for setting realistic expectations. No business becomes profitable overnight. Do your homework and research how long it will take to start turning a profit. This could be a major factor in determining the franchise you select to partner with.

Research and Choose Wisely

Although you don’t need to be an expert in the field of the franchise business you choose, you do need to be able to learn it. A comprehensive understanding of the brand’s products and services will not only make your job easier, but it’s a must for proper marketing.  Pick an easy—for you—to understand industry so that you can manage the business as it was intended. Keep seasonality in mind as well. Brands with evergreen products maintain profits year-round, removing the burden of off-season financial stress.

Choose a franchise that fits your personality. Joining a company that doesn’t match who you are or the career goals you have in mind can sabotage your success as a franchisee. Also, ensure the brand’s values and priorities align with your own.

Consider the brand’s strength and longevity.  Partnering with a well-known brand not only helps you gain immediate brand equity, but larger and more established franchisors have a greater understanding of their industry and a business model built from experience. Following their guidance will give you the best chance at a good return on your investment.

Speak to existing franchisees before you commit to get an idea of what it’s really like to be a part of the franchise network. This can give you a much clearer picture of what to expect than just reading the franchise materials. Find out things like the accuracy of the start-up costs quoted by the franchisor, the adequacy of the training and support provided, if the business meets their earnings expectations and whether they would buy the franchise if they had it to do over again.

Learn the Ropes and Stick to the Plan

When opening a franchise business, it’s very important to follow the franchise procedures and resist the urge to innovate. Eventually you will be able to implement your own small nuances, but a well-run franchise has proven operating procedures and methods to optimize success. It’s in your best interest, especially at the beginning, to adhere to the rules. Following the franchisor’s guidelines for best practices gives you the greatest chance for the biggest return.

Absorb as much knowledge as you can from all opportunities the franchisor offers for education. Take advantage of all training provided and connect with fellow franchisees. Networking with other franchisees in the system and sharing ideas is a great way to push your business forward and make contacts in the industry. This type of collaboration to help one another succeed also helps to strengthen the brand, making it a win-win for everyone.

Hire the Right Staff

High turnover in any business is expensive. Not only does it impact day-to-day operations, but in franchising it can also damage how you may be perceived by the franchisor, making it even more important to pick the right staff. Select reliable and dedicated employees who are not afraid of hard work, can maintain productivity and are willing to follow the rules and guidelines that both you as a business owner set and those of the franchisor. Be transparent about what is expected and set realistic expectations for growth opportunities at your franchise and within the network as a whole.

In addition to these tips, one of the best ways to maximize your franchise opportunity is to simply take advantage of all the tools at your disposal. Opening a franchise business allows you to go into business for yourself but not by yourself. It offers the independence of business ownership backed by the additional support of an already successful brand. Leverage the benefits opening a franchise business provides like brand strength, vetted products and services, training, guidance and ongoing support for achieving proven, profitable results.

 

2023 Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 Top Rated for Veterans badge

We Proudly Support Our Veterans

Participating partners with the VetFran program, The UPS Store offers qualifying veterans $15,000 off their franchise fee to start their new business. To learn more, contact The UPS Store Franchise Development Team.

Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 Ranked #4 in 2023 badge

Ranked for over 30 Consecutive Years

The UPS Store has been ranked #1 in the postal and business services category for over 30 years and remains in the top 5 overall for the seventh consecutive year according to the Franchise 500 list.

Kristin Howard

Franchisee, Michigan

The reason my husband and I decided to go into franchising and specifically with The UPS Store, is the different opportunities we're given with the business. The UPS Store has name recognition as well as opportunities to expand.

Debbie Adams

Franchisee, Kentucky

What I enjoy most about being a The UPS Store owner is working with my customers. We are the solution specialists for our customers.

Jim George

Franchisee, Illinios

My favorite part about The UPS Store network is the camaraderie with other franchisees. Everybody loves to help everybody else. You’re really part of a family.

Greg Murray

Franchisee, Florida

The interesting thing about The UPS Store is that when a customer walks through the door there's an extremely high probability that they're coming there to do something that is important to them. So at the end of the day, what we do for customers is very important and they are trusting that we are going to do it well.

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Mariana Huberman

Franchisee, Washington, D.C.

One of the things that I love about The UPS Store franchise system is that you're not ever in this by yourself. The franchisees of The UPS Store network are great.

Heidi Morris

Franchisee, Colorado

The thing I enjoy most about being a The UPS Store franchisee is I get to get up, go to work and know that I'm helping other business owners succeed in what they're doing.

Bob Brown

Franchisee, Tennessee

Owning a The UPS Store franchise has changed my life because it's finally given me the opportunity to engage my customers and my staff and be able to take real pride in what I do. As a franchisee, we get faced with solving peoples' problems every day and we do everything we possibly can to try to help.

Marie Jensen

Franchisee, Oregon

My favorite thing about The UPS Store is the variety. I love the variety of customers, I love the variety of services; getting to know the customers, meeting their needs, finding out how we can help them accomplish what they need to accomplish and seeing how happy they are. That makes me ecstatic.

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Tad Mollnhauer

Franchisee, Florida

With the products and services that The UPS Store provides we can make a difference in people's lives and that is the best reason for being a The UPS Store owner.

Joy Batchelor

Franchisee, Idaho

What makes being a The UPS Store franchisee worthwhile at the end of the day is the customers. The customers treat us like we're family.

Paul Erchinger

Franchisee, Texas

One nice benefit of owning a The UPS Store franchise for me has been that it gives me the opportunity to be more involved in the community. As I make relationships with others it seems like no matter what the environment is, in one way or another business comes out of that and that's not my objective—it's been a secondary benefit to being involved in the community.

Chris Reminder

Franchisee, Ohio

There are several things that I really enjoy about being a The UPS Store franchisee. First and foremost it allows me to get to know the people in the local community and that is a lot of fun. We get to see people on a regular basis. We get to know their life stories. That's a lot of fun.

Bruce Jones

Franchisee, Kentucky

Since we have joined The UPS Store, our life has changed by just having more time to spend together as a family. We've been very fortunate with the stores that we have and we have a great staff that looks out for our best interest and we look out for theirs.

Lonnie Williams

Franchisee, Oklahoma

What makes The UPS Store so successful is it gives each individual an opportunity to grow with the network and just meet the challenges that are brought to them on a daily basis. Every day gives us a new opportunity to help another person, to help another small business, to answer a question and to solve a problem.

Jeff Graham

Franchisee, Alabama

I love my customers. I love my employees. I love every person, every face that comes into my store. I enjoy every day going into work and I can't see doing anything else for the rest of my life.

Stacie Stigar

Franchisee, Alaska

I think that this franchise is so successful because of all of the resources that are available to us as center owners—we have marketing materials, we have so many different opportunities for help from the home office, and it just really makes for a great franchise.

Don Pollard

Franchisee, New Jersey

I think the thing that makes this franchise successful is a number of things. First of all we have an outstanding system, we have a great product, a great brand, and we're able to attract dynamic people to run these centers and run the business. So I think when you put all that together it really provides for a winning combination.

Mary Ellen Nichols

Franchisee, Tennessee

The thing I love about the franchise is that you have the UPS name backing you but yet you also have the autonomy to make your own decisions to promote.

Laura Griffin

Franchisee, Florida

In the eight short months I've owned my The UPS Store it has really changed my life. I've gone from being an employee of someone else to being an employer of my associates. It's a big responsibility but it's exciting every day.

Sandy Scandrett

Franchisee, Wisconsin

Being a The UPS Store franchisee has improved every aspect of my life. It's very rewarding financially, professionally, and emotionally. I have a large number of regular customers who are really, really appreciative of everything we do.

Kristie Robison

Franchisee, Alabama

I would say owning a The UPS Store location has changed my life to where I have more time and flexibility. In owning your own business you get your store up and running and you get employees that you can trust that are going to help keep your store running. This allows me to attend my two boys' ball games and also travel and do things with them so it has really changed my life for the better.