A university degree isn’t a prerequisite for profitable franchisees, research house 10 Thousand Feet has found, with its latest survey indicating that the largest proportion of profitable franchisees, at 26 percent, only hold a Year 12 certificate (see graph below).
10 Thousand Feet has also announced its top franchise awards for 2011, which are presented to franchisors after their franchisees are surveyed and their responses benchmarked against average industry performance across seven categories.
These categories include:
- Renewal: intention of franchisees to renew their agreement beyond the current term
- Recommendation: willingness to recommend a franchise to friends and colleagues
- Financial: The salary and return on investment franchisees feel they can receive
- Lifestyle: whether franchisees are satisfied with the lifestyle their franchise affords them
- Passion: how passionate franchisees are about the brand, product or service they offer
- Support: examining levels of support offered by the franchisor
- Opportunities: whether franchisees feel there are opportunities to expand their business within the system.
Mortage advice franchise, Smartline, claimed the top spot in the topfranchise awards, and its Footscray franchisee, Brian Hocking, who left school after Year 11, is proof that tertiary education doesn’t necessarily result in profitable business ownership.
“A university education is good and something to aspire to, however, on its own it doesn’t provide you with life skills, which are equally — if not more — valuable. I can see that I might have been able to pick up some study skills earlier in life if I’d undertaken more formalised training — I think a mixture of formal and life training is helpful,” said Hocking.
“Having a crack at something and making mistakes is a constructive process made all the more easier when you’re surrounded by supportive colleagues and mentors.”
Smartline has held the number one ranking since 2009.
Smartline executive director Joe Sirianni said the franchisee’s passion for their work was complemented by the strength of Smartline’s business model.
“Our systems are second-to-none in terms of helping franchisees to generate new business and retain existing clients,” he said.
“This has created a business model that is self sustaining rather than being driven by the ebb and flow of the group office generating leads.
“The Smartline model is to be a trusted adviser for our clients. The passion our franchisees have for helping their clients, combined with a genuine team culture built on helping and supporting each other, and market leading systems are the core to our success.”
Franchisee at topfranchise’s second placed franchise Mister Minit, Darren Andonovski, has been awarded several Franchisee of the Year accolades, built a multi-site franchise operation and achieved double digit sales growth in 2011 on the back of a Year 12 certificate only.
Head of intelligence at 10 Thousand Feet, Ian Krawitz, said making sure a franchise system suits your personality and performing thorough due diligence can go a long way in operating a profitable franchise.
“There are always things you can do to make your franchise more profitable. Choosing the right franchise to suit your circumstance and personal passion is important, as well as researching the level of satisfaction existing franchisees have with the system. Education level is a predictor of performance, but there are so many other things you can do to set yourself apart,” he said.
Mortgage Choice, Kwik Kopy and Mr Rental make up the rest of top five in the 2011 topfranchise awards with Kwik Kopy a strong performer moving from 6th to 4th from the last survey period. Rounding off the top 10 are Snap-on Tools (6th) and Anytime Fitness (7th), with Snooze (9th) making a return to the top 10. Gutter-Vac (8th) is a new entrant to the awards with Signwave coming in 10th.