Why franchising is like parenting: lessons from a franchisor

Sarah Stowe

Inside Franchise Business: Kids and franchisees both require time says Tina TowerTina Tower, founder of Begin Bright, reflects on what she’s learned as a franchisor and mum.

Q: What was your goal when you started up your business and how has it changed?

A: When I started my first tutoring centre the goal was very simple – to create happy, smart and confident children and to live a nice life with my little business while I did that. Once I realised that Begin Bright had a lot more potential and that I wanted to reach far more children, I knew we had to go with franchising. It really is the best way to scale a business like ours.

Going small on a franchise just doesn’t work so my goal on day one of franchising in 2011 was to have 100 centres by the end of 2018 and I’m still going for that.

Q: What would you do differently if you started up your business now?

A: So many things and nothing! As with all businesses and business people, there are many mistakes I made and wasted so much time and money experimenting on things but as with all mistakes, they’re such valuable lessons that have made me into the business woman I am today and made Begin Bright the solid company that it is.

We certainly know what works and what doesn’t because I read so many marketing books and tried over 100 local small business marketing techniques, most of which were a huge waste of money and time. We now have 35 pillars of marketing that we recommend in our group and they’re the ones we know get the best return for the time and money put in.

It’s like living with the notion of having a lot of “oh well’s” instead of always wondering “what if”. There’s not much I wonder about because I have the idea and I try it.

Q: Why do you think there are so few women, let alone mums, running their own franchise system? What are the particular challenges of franchising?

A: Gosh, I could write pages on this. Franchising is such a challenging game to be a part of and what I’ve seen is that it’s more easily managed with a more autocratic traditional form of leadership that doesn’t come naturally to most women.

You have to be very down the line and be extremely comfortable in your own skin because as a franchisor, you’re going to mentally and emotionally get battered.

It’s also full on and demanding. I was responsible for many people’s livelihoods and had a huge sense of responsibility to make that successful and so I dedicated my time to that which meant I sacrificed a lot of time with my family.

Traditionally, it’s the mum who is the primary caregiver of the children and that was me until a year into my franchising journey and we realised that I couldn’t give the business everything it deserves. I really love what I do so my husband became a stay at home dad.

Once he had the family front looked after, it gave me the freedom to really go hard with the growth of business and have that as my main focus.

Nothing frustrates me more than when in interviews, I am asked how I deal with the guilt of leaving my family or how I juggle the roles of being a mum and a business owner. I have never read in an interview with a man, the interviewer asking him how he juggles family and work commitments and if he feels guilty as a father leaving his children.

I think we need to change the conversation to make it more socially acceptable so that if women are loving their work and the men want to stay at home and look after the children, that’s totally ok.

Q: What has been your biggest obstacle in business?

A: There’s a new one every week. Growth is always challenging. When we reached around 10 franchises I had to bring on more team members and lessen the face to face contact I had with franchisees because my time was running out each day and that was a difficult shift.

There have been plenty of challenges: when we changed from a fixed fee system to a royalty system, most recently going through our first franchise mediation, and then the transition after Begin Bright was acquired by Cognition Education last year and all of the changes that come with that.

Q: What skills have you learned from parenting that you have brought into your business?

A: Time. Sometimes you just need to be there. It’s not necessarily about fixing a problem or doing an activity, it’s just quality time to nurture the relationship and that’s the same for parenting as it is with franchising.

Q: What does work/life balance mean to you right now?

A: I have an awesome balance in that I get home nearly every night to have dinner with my family and then spend the evening with my kids. My morning routine is breaky together, meditation and then arriving early in the office because that’s when I get my best work done. Balance to me is designing your life to have enough time for everything that’s important to you, whatever that may be, and only you can design and control that.

Q: What one piece of advice would you offer to another franchisor mum?

A: Don’t buy into being a ‘hero’ and trying to have it all. Work out what’s most important for you to spend the time on to get the greatest rewards both personally and professionally.

If you’re trying to grow a franchise system, you really can’t pick the kids up from school every day and that’s ok, let someone else do it.

Get a cleaner, get your husband to do the cooking and daily household running, or outsource it.

Make sure you pay attention to your own mental health because it’s going to get knocked around. If you’re looking after yourself you have so much more to give to the hundreds of people whose lives you directly effect.

Q: What drives you most, and what’s the next challenge?

A: I am driven by achievement. I love imagining things and then making them happen. I am seeing through the goals for Begin Bright for at least a couple of years and also starting another new business in a few months as well as writing some children’s books.

I love to keep busy and have some fun – that’s what it’s all about right?