How do successful franchisees do it? We asked award winning franchisee Ben Curran to share his daily tips for success. Earlier this year Ben took out this year’s title for NSW Franchisee of the Year (up to one staff member) and is now the Mister Minit franchisee at Crown Central Wollongong, Miranda and Menai Marketplace.

What daily behaviours/habits contribute to you running a successful franchise?

First and foremost my shops must look inviting to the customer. That first impression ultimately sets the tone for the experience. It’s imperative that each customer is afforded the same service and we show consistency across the board. Return customers are what we want to achieve.

I like to ensure that my team are ready and focused, show that attention to detail and go that extra step to enhance our offer. Whether it be polishing the shoes on a heel repair, cleaning a watch with the battery refit we must show pride in what we are doing.

How do you manage your relationship with the franchisor?

I ensure that I stay actively involved in Mister Minit initiatives, whether it be through the Minit Masters Club (MMC), franchise inductions, team member training and mentoring or piloting new initiatives. I work closely with the marketing department to help develop new POS strategies through my shops.

What steps do you take to build your business?

Operating in a mature industry means that growth must be driven from ongoing category and service innovation. Therefore, must do this better than our competitors. Being a service based business the quality of the people is directly linked to the quality of the offer, my customer is my ultimate focus and my team and I must ensure that we offer a first rate experience, quality workmanship and value for money.

Mister Minit’s franchise system is sufficiently comprehensive that I find my most effective actions are around utilising my local area marketing initiatives I have in place, from letterbox drops to information packs, voice over recordings to editorial adverts. I really try and create awareness in my local community.

Overall, Minit as a franchisor is extremely focused on internal benchmarking and ensuring every shop understands

• How well we relate to other shops in the system?
• What the opportunities and performance gaps are of each shop?
• The actions that is required to maximise the potential of my business

I utilise this process to the maximum benefit to continuously improve my business. Winning Franchisee of the Year 2013 was satisfying recognition and reinforcement of how I was able to execute my business plan in delivering a first rate customer service.

How do you stay motivated?

My family is my ongoing motivation, I really don’t need any more motivation than that. With my wife Angela, daughter Freya and two week old son Remy I want to ensure that I can provide a solid financial platform for them.

Given my success and results I have been able to leverage and mentor other franchisees to improve their business. This I feel is a very important part of franchising as it gives other franchisees the same opportunities that I was fortunate to have.

How do you manage your business and your home life?

I am a strong believer in a work/life balance. I ensure that my team and I only work a five day week, this not only ensures a balance but also enables the team to start the week fresh. I have a strong team behind me that has allowed me to expand my business from one to three franchises.

I empower my team to make decisions and ensure that whatever decision they make I back 100 percent. This I believe builds confidence and develops them as leaders.