How can you collaborate with other franchise owners to increase your success?

I would say if you're a franchise owner in the specialty service industry segment (HVAC, Plumbing, glass, paint, etc) it is imperative that you connect with other owners that have the skills you lack. My glass business grew much faster when I met a local franchise owner in a bordering territory who had more experience than anyone, even in corporate regarding the actual process of installing glass. He single handedly helped teach me so much I didn't know and couldn't have learned from the franchise that I was able to offer new services, learn more ways to do things efficiently and effectively. Where I was good at the operational side, much of my growth was a result of the night's he spent with me teaching his 30 years of expertise!

As a franchisee, my best practice is to consistently market my business. My main form of marketing is networking, speaking, and social media. I believe that building relationships is the key to all business success. Many franchisees miss the mark with marketing. They are waiting on their franchisors to market for them instead of marketing themselves to bring clients into their local business.

Una franquicia entrega a los franquiciados un modelo de éxito probado, a pesar de ello las situaciones de mercado en cada región o país implican retos diferentes. Uno de los valores más grandes de las franquicias es precisamente la oportunidad de compartir y aprender de las experiencias de otros franquiciados al rededor del mundo. Estos ya han enfrentado problemáticas similares y contribuyen tanto a franquiciados y franquiciantes generando conocimiento y buenas prácticas que permiten sortear de forma más rápida dichos retos. En mi experiencia construir una base de datos de casos de éxito y canales de comunicación para ser compartidos permiten acelerar el crecimiento de franquicias exitosas.

I believe the ability to connect, network and share best practices without fear of competition or "stealing of ideas" is one of the most overlooked benefits to joining a franchise. Consider the popularity of "mastermind" groups in business circles over recent years. Some of these groups have annual membership fees of $10k+ whereas with a franchise system, you have an automatic network of other like-minded professionals, operating the same business model as you that (in most cases) cant overlap coverage areas, built into the model. To not leverage the power of that network in a franchise is a mistake. Whether the franchisor helps facilitate/ set up peer groups, or you as a franchisee lead the charge on the initiative, it's a huge benefit

As a former franchise owner, I made it a point to forge relationships with franchise owners from a totally different franchise than mine. What this did was not only allow me to learn from a totally neutral perspective on how other franchise owners operate and deal with day to day issues, we also built a network of business. Example with my glass company I replaced glass for a window washing franchise who referred me, and also with the local bakery franchise in which they used us to install glass displays in their new locations. We in turn bought breakfast items for various meetings from the bakery (as well as referred them to others) and referred window washing services when requested. I implemented a lot of great things from them in return

In my franchise, several of the other franchisees created an accountability group. During our group meetings, we discuss our wins and challenges and support one another. We care a lot about one another's success. Most of our franchisees are givers and want each other to win. I remember when I was having a challenge with growing my groups, my fellow franchisees offered practical advice and support to help me tweak my process. That advice changed the game and turned things around for me.

Join the franchise owners group or franchisee association and if you franchise system does not have one, start one. Great way to fill in support gaps and set up 3rd party vendor programs.

As a franchise owner, you want to be very careful about "creating joint ventures" because you might be creating an inadvertent franchisor. If you want to collaborate with other franchise operators, consider creating a local marketing cooperative. This can expand the reach of everyone's marketing dollars in the designated marketing area. And no, don't be launching new products. That is up to the franchisor to introduce. Focus on running the local marketing co-op instead.

The best advice I have for franchisees is to learn how to be an expert in local marketing. Too many franchisees believe that it's the responsibility of the franchisor to use their national marketing to bring local business. THAT'S A HUGE MISTAKE! The franchisee must take control of their local business by learning marketing and sales skills to grow their local business. While this may not be what they "signed up for" they have to change their mindset if they want to have a profitable business, PERIOD!

Try to find (professional) organized groups of franchisees. Master Classes, associations or similar groups of like-minded people. It's important that they are Franchisees, too.