5 Tips for Aspiring Franchise Owners

In 2014, i had the vision to start a multi brand franchise business and set out to become the founder of The Rite Group. The journey started with the launching of the Wash Rite brand which very quickly become the largest house and building wash company in the southern hemisphere, and within a couple of short years, Lawn Rite, Hallmark Services and The Handyman Group soon followed.

With a $2000 investment and the purchase of some very well used equipment the journey had began.

By November 2016, Wash Rite had passed the milestone mark of $1 million in annual revenue and our first franchise sold and more in the pipeline. I surrounded myself with a team who shared my goals, we doubled down and continued to grow.

Shunning all offers of external funding, i decided to pursue franchising as his model for growth. Nowadays, Wash Rite is the largest house wash and building wash service in the southern hemisphere, boasting franchises across every town and city in New Zealand, and as far afield as Australia.

We I get asked for my five top tips for entrepreneurs considering franchising their growing business:

Don’t Let Naysayers Stop You

When I first decided to franchise Wash Rite?, I approached my friends (who were all experts in their own business industries) for advice. Unfortunately, none of them believed a house wash business could be franchised. Although I understood their objections, in my gut, I still believed in my vision. I took each one of their objections and found a way to solve the problem. With a little focus, faith, and effort, I took something that seemed impossible and made it possible.

Do Your Due Diligence

Before I started franchising, I spent a lot of time perfecting my model and making sure it was profitable before I sold the “recipe” to others. That’s why I believe in doing your due diligence: you need to know who you’re selling to, what your customers want, and why you’re different from the competition.

Paint a Crystal-Clear Vision

In 2015, I wrote the first painted picture for Wash Rite It provided a crystal-clear vision of how our company would look, feel and act in the next five years. As part of this vision, I imagined franchise locations in every major town and city in New Zealand. We achieved this goal and I credit our success to our team’s commitment to the Painted Picture. It’s a testament to the power of vision to scale a company nation-wide.

Create and Test Your Systems

Scaling Wash Rite didn’t happen overnight. It was a process of trial and error until I found systems that worked. Then I replicated that system across three more brands to form The Rite Group family of home services. It sounds simple because it is. First and foremost, a franchise network relies on established processes. Author Michael Gerber says in his book The E-Myth: “people don’t fail, systems do.” Successful franchisors know how to build simple systems that anyone can implement.

Hire Happy People

Not everyone is cut out for the world of franchising; bringing the wrong people into your organization will inhibit growth. I learned this lesson the hard way in 2015, when I realised some of my team wasn’t aligned with my vision for the company. I had to make the tough call to remove the negative people from my business. You need to partner with people who understand your vision, and who will champion your culture and values.