Multi-Unit Restaurant Franchisee Paths to Success
By: Eddy Goldberg
One of my favorite sights each year at the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference (MUFC) is seeing franchisees engaged in animated conversations: one-to-one or in small groups, in a panel session or in the hallways, in the Exhibit Hall or having dinner and drinks together later that night.
Relationships are the backbone of franchising, beginning with the relationship between a franchisee and their franchisor. Over time, relationships with other franchisees (both within and outside of their brands) begin to grow, with multi-unit operators (MUOs) large and small sharing common problems and solutions, advice and perspective, and knowing there’s someone they trust to celebrate with when things go well and an encouraging, supportive voice when things get tough… and they do.
This year’s record-setting MUFC was a powerful reminder of the value of peer-to-peer, franchisee-to-franchisee relationships—and that’s exactly why Franchise Update Media created this newsletter. Featuring just one question per issue on a topic common to multi-unit restaurant operators, this newsletter is by MUOs for MUOs. In other words, for you.
HANNIBAL MYERS
Company: President & CEO, Global Restaurant Hospitality Group, LLC
Brands: Church’s Chicken (41) in Southern CA and Western AZ
Years in franchising: 32 (27.5 on the franchisor side, 4.5 as a franchisee)
While there isn’t necessarily any limit to the financial strategies that can drive unit-level profitability, there are a few financial strategies that have been instrumental in driving the profitability of our best-performing units:
1) Being diligent about understanding the sales volume beyond which Unit Operating Profit increases exponentially, and investing any extra funds aimed at sales-building in those units that are at or beyond that trigger-point level in sales. This approach serves to maximize the Operating Profit flow-through efficiency of any incremental dollars deployed.
2) Working feverishly to leverage the greatest asset of every franchise system—the knowledge and experience of fellow franchisees—by mimicking the financial practices of my most successful peer franchisees. No need to recreate the wheel when others you trust in your brand’s system have implemented proven practices that are replicable.
3) Building bonus incentive programs that use retaining or building Unit Operating Profit as a trigger or gate for earning sales-building bonuses.
-SOURCE: Franchising.com