Franchise Sales People Stop Being The Problem

A very well meaning Director of Franchise Sales and a counterpart on the Internet attempting to draw advertising and leads for them just wrote about their "risk resistant" business.

Rubbish (And, if you want a great recession resistant company get back to me...it has something to do with Rubbish!)

I think we are all using the same vocabulary (we all use the word "risk") but different dictionaries. (I love the concept talked about, Spring Green, for the right market and the right candidate...but not just any candidate with the hope of "risk-resistantance".)

Look, if you are employed in America today you are at risk. Period. The risk is greater in your current job situation than it is in business ownership; generally speaking.

There are factors that temper that statement however. For instance, I am a firm believer that there are business types for personality types. Further, I also am a firm believer that certain people simply need certain aptitudes and have certain personal drivers that would ignite their desire to succeed. They fall flat in one type of business and they are amazing in others. Other factors such as how much investment am I willing to risk and will my wife let me also come into play. (Or, if she will let does she really understand she SHOULD let me?)

People continually define risk when they mean ambiguity. A job provides a false sense of security because we still hold onto the notion that if we know a thing well enough it means we can maintain what we are comfortable doing that relates to the thing...as in, "I know this job inside and out and ergo I will continue to be compensated to do it."

Everything in our society screams otherwise but some misplaced sense of control of ones career appears to be written into our DNA. It's a bad script.

It has been demonstrated, more so over the last decade, that your competency may be the least significant reason you have security in your employment. Their are other forces at work and you have no control over them within your organization. The current state of the economy may be to blame or they may have been their for years and you just were not aware.

You stay employed, your increased risk is a virtual certainty.

"Frantrepreneurs" on the other hand live with a very keen sense of the fundamental risks they will face. They understand them and they realize they have greater control relating to them. They just have more ambiguity in relation to how they operate their enterprise and how they decide to handle their challenges. They know the risks (market conditions - financial conditions - human resource scenarios) but must enforce a disciplined code of creative action and a greater sense of intellectual community in order to respond to their more finite inventory of risks.

Sorry for the long diatribe. I think it's time that professionals in our arena recognize the real battles we are fighting and that potential franchise prospects and candidates realize their next job is a much more fearful place than owning a franchise.

The saddest part of this stage however is that so very few should ever move from employee to business owner...but that is another topic.

John is a 26-year professional in the franchise industry. He has been a franchisee, a franchise executive and an advocate/consultant to the public and to dozens of franchise companies. He is the founder and managing partner of Wilson Associates. If you are looking for support and a proven consultant with expertise he can be reached at docfranchise@gmail.com.