To add value to your firm, the IFA provides the support, career development and information you need to get there. 

By Matthew Patinkin

So you think being a franchisee is hard work? It is! But it’s also incredibly rewarding. Now that you’ve become a single-store franchisee, honed your skills and built a successful operation, becoming a multi-unit franchisee is your next step. That can be a pretty daunting task. However, if you prepare well, choose the right franchise and execute your plan, the benefits can come quickly.

Building Your Foundation With IFA

The key, as always, is building a solid foundation. Without a strong base any structure is unstable. With the right plan you can expand your business from year to year, and reap more rewards. There are many steps down the path of becoming a successful multi-unit operator. From people to product and from real estate to marketing, from building a solid organizational structure to having robust systems and processes, and from operational excellence to sound financial rigor, they all play an integral part of your ultimate success.

For now, though, let’s focus on just one ingredient: The International Franchise Association. Yes, the IFA!

IFA Helps From Early On

As a franchisee, I wish I had joined the IFA sooner. I only became actively involved within the last year, but quickly recognized what a remarkable resource it is. The IFA is not just our voice for advocacy, lobbying on our behalf and promoting the franchise industry, the IFA is quite simply the most important link franchisees have to make new contacts, learn best practices, expand their business and improve their bottom line, period. As business owners, it’s our fiduciary responsibility to enhance performance for all stakeholders, and expanding from a single-store operator to a multi-unit franchisee is a logical path. If you don’t grow, you’re effectively losing ground, not only limiting the opportunity for your constituents − employees, vendors, banks, customers and so on − but risking the equity you’ve worked so hard to produce. If your goal is to create long-term sustainable value, then you want to spread the risk and leverage your operational expenses. You want to create efficiencies of scale, reduce your costs per store, increase your profit and safeguard your investment. If these are your ambitions, then expansion is what you should be focused on, and the IFA provides a tremendous platform for accomplishing that mission. Involvement in the IFA is a zero-risk scenario. There is only upside − it’s the proverbial no-brainer.

Choosing the Right Franchisor

Perhaps no decision is more important than choosing the right franchisor, and as we know, not all franchisors understand how to take a good − or even great − product to market. Too often we hear about new franchise concepts that fail because they haven’t proven out the model, and don’t understand the importance of building an organizational structure to support a growing field operation.  Who loses? The franchisees, the suppliers, the employees; everyone loses. That’s why selecting a franchise with deep roots to the IFA is so important. When a franchisor commits to the IFA, it supports the “Statement of Guiding Principles,” believes in giving back, and recognizes it’s not just your first store that matters, but all stores. Franchisors who participate in IFA events, attend conventions, lobby for the industry, sit on committees, and contribute to educational and developmental forums understand the road to success depends on training and support, collaboration and consensus building. When you make the decision to become a multi-unit operator, selecting a well-known brand that possesses these qualities can make the difference between success and failure. You want a franchisor that will be there with you at each phase of your development, and franchisors with strong connections to the IFA have shown that extra effort.

It’s Franchisees, Too

But it’s not just the franchisor who dictates your success, its other franchisees as well. The strength of your brand depends on all franchisees working together to create a consistent and predictable experience. Perhaps more than any other area, this is where the IFA matters most. Brands with a strong affiliation to the IFA encourage their franchisees to become involved by attending events, taking classes, reading newsletters and learning about best practices. High franchisee membership means you and your peers stay up-to-date through educational seminars and professional development opportunities. Franchisees then take advantage of IFA programs to improve performance, translating those improvements into a greater return on investment. The IFA prepares research reports, collects data, and disseminates information, all intended to help grow your business more successfully. FranSocial, the association’s member-only online community, provides a wonderful forum for asking questions and sharing ideas on every imaginable topic, even if you only like to read and absorb. No other organization focuses exclusively on our industry like the IFA, and the benefits are virtually limitless; it all depends on how much you want to do.

Participate at Your Level

My first event with the IFA was attending the 2013 Summer Board Meeting in Chicago. As an existing Auntie Anne’s franchisee, our company was in discussions to open Auntie Anne’s stores in Canada.  During the event I casually met a Toronto-based franchisee attorney, which ultimately led to an engagement that has resulted in our signing a multi-year development agreement to open stores throughout the country. As our first international expansion, that one connection alone has made a huge difference! In addition to the Summer Board Meeting, during the last six months alone I traveled to Sacramento to meet with state legislators and help defeat unnecessary legislation, participated in the IFA’s Annual Public Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C., was interviewed by a number of publications interested in a franchisees perspective on various issues, and took part in the inaugural kick-off event of the Northern Illinois Franchise Association. I have now been elected to the Franchisee Forum, and attended my first meeting at this year’s Annual Convention in New Orleans. During these meetings I connected with literally dozens of individuals whose careers are built around supporting the franchise industry. From lawyers to accountants, consultants and marketing firms, insurance companies and equipment manufacturers, and so many others, everyone has one common link: the franchise community.

Now is the Time

As a business owner, you always strive to improve. And if you want to add value to your firm, the IFA provides the support, career development and information you need to get there. From marketing conferences to legal symposiums, from business networks to educational seminars, and much more, if there’s one take away from this article, it’s to become active in the IFA early, and take advantage of it throughout your career. It’s your go-to resource. 

Matthew Patinkin is a multi-unit franchisee of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and other brands. He is a member of the IFA’s Franchisee Forum. Find him at fransocial.franchise.org.

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