FRANCHISE
Nigel Toplis
FRANCHISING
- an ideal marriage,
bitter divorce, or
lustful co-habiting?
Franchise guru, Nigel Toplis, examines the sometimes
odd marriage between franchisor and franchisee
Where the relationship
is strong and founded on
mutual respect, openness
of thought, and dedication,
then the individual business
of the franchisee will thrive
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I
s there one all-encompassing
definition of the franchise
relationship?
Can you sum up the
interwoven nature of different
parties with different skill sets
in a single sentence?
Can anyone truly quantify the
true mutuality of a relationship?
In short, I don’t think you
can. What I can say is that
the relationship between the
franchisor and franchisee is
absolutely fundamental to the
success of the business.
Where the relationship
is strong and founded on
mutual respect, openness of
thought and dedication, then
the individual business of the
franchisee with thrive and,
if replicated throughout the
system, the network as a whole
will flourish.
On the other hand, if the
relationship is bordering on
the verge of bitterness, where
objectives are opposite, where
energy is absent, and where
trust has evaporated, then, for
the benefit of both parties and
the network as a whole, it is best
to instigate divorce proceedings.
Naturally, because we are
dealing with humans, both
situations exist.
That doesn’t mean that a
good franchisor and a good
franchisee will agree on
everything - they won’t and
they shouldn’t - but what
neither party should do is try
to run the other’s business.
Ideally, both the franchisor
and the franchisee should see
the role of the franchisor as a
‘non-executive’ director for the
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