Three Smart Questions To Ask Before Buying A Franchise

We break down the three questions franchise buyers often fail to ask, starting with whether a model works for average owners or only top performers. We also share what real franchisor support looks like and how to judge lifestyle fit before you commit to a long-term deal.
• Asking whether the franchise model is profitable for average owners
• Using the bell curve to understand franchisee performance
• Looking for real support systems after the sale
• Building community through coaching calls and mastermind sessions
• Expecting the franchisor to evolve the model and seek franchisee buy-in
• Checking lifestyle fit, work-life harmony, and long-term goals
• Thinking early about an exit strategy and what “success” means

Thanks for listening today! If this is something that interests you as you're pursuing your franchise opportunities and journey, and Linden Creek is one that might spark your interest, definitely reach out. You can check us out at lindencreek.com/franchise. 

Transcript

The Questions Buyers Forget

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What if the most important questions that are need to be asked before buying a franchise, most people don't even think to ask them? What are some of those questions? We're going to dive into that today. Um, okay. One of those first questions is gonna be Is this franchise model profitable for the average franchise owner or just the top performers? That's something really important. Um, and we've learned a lot about this in our franchise journey and really have tried to build the Linden Creek model around this premise. Go ahead, give us some some of your feedback, Miss Founder.

The Franchise Performance Bell Curve

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Sure. So there is a lovely gentleman in the franchising community that has been a veteran and well accomplished. His name is David Barr. Um, and he has a phrase that's well known in the franchising world that basically says that your model needs to work for the average person with average drive on an average day. And if it doesn't do that, you don't have a franchise. Um and so I think that's something really important to think about is when you're exploring franchise opportunities, is this working for everybody across the model for the most part? Or is this just like, hey, the top 10% are crushing it, but everybody else is really struggling? Um and and candidly, it's something we reflect on and think about oftentimes on the franchise or level of like, how do we continue to improve this so that average performance, average people, average day, average work ethic equates to really beautiful results. Now, of course, we're picky, we want above average in terms of the franchise owners we're bringing into our fold, and we've been really proud to be able to do that. Um, but we want to measure ourselves against those metrics.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Yeah, we talk about some of those qualities in another episode, but um one of the things that I learned at IFA um was the bell curve of that performance, right? So typically you want 80% of your franchise owners operating in the middle, kind of at that average level. You're gonna have 10% that are gonna be overachievers, thank God for them. You're gonna have 10% that are just, you know, not with it per se, right? That's just normal. Yeah um, but it's being able to coach everybody through that stuff, coaching that 80% to continue to push and maximize and go from there, right?

Quick Linden Creek Franchise Invite

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Yeah, absolutely. Love design, but think like a business owner? If you're ready to leave your nine to five and want to do something that's buildable and scalable, check out lindencreek.com slash franchise and see if Linden Creek is the right fit for you.

Support Systems After You Sign

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Question number two is what level of supportance systems does the franchise or provide after the sale? Right. So they get you to that finish line, you become a franchisee. What happens after that? You know, and I I think one of the things that you and I, we say this all the time, we love to obsess over the fact that our franchise owners are not going to be able to look at us as the franchise or and say, you never gave me the tools to be successful, or you didn't do your due diligence to kind of think through this process in a lot of ways. Um, we owe it to them, right? To to continue to make things more efficient. Again, to take the model and make it best for the average person on the average day.

Community, Coaching, And Real Help

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Well, and I think support is a really big thing. Um, you know, when I started franchising, I did so much research and talked to as many people as possible. And I still continue that method. Like anytime I meet somebody that is a franchiser or franchisee, I ask them 17 questions because I want to know their perspective. I want to know what they like, what they dislike, what worked, what didn't work, and learn from that. But one of the things I've learned over these conversations is there are some franchise models out there where they're like, congratulations, you've signed on the dotted line. Here's the operations manual, have a nice day. And for me, when I built Linden Creek, the most important thing was we need community and support. And so sometimes I feel like we're probably a little bit overkill in the most beautiful of ways. But like I want them to have biweekly calls. I want them to be able to have access on Fridays to have group mastermind conversations with others that are in that same season of their business so that they can brainstorm and have ideas. And if they don't attend, that's totally fine. Go crush it. But at least where there is a resource. I want there to be a lot of training resources. I want there to be these options so that they have what they need at their fingertips and they're not doing this alone. And I think that's the secret to franchising is yes, it's a business model that works, but beyond that, it is a support system that is giving you just as much knowledge and education around the technical side of the business model as it does honestly emotional support. Like I can't tell you how many times you and I have been in scenarios where like we'll send an email to a franchise owner, we'll jump on a call with one, we'll text them because they're just having a tough day. And they need the words of affirmation, they need the encouragement, they need the celebration when they've hit a really massive win. And it's those little things that to me transform from we're a franchise model to like we truly are a community. Um, and that's something that I strive so heavily for. But I think it's important to look for as you're kind of making these decisions.

Evolving The Model And Getting Buy In

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Yeah, absolutely. How vested is your franchise or in your individual success? I think that that's key. I tell them bluntly, you know, like we have to report your numbers on an annual basis, right? So I am just as vested in your success as you are in your personal success. You've made a large investment, right? Um, you've made a big decision to partner with Linden Creek for at least with us, it's a 10-year deal, right? So it's a marriage in a lot of sorts. We want to make sure that it's an enjoyable marriage. We want to make sure that it's, you know, not without its its issues at times, um, but that we can navigate through that, we can communicate effectively, all those sorts of things. Um, and and I love you kind of alluded to it too earlier uh a moment ago, but at Linden Creek, you know, they are on bi-weekly coaching calls, you know, with our support team. Um, they are on drop of the hat calls with our trainers. You know, if they're in the middle of an install and they need some help, you know, our team is available to address that. And I appreciate our team's sacrifice and willingness to be there. Um, we have an entire marketing team that's devoted to all the visuals and everything they need to be kind of on the front lines for them in their individual territories. That's so key. I love being involved with them on a weekly basis, right? You mentioned that mastermind call and just talking. And I think there's some value in a territory in Texas hearing about one of our territory owners in New Jersey as an example. You know, maybe there's some correlation there. Maybe there's some encouragement from like, I've been down this road before, go ahead and follow my steps to get some success. You know, um, it helps with culture. We're huge uh on the corporate side here at Lenny Creek about culture, but also within our franchise owners, you know, um, and to to have that camaraderie in that spirit. So training is key, support is very key.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Yeah. And I think as part of support, the other thing that's really important is I feel like as a CEO, it's my responsibility to push and to challenge my franchise owners in a beautiful way. It's there are a couple of fundamentals. If we are doing the same exact thing that we're doing today in 10 years, our business will probably fail, right? Like every business needs to modify and pivot. You think about the blockbusters out there, right? Blockbuster was the thing, it was crushing it. Netflix came along and they said, no, thank you. This is the way we're gonna do it, we've always done it, and blockbuster is no more. Um, and so I think, you know, it's it's a twofold charge of like my responsibility to see where is the world going next and how do we get there and how do we get there first and how do we get there successfully. But then also charging our franchise owners with the responsibility to kind of embrace those changes, be excited about pushing and growing themselves personally and professionally, getting outside of their comfort zone sometimes because that's where the growth really happens. Yeah. And that to me is support just as much as the training and the conversations.

Lifestyle Fit And Long Term Goals

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Yeah. You know, and another thing we learned too at the IFA conference this year was, you know, are you getting the buy-in from your franchise owners, you know, and really getting their input in a lot of ways. Um, and I think at Linden Creek, that's something we really strive to do is really bring some of our best performers into the fold and say, hey, this is something that we're thinking about doing. Um, give us your two cents. What are we not seeing that's on the ground, right? And really kind of come to that resolution there. Ultimately, you as the CEO make the final call there. But I think it's really important just to sit them down, get their buy-in um and get their input. It helps with the rollout, right? Um, I think that that's key too. Um, so just keeping them involved with all of that is important. Question number three is does the business model fit my lifestyle, my dreams, my long-term goals, and so forth? I think that's really key. Again, this is a this is a big time commitment, right? You know, it's gonna take the next 10 years of your life at minimum. And I think we we make no bones at Linen Creek. Like, what would you say would be one of your dreams for your franchise owner, one of your goals for them as their business grows?

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Um, I would say one of the big goals, as silly as this sounds, is like I want them to be thinking about their exit strategy. Yes. Um, I want them to build a business because they love what they're doing in the day-to-day because it's providing for their lifestyle. But like to me, a big win is like when that day comes and you're like, I'm ready to say farewell to Linden Creek, that it's the most beautiful decision that you've made and it's paid dividends. Yeah. Um, but you know, I think one of the things I love about franchising as a whole is there are so many different models and options. You have um franchise owners that own, you know, a hundred taco johns and and they're not in the day-to-day. They're not sitting in the restaurants, right? You've got Chick-fil-A's where you've got one person and they are in the restaurant and managing. Um, you have places where where the owner maybe needs to be more involved or doesn't, where they maybe care about the industry or they maybe don't. And so I don't think there is a right or a wrong. I think it just comes down to really knowing you as a potential franchise buyer, what is it that you value? Do you care about specifically what industry this is in? And do you need to be passionate about it? Um, is it something that you want to be involved in the day-to-day with? Um, or is it something where you want to be hands-off? Because there are franchise models for both.

unknown 9:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Um, and and then again, the big thing is like, how does that balance with your work-life goals? How does that balance with your long-term goals? Is it gonna be hitting those things? Um, and there's a franchise out there for everybody. And so I think it just comes down to like really pausing and defining like, what is it that I want out of this? What are my true goals and aspirations? What does day-to-day look like while I'm managing the business? And even if you're not in the day-to-day, you would be silly to think that you're not gonna be part of managing the business on the regular and the personnel and the people. And so I think defining that for yourself before you really start diving into that search and then reflecting on it as you dive into each model to go, is this a marriage and a fit that makes sense and is kind of checking those boxes?

SPEAKER_01 10:27

One of the things that you've reframed so nicely within the organization is the phrase work-life balance. And we talk about work-life harmony, yeah, right. Particularly when you're starting a business from the ground up, there's we've talked about this before, but like a good deal of sacrifice that's required. Uh, one of the things I appreciate about you when you get on a CEO call with a prospective franchise owner is you kind of lay it out for them in a lot of ways and you kind of say, This is what it's gonna take.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

You know, what are some of those things that you tell franchise owners when they jump on that call?

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Yeah, I mean, I think it's silly to ever say that starting a business is easy. Right. It's not. Um, not at all. And so I think having the honest conversation expectations of no matter what business model you decide to start and be part of, there are gonna be challenges. There are gonna be times that you um are spending more hours working than you might want to. There are gonna be times that you're figuring out personnel and the right fit for your culture and building and creating these things. Um, but I think what I love about it when I reflect on on all of that and the sacrifices that I've made over the years and what have you is it's always been because it's my decision. Right. It was my decision to put my foot on the gas. It was my decision to put my foot on the brake. Um, it's my decision on how quickly we grow and when and why. And so you get to own that level of decision making. The disadvantages, there are sacrifices that go with it, but I'd rather someone know that up front and understand that this is not an easy journey. Um, understand that you're climbing up a mountain. Um, but the climb is something that builds character and creates a really beautiful journey.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

Thanks for listening today. If this is something that interests you as you're pursuing your franchise opportunities and journey, um, and Linden Creek is one that might spark your interest, definitely reach out. Um, you can check us out at lindencreek.com slash franchise. But if nothing else, subscribe. We love to continue the conversations forward. Until next time, this is in good space.