(guest post)
In this post, I’m going to share an ugly truth about training.
Specifically, the training you get when you become a franchisee. Let’s begin.
Doing Something Right
“If you’re going to do something, you may as well do it right.”
– My Dad
I used to hate when he told me that. That’s because he was usually right. But it was when he said it that bothered me.
In my case, it was when I was almost finished with whatever it was I was doing.
The first example appearing in my head as I’m writing this is weeding. As in weeding the flowerbeds in front of our house when I was a kid.
Granted, most 11-year-olds aren’t thrilled about doing chores to begin with. Weeding was the one thing I hated more than any chore I was assigned to do. And as my dad pointed out, I missed a lot of weeds (because I was in a hurry to move on to something else). Hence, the quote I shared above.
Bottom line? I was tasked with a job and I didn’t do it right. What does this have to do with franchisee training?
Ask About This When You Do Your Franchise Research
When you’re investigating franchises, the research you do is key. And good research involves asking lots of good questions. Like this one:
“Can you tell me about your franchisee training program?”
By and large, when asked that question, a high-quality franchisor will be able to describe their training in detail. They’ll send you specific information about how they do it and what you’ll be trained on. In addition, you’ll probably have a phone conversation or two about their training program during the franchise discovery process. I encourage you to ask specific questions about their training during those calls.
But how will you know if the franchisee training the franchisor provides is any good?
Franchisee Training Done Right
Franchising is considered to be a great business model.
The idea of someone (you?) being able to invest in a business that comes with a proven blueprint on how to own and operate it is quite attractive.
To that end, part of that blueprint includes a formal training program. A program that every franchisee participates in.
That said, there’s no guarantee that the training you receive will be good. Heck, anyone can say they provide great training. But here’s the ugly truth.
Not everyone knows how to train. Now here comes the good part.
If you know how to do it, you can find out a lot of things about the franchise business you’re thinking of buying before you invest your hard-earned money!
One way-the best way, actually, is by talking with franchisees who already own the business you’re thinking of owning.
For example, when you have a franchisee on the phone, ask her how the training was. Find out how thorough it was. Ask her if she felt she was fully prepared to start her franchise business after receiving her training. Then repeat that question with other franchisees in the system.
And speaking of training, what if you could get trained to be a franchise owner by someone who’s essentially a “master” at training people?
Franchisee Training From Spoiled Rotten Photography
As a Payload Crew Trainer for NASA’s International Space Station program, Melissa Tash had the pleasure of training science to astronauts.
In a nutshell, Melissa, who’s also the founder of Spoiled Rotten Photography, trained NASA crew members how to perform experiments aboard the International Space Station in microgravity. No pressure there. And that’s my point.
In other words, if you’re going to get trained as a franchisee, you may as well get trained right.
In the case of Spoiled Rotten Photography, that means getting trained on how to be a franchisee from someone who knows how crucial proper training is and knows exactly how to do it.
In conclusion, if you’d like to learn more about how the Spoiled Rotten Photography franchisee training program sets you up for success as a franchise owner, go here.
(This was written by The Franchise King®, Joel Libava. He’s the author of two franchise books, is a Franchise Ownership Advisor, and helps emerging franchises get the word out about their exciting businesses.)