FRANCHISING TO GREATNESS

When we hear the word "franchise" we often think of a local entrepreneur running a restaurant, an accountant, a bakery or a beauty salon. Yes, franchising works well as an idea for a professional career for people who want to manage a small company with a commercial or service profile. However, not everyone is aware that franchising is not a solution reserved only for individual entrepreneurs, who, for example, decide to get off the path of a full-time employee and to take the challenge of running an own business. The purchase of a franchise license is also often made by companies looking for a way to diversify their products and markets. And many companies have even based their development strategies on buying franchises.

ONE IS NOT ENOUGH

Multi-franchisees - this term is used to describe entrepreneurs who, having succeeded under the wing of one brand, once again decided to try their luck in a business marriage with another franchisor. The majority (if allowed by the current franchisor) decide to stay in the same industry, using the experience gained during the operation of the first outlet. Multi-franchisees, as they open new outlets, move away from direct 'micro-management' of franchise premises (often including performing the jobs of employees). Their role is to coordinate the work of managers subordinate to them, create strategies for subsequent openings and negotiations with franchisees.

The sizes to which one can expand one's company in this way can be seen in the ranking of multifranchisees published by the Franchising.com portal. In the last available edition of 2017, NPC International, managing 1,478 units under the banner of Pizza Hut, Wendy's, Taco Bell, KFC, came first. Second place belonged to Target Corp., which has 1,170 outlets of Pizza Hut and Cold Stone Creamery. On the podium, there was also the Robert Flynn Group with 854 points Applebee's, Taco Bell and Panera Bread. But the list also includes companies such as Aramark, whose portfolio includes 28 different franchise brands.

The United States is no exception. Also in Europe, you can find numerous companies which laid a 'franchised' foundations for their business. It is enough to mention the French Sodexo (a tycoon in the food industry with yearly revenues exceeding 20 billion dollars) or AmRest. Since the beginning of its existence, the latter company has based its activity on licenses of well-known franchise brands - mainly fast-food concepts originating from the USA. Its founder, Henry McGovern, came to Poland in the early 1990s to look for his business opportunity in the emerging free market. Together with three partners, he obtained permission to open the first Pizza Hut restaurant in Poland, which quickly conquered the tastes of local consumers. With time, AmRest added new brands to its portfolio, acquiring new licenses and establishing various joint ventures. In less than three decades, it became the largest independent company operating restaurant chains in Central and Eastern Europe. Currently, it manages nearly 2,015 restaurants in the quick service restaurants segment and casual dining restaurants in 26 countries. In his portfolio, apart from the aforementioned Pizza Hut, there are such giants of world gastronomy as KFC, Starbucks, and Burger King.

HOW TO GO BIG USING FRANCHISE?

There are many franchise cooperation models available on the market. We can buy a single license and run just one outlet for a given brand. With time, we can acquire rights to open new premises and increase our possession in a given market. We can also become a master franchisee - then our role will be not only to launch our own pilot outlet but also to resell franchise licenses to other entrepreneurs and to oversee the process of network development. It is also possible that the franchisor will offer us an exclusive license to open units in a given country or region.

Coders Lab, a franchisor of programming schools run in a bootcamp format, offers such a solution. It grants its partners an exclusive license to develop a network of IT schools in a given country. Franchisees receive access to constantly updated materials, know-how in running a programming school and IT tools helpful in school management. Their role is to create a team of managers responsible for marketing, sales, and organization of courses, as well as to attract lecturers for cooperation.

This is a big challenge. But, firstly, franchisees are not left on their own - at each stage of their activity, they are supported and advised by the experienced franchisor, who made his debut in the industry in 2013 and, since then, has graduated over 4,500 students. On the other hand, the prize is the participation in the fast-growing market of programming schools which is expected to grow at the average annual rate of nearly 12% in the upcoming decade.

According to the European Commission, European countries can suffer a total shortage of over 900,000 skilled ICT workers by 2020. Intensive courses organized at Coders Lab are the answer to the growing deficit of programmers. Their goal is to prepare students to work in the IT industry during a very short time (2 months). Franchisees get the opportunity to offer services that meet the increasingly urgent social needs. In the same way, they can have a real and positive impact on the professional lives of thousands of customers.

Looking for Learn more about the Coders Lab franchise!