There are certain criteria that are well-sought after by a franchisor in accepting an investor proposal to be a franchisee – And no, it is not always about how much money you have to fund the franchise unit purchase.

Your ability to fund the purchase of a franchise unit is one of the technical criteria, along with some others investment-related issues, such as your funding methods, your net worth, financial track record, and such. However, there are other criteria to help a franchisor consider a franchisee, beyond how much money you have to buy the franchise, such as the followings:

The ability to follow rules

Key to franchising is a well-proven system, and the system works based on a set of rules agreed upon by franchisees. Rules need to be followed closely; otherwise the system will break apart. Franchisor ensures this not to happen at all cost, including by rejecting an investor intention to be a franchisee, regardless of how much money he or she has.

The ability to at least maintain the reputation and existence of your franchise brand name

Your franchisor’s brand name is not yours – Being a franchisee means you “borrow” a franchise brand name and reputation in exchange for a certain amount of franchise fee. You need to maintain, desirably enhance, the reputation of the brand name, as if your franchisor’s brand name failed, your franchise unit will failed, too.

How is your personal relationship track record?

Today, Franchisors are putting a much, much more emphasise on your personal relationship – How is your relationship with your spouse and/or with any other family members? What is your view about marriage or relationship in general? Those are important, as a franchisee-franchisor relationship resembles a relationship in marriage or a commitment similar to one.

All in all, franchising is more complicated than you think it is. Franchising requires a commitment and respect between a franchisor and the franchisees, including among the franchisees themselves.

So, if you are a gentleman or a lady thinking that family and relationship are very important aspect in your life, you have a potential to be a good franchisee.

Ivan Widjaya
On being a good franchisee
Image by Evil Erin.