With so many franchisees in a group, it is not that the franchisor and the head office team don’t want to help you, sometimes it is simply they don’t know you need help.
I live on the Gold Coast in Australia where we have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Now, when you head down to the beach, it is always recommended that you swim between the flags where the beach is being patrolled and watched by the Life Guards. Even if you are swimming between the flags, if you can, you need to alert the life guards that you are requiring assistance by simply raising your hand in the air. That way they can see you are in trouble and need some help.
I think of this as a great analogy for a franchisee in a franchise group. We want you to go out and have a fun day in the surf – in your business – but we also want to keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t get taken out by a wave or swept out to sea in a rip or current. So the first thing is you need to be swimming in between the flags. That is, you are sticking to the system and keeping up communication and participation in the franchise. We need to have you in our sights otherwise we really can’t help you.
The second thing is to raise your hand if you need help. Someone in trouble in the surf can look very much like someone having fun, so you need to raise your hand for help.
So why is it that we don’t ask for help? Is it a sign of weakness? Is it fear of appearing silly? Is it because we think we should already know the answer? Is it because we don’t want to bother anyone?
There are so many reasons why people don’t ask for help, but if you ask the franchisor, they’d believe that there is no reason NOT to ask for help. That is why you joined a franchise right? To get support, help and assistance in your business. So you need to get help and ask for it when you need it.
I once worked with a franchise group that had a technical support team in their head office, not just business support, due to the nature of their business. The head of the technical support team used to ask me about new franchisees that I was helping with their business support and making sure they were OK. The reason for this? Because he hadn’t heard from them for technical support. He was worried about them because they hadn’t been asking for help! Imagine that, not asking for help actually made the head office team more worried about you than those that did ask for help. They expected in this group that you would absolutely need technical help, especially in the early days of your business, so therefore wanted the franchisees to be calling.
It’s important to realise that if you are feeling even slightly unsure or if you are requiring some assistance, help or even just clarification to know you are on track, then contact the team at head office. That’s what they are there for – to help and support you.
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