We all love the classic image of the entrepreneur. They are the maverick, the innovator, the visionary who sees a better way and forges their own path against all odds. These are the traits that build empires from scratch. But what happens when that rebellious spirit buys into a business model that is, by its very definition, a strict set of rules? The hard truth is that the very same instincts that make you a brilliant entrepreneur could make you a miserable and unsuccessful franchisee.
The allure of the system
It is easy to see why a creative, independent person would be drawn to a franchise. It seems like a shortcut to success, a way to skip the tedious, high-risk years of building a brand and a business model from the ground up. You see it as entrepreneurship with the boring parts handled for you, giving you a proven platform from which you can launch your success. The system, at first, looks less like a rulebook and more like a launchpad for your ambition.
When the rules start to feel like a cage
The friction begins a few months after the grand opening. The operations manual, once a helpful guide, starts to feel like a cage. The mandatory supplier list prevents you from sourcing a local product you think is better. The pre-approved marketing campaigns feel generic and out of touch with your community. Your natural, entrepreneurial instinct is to innovate, to tweak, and to improve. But in the world of franchising, the head office has a different word for your improvements: “non-compliance.”
A quick ‘rebel’ self-test
Before you go any further down the franchise path, you need to be brutally honest with yourself. Does the phrase, “Because that’s how we have always done it,” make your skin crawl? Do you look at an established rule and immediately brainstorm three ways to make it better? Are you more passionate about executing your own unique ideas than you are about flawlessly replicating someone else’s? If you answered yes to these questions, you may be on a collision course with any franchise system you join.
Constructive vs. destructive innovation
This is not to say that franchises do not want smart, creative people. They do. But there is a critical difference between a destructive rebel and a constructive innovator. The destructive rebel changes things for the sake of it, creating inconsistency and undermining the brand. The constructive innovator, however, masters the system first. They learn the rules inside and out, become a top performer, and then use the proper channels—like a franchisee advisory council—to suggest improvements that can benefit the entire network. One is a rogue, the other is a leader.
Knowing yourself is the most important due diligence you can perform. A franchise is a license to operate a business using someone else’s proven recipe, not a laboratory for your own wild experiments. So, be honest with yourself. If you are an artist who wants to paint a unique masterpiece, you need a blank canvas. If you want to run a highly successful paint-by-numbers business, a franchise is perfect. Just do not buy the kit and then complain about the colours.
