Am I Really a Franchisee?

I asked myself this question, “am I a franchisee”, repeatedly, frequently, before acquiring the Parmasters franchise. One has to be willing and capable of operating within the systems, and in some cases bounds, of the franchisor. Is that me?

I have always believed that some people are a natural fit for entrepreneurship as a franchisee, and others are not. When you list the characteristics of a typical entrepreneur, and also the characteristics of an ideal franchisee, they don’t necessarily align.

Entrepreneur: visionary, tenacious, confident, determined, hardworking, driven, leader, manager, thick-skinned (willing to withstand the naysayers).
Franchisee: all of the above, but also, prepared to take direction, prepared to follow the franchisor’s systems, prepared to accept the franchisor’s input, prepared to pay the franchisor for the systems, the guidance, the brand, etc. Almost an oxymoron.

Don’t get me wrong, life as a franchisee definitely has a lot of positives. Parmasters in particular has completed six years of development. The systems are all in place. Relationships with suppliers are all in place. Marketing programs, merchandise, the colour of the tile in the locker rooms, it’s all in place. And the staff at Parmasters HQ are excellent. They are a joy to work with.

But am I really a franchisee?

In the end, obviously, I decided I am a franchisee. I am a “systems guy”. I believe in systems for virtually everything that we do. There is a most efficient and effective way to accomplish all tasks. So find that ‘way’, and turn it into a system. That’s a large part of what a franchisor delivers. And Parmasters is very strong on systems. Plus, once you have systematized a particular task, once you’re doing it the same way repeatedly, you can continue to refine that system, and become increasingly efficient and effective. If you perform a task in a new and different way every time, you don’t necessarily gain the same insight.

I also noted that when it comes to assembling something, I'm the guy that reads the instructions, front to back, back to front, before beginning. I will take the same approach with the hefty Parmasters operations manual.

Scott Hazledine, our Chief Golf Professional and Co-Founder, asks his students to use a similar systems/patterns approach when developing and refining their golf swing. But that’s definitely a topic for another time.