The only way to be more efficient is to always look for ways to improve operations at the unit or point of sale level. Nowhere in modern business is this more important than in a franchise organization. One secret to streamlining operations and eliminating weaknesses in a franchise business is to do constant evaluation and ask the secret questions. Below is the question and some answers from a regional meeting in Portland, OR in 1999.
What ideas do you have to simplify or eliminate any potential weaknesses?
We do this at our company and quickly beat all the competition and end up in a race of our own beating the contenders like a broken down Volkswagen with a ripped clutch cable. This is the response we received from one of our franchisees, a former high-tech factory worker;
“First, let me say that with any professional process or service there is always room for improvement. My days in a manufacturing environment force me to think about ‘Continuous Process Improvement’. You can never be satisfied with the status quo; you always look for the perfection. As you make improvements and fix issues, small issues move up the list to become the top priority. This continues as you strive for perfection.”
Truly an amazing man, and it stands to reason that when you’re literally blowing away the competition, a lot of it comes down to the equipment you have to fly your plane. In addition to this well-spoken philosophy, he stated:
“One idea to simplify would start with the initial part of launching the business. As Car Wash Guys (our company) grows exponentially, accelerating the process of launching new franchises will become more imperative. The numbers will become more attractive to an institution national financial and someone needs to step up to become the clear provider of financial solutions.Nowadays, there are leasing companies that specialize in assisting the start-up of beauty salons.They package everything that makes it easy for the operator to open its location.”
We implemented this in September 1999, with GMAC, US Bank, GE Capital, and B of A. Our franchise team member added this to the conversation:
Rates must be competitive and the provider must offer a menu of services, ie loans, leases, etc. If they can do it for people who cut hair, someone should be able to do it for The Car Wash Guys. Then there would be no need to shop around as they would customize a solution based on the potential franchisee’s needs and resources. As this company grows, the amount of money involved here is huge. The second part of this solution is to help with growth. Maybe US Bank is the company. But I know that in my market and others across the country, banks are realizing that they need to compete for small business dollars and improve personalized customer service. A willing leader who would help Car Wash Guys could leverage their solutions and offer them to many other franchises as there are thousands out there. They could use the Car Wash Guys as a model and tell the public, look what we did! You must bring us your business. The Car Wash Guys has a lot of items involved in getting started and grouping them together would make things a lot easier (truck, equipment, truck bed, etc.).
We solved this problem, which had stumped some of our original franchisees, allowing them to raise the money to expand their businesses and meet the demand of their local customers. Think about this in 2006.
