The Perfect Combination for Franchise Ownership

In a world of horoscopes, online quizzes, and computer software designed to help filter out one’s soulmate, there are also tools to determine the best candidates to own a particular franchise.

Instead of looking at potential franchisees only by their amount of money and professional experiences, we’ve learned that it’s all about values and motivations that equal compatibility and fit in a particular franchise model. It’s like finding the key that fits the lock perfectly so the franchisee can unlock the door to success within a franchise system.

Who Makes it to the Top?

In our research, we discovered that top performers in our senior care business had these qualities in common:

• Focused on growth and results driven
• Honest and patient with realistic expectations
• Excellent problem solvers and planners
• Crave the need to achieve
• Enthusiastic
• Big picture thinkers
• Values include family, integrity, and loyalty

Some of these might illicit a, “Well, duh!” kind of response because of course someone who buys a business wants to achieve success, but within the research there were top, middle and low performers. In other words, people who own a franchise but dislike adhering to a model or those who are distracted and anxious vs. focused and strategic.

For example, it might sound good to have someone who is “high compliance” in a franchise network. However, people who, through testing, appear to be in this category can actually be high maintenance as they remain too rigid when change is needed. People who test to be “medium compliance” are ideal because there is a balance between their ability to follow a proven model and still be innovative. Low compliance can be too independent, which might work for another type of business, specifically more entrepreneurial ventures.

Some of these sentences describe our top performers:

• “They are a tenacious business builder who is never satisfied until their customer is satisfied and there is measurable and consistent growth.”
• “They like it when they can work close to home with friends and family and associates whom they have come to trust and respect.”
• “…honest, patient and focused with realistic expectations.”
• “They are early to bed, early to rise with a no-nonsense approach.”

Get to Know You

Just because those sentences don’t describe you, doesn’t mean there isn’t a perfect fit for you. It might mean you aren’t an ideal senior care franchise owner, or it might mean you aren’t business owner material at all.

There are many career-related quizzes to take to learn more about matching your inherent tendencies, gifts, and purpose to a job or business. The Myers-Briggs Personality test lists specific careers for each of the sixteen profiles, plus breaks down how you can integrate this awareness into a more productive and happy workday. A quality test should factor in emotional intelligence, values, lifestyle, along with work habits.

When considering whether you want a different job, to buy a franchise or start a business from scratch, it’s important to look within as you research the possibilities out in the world. It will be better for you in the long run to know in what ways you are truly compatible based on values and motivations rather than try to fit that proverbial square peg in the round hole.