What Makes a Great Potential Franchisee?

Over the last few months, we’ve interviewed some of the franchise industry’s biggest established and rising names. Each time we spoke with a brand founder or development leader, we asked the same question: “What does a great potential franchisee look like to you? What kinds of people do you like to work with, and which qualities are key?”

As we’ve explored this topic with leaders from diverse segments of the franchising industry, a few key themes have emerged. If you’re an entrepreneur considering becoming a franchisee for the first time, ask yourself, “Do I have the four qualities that founders and franchise development leaders are looking for?”

“The first thing I look for is someone who knows how to build community. Running a Fitstop is not just about managing a facility. It is about creating an environment where people feel like they belong to something real. Members stay for years, bring their friends and show up on the hardest days because of the people they train with and the coaches who genuinely show up for them. Franchisees who invest in the human side of the business as deeply as the operational side are the ones who build locations that perform and grow.” – Pete Hull (Founder, FitStop)

“I like people that are community advocates. For us, this is a relationship-based service, and we are interfacing with our customers and our staff every day. People who succeed thrive in face-to-face interaction, are comfortable leading teams and managing a staff where maybe you’re their first or second employer. First and foremost, you have to be comfortable with people.” – Marina Mentzel (Founder, urSwim)

“Can you build a team? Can you satisfy a customer? Are you customer-centric? Our best franchisees and most successful operators are continually proven to be the ones who have built the strongest teams. We like to say, ‘Put the right people in the right place at the right time.’ And when that gets executed in the restaurant industry, it’s really a powerful advantage.” – Bob Andersen (President, The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill)

“The candidates we’re looking at have to have a passion for this business. They have to feel that this business is absolutely right for them. Whether or not they’ve looked at other opportunities, they have to feel that this is right.

They need to feel like they’re a good fit for us, and we’re a good fit for them. That, to me, is critical, because if you don’t have that passion, you’ll never be a great franchisee… They have to feel that, if they come in, they are going to be the best franchisee that we’ve ever had. With that attitude, you will be the best franchisee.”

“When it comes to working with franchisees, we want to make sure we’re the right fit. That’s so critical for us. The franchisees need to have the same mindset that we do to protect the brand and culture… It’s a family. We need to be able to have a good relationship and get along and hold the same values. And then, when you protect the brand, I’m going to protect you. We don’t want to sell a franchise to someone who isn’t going to be a good fit because we plan on being around for a long time – that’s the foremost thing for us.” – Chantel Fiaschetti (Co-founder, Urban Bird Hot Chicken)

“This is just as much of a business as it is a wonderful program for kids. And so you want to make sure that the people that you partner with are sincere in their interest in the company. There’s a lot of ways that somebody can earn a dollar, but we wanna work with people who genuinely have an interest in making a positive impact in children’s lives — they have an affinity for sports and recreation and physical activity.

They believe in this whole concept of developing a child’s physical literacy and improving their social skills because they are essentially life skills that they can trade on as they get older.”

“Our best operators inside the system are the ones who align with UFG’s organizational principles and then the principles of the brand. At UFG, we’re a continuous improvement organization. We want to lead categories; we want to drive top line revenue and profitability.

And then, of course, at the brand, we want to serve a better-for-you product that’s made in our restaurants, fresh, flavorful and customized to your tastes. We want people who are committed to that. If someone’s not committed to that in our business, then whatever other experience or qualifications they have don’t seem to matter.”

“The operators who do best in our system are the ones who commit to the model. They understand that what we have built across four countries over more than a decade, including the programming structure, coaching standards and member experience, works when it is followed. They adapt it locally and bring their own energy to it, but they trust the foundation. That combination of conviction and coachability is incredibly valuable in franchising.” – Pete Hull (Founder, FitStop)

“I tell every new candidate, ‘If you are going to sign up with Arthur Murray, you have to trust us enough that for the first two years, you’ll do everything we ask.’ And that seems odd, but… there’s a reason why franchises are successful. They have a proven track record. They have a way of being consistent in their output, and customers expect that. If you start changing the processes or the offerings within the business, to me it’s a sure sign for a disaster.” – Tony Padulo (CDO, Arthur Murray Dance Studios)

“Our motto is we look for people who are talented but imperfect. They get to bring all of their skills to the table, but they get to use the playbooks that we’ve developed over thirty years that have been proven.” – Jason D’rocha (Vice President, Sportball)

“We can hypothetically provide you with a fully trained team to do the actual bookkeeping; so, the most important thing is for the franchisee to be coachable. They have to be able to follow the system… We believe in people and their individualities and identities; that’s a big part of our culture. Whether someone is coming to us from a corporate career or another background, we can look at where they can take what they’ve learned and apply it here in the best possible capacity to run their bookkeeping franchise.” – Max & Elena Emma (Co-founders, BooXkeeping)

“When it comes to service-based franchises, I get excited whenever someone says, ‘Yeah, this is what I want to do, and I want to be in business on a daily basis.’ It gets me jazzed up when I hear people want to be actively involved in their business – that they’re not going to farm it out to someone who does the work for them. I’m not saying that model doesn’t work, but when people run the business themselves, it fosters more introspection and helps them grow as a manager and leader.

When someone says, ‘I want to be an owner-operator,’ that’s great because so many businesses are built on local affiliations, local relationships – getting out and building your reputation in the space locally. When you have an owner-operator that’s getting out there in the community, it really makes a difference.”

“You need to be an operator. You need to be someone who connects with the community and is always reaching out to build relationships. You’re going to need to be an ambassador for the brand… I love to work with tough entrepreneurs who are going to fight for every customer and make sure they consistently have a great experience. It’s so important to uphold the quality of both the brand and the experience.” – Sam Polk (CEO, EveryTable)

“Our focus is on building a people-first culture, and the way that you do that is you work with your team, you’re in your stores. You can’t run a restaurant or your stores when you’re sitting behind a desk all day long. That’s very important. We want to make sure that we find people that are passionate about building a team and the culture by being in your stores. You have to provide a foundation of training for your team so they can have the tools to do what they need to do to run the store properly.” – Chantel Fiaschetti (Co-founder, Urban Bird Hot Chicken)