Franchise Operations Manuals – How To Write A Franchise Operations Manual In Three Easy, Affordable Steps
Franchise operations manuals may seem daunting, especially for a company that has never written an operations manual before. Bewildered by the new business of franchising, with its legal requirements, franchise disclosure documents, operations manuals, training programs, etc., many companies delegate responsibility to a high-priced franchise consultant.
But using someone to write your franchise operations manual who knows literally nothing about your business, never makes any sense when everything is considered objectively. And, besides a hefty price tag of ,000 or more to write the manuals, using franchise consultants brings another, expensive result – legal risk. Here are some drafting tips and strategies from a recognized, international franchise expert.
Why Franchise Consultants Are Risky Business
Paying someone who knows nothing about your business, and having them learn it from scratch at your expense is really just common sense. Using franchise consultants for what is a relatively easy and straightforward task has never made any sense – except to the franchise consultants who charge exorbitant amounts to write an operations manual. It’s one of those little franchise secrets that the consultants don’t ever mention or discuss.
Using a franchise consultant to write a franchise operations manual also carries legal risk. The principal legal risk comes from including inappropriate topics, chapters and policies that are commonly found in company-owned, chain operations manuals. If these are included, as they often are in franchise operations manuals, very significant franchise liability issues arise. Because the franchise consultants are not franchise attorneys or experts, they are entirely oblivious to this risk. They don’t know where the bullets come from in franchise litigation. As a testifying and consulting franchise expert, I routinely find franchise operations manuals drafted by franchise consultants and do-it-yourself manuals containing inappropriate chapters or topics. And, because they rely on boilerplate manuals used for other clients, where (hopefully) all instances of burgers, for example, are searched and replaced with tax returns, the end result is not only dangerous – it is also very mediocre. Giving a mediocre operations manual to a franchise owner who has invested hundreds of thousands (or in some cases millions) of dollars in your franchise model is definitely not the best way to start or ensure a smooth franchise relationship.
The Best Practice Approach To Drafting Franchise Operations Manuals
Besides the expensive and legally risky approach there is another, best franchise practice approach based on almost three decades of writing, editing and reviewing hundreds of franchise operations manuals. The essence of this approach is also common sense – letting the true expert in your business write the manual. Typically that person is the founder of the business, or a small team of management personnel who know business operations inside and out. While a franchise expert should be involved in the process, the expert’s role should be limited to a planning and editing capacity.
Three Easy Steps For Drafting A Franchise Operations Manual
The drafting process begins with planning and developing the Table of Contents for the franchise operations manual. This includes making sure all the appropriate chapters and topics are included, and the inappropriate ones are not. Knowledge of franchise management best practices is essential here, and that’s why a franchise expert’s input and planning is so important. Because most franchise operations manuals are incorporated by reference in the franchise agreement (which is a franchise industry best practice) the franchise contract is also reviewed. Some operations-specific information may be inadvertently included in the contract by the attorneys, which is not a good thing. This needs to be moved out or appropriately amended.
The second step is giving the person(s) within your company who have drafting responsibility samples of operations manual writing styles, guidelines and instructions. With these, they can begin drafting each chapter of the manual using their extensive operational knowledge of the day-to-day, week-to-week, etc. aspects of your business.
The third and final step is having the franchise expert review each chapter as it is drafted and comment on the professionalism and sufficiency of the chapters from a franchise industry best practices and franchise operator perspective.
Summary
The first couple chapters are typically the hardest to draft, as you or your management personnel learn and apply operations manual drafting techniques under the guidance of a professional editor. But after that, it’s smooth sailing through the balance of the document. This approach produces a professional, easy to use and update franchise operations manual. It also ensures the most efficient use of resources and talent, and eliminates having to pay a franchise consultant ,000 or more for this relatively simple task. Whether or not a company ultimately franchises, the process of planning, documenting and implementing standardized operating procedures and systems via operations manuals, like blue chip franchise and non-franchised companies do, makes any firm operate more efficiently and competitively. In a franchise environment, it ensures consistent and uniform operations, helping personnel with different skills learn to perform tasks in a consistent manner throughout the franchise network. Finally, it’s important to realize the process of writing a franchise operations manual never stops. As the business model evolves, so must the operations manual – the ultimate reason why writing the manual yourself to begin with makes imminent common sense. As one franchise company executive observed “I found that not only was writing my own operations manual a cost savings; it was imperative.”
copyright 2008-2009, Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. – all rights reserved
For further information, visit the Franchise Foundations website
What Makes a Part Time Franchise a Good Opportunity?
A part time franchise is any franchise which can fit around your already busy schedule. Since the internet evolved and many of us can now work happily from home, whether from the Internet or simply by using the facilities now available to us, there has been a deluge of new part time franchise opportunities available for us to buy into. With busy mothers and fathers looking for some extra cash or if you are simply looking for either an add on to your existing career or a bolt on to your existing business there are plenty of part time franchise opportunities now available for you to choose from.
Some popular part time franchise opportunities:
Vending machine franchises.
From drinks machines to naughty products, there is a vending machine franchise to suit everyone. These franchises take very little work to look after and quite simple your time will be spent, at a few hours per week, checking up on machines to ensure they are full and ready to vend to the next person wanting the products on offer. as a part time franchise they can be ran from home with no specialised equipment other than the vending machine itself and are a fantastic opportunity for anyone out there looking for a part time franchise.
Internet franchises
Most, if not all, internet based franchises are offered up as potential part time franchise opportunities. The reason for this is that the returns are based on how hard you work. With more and more people opting to work from home over the internet there has been an explosion in how many part time franchise opportunities in this area that have came available.
The great thing about most part time franchise opportunities is the ability to expand your operations to full time. You may find that with a vending machine franchise you have been happily running it part time for many years ut are now finding you have more time on your hands. In this case more machines can be ordered and you could soon see yourself running a full time operation with a network of 20-50 vending machines in your local area. the same goes for internet based franchises, you get out of them what you put into them so once you have more time available you can simply up the hours you work.
Not mentioned was the many other part time franchise opportunities there are. these range from tutoring franchises, babysitting franchise, dog walking franchises through to even executive coaching franchises. The only real type of franchise that cannot e ran part time is any with a shop front or that gives a valuable service to the local community such as a plumbing franchise.
as with all franchises, a part time franchise needs to be researched well to ensure what you are buying into is a viablle opportunity that is going to wrok for you. with the right research and the right opportunity you can have a great wee business foe life!
How To Franchise A Business
How To Franchise A Business Phase One – Strategic Franchise Planning
Assuming a business is franchise-able (another topic), a successful how to franchise a business development program begins with developing a comprehensive strategic franchise plan – a foundation for franchising – to guide the new franchise company. Especially in the franchise industry, if you don’t plan for success, you set yourself up for failure. With 3,000 other companies offering franchises, more is needed than boilerplate legal documentation, an operations manual, invoice and handshake. A detailed, specific franchise strategic plan and framework must be developed that encompasses marketing, operations, finance and the critical support function. Intellectual property rights are also identified and protective measures taken. Using a franchise expert with an MBA and past successful franchise ownership experience is a best practice approach that will yield strong dividends.
How To Franchise A Business Phase Two – Franchise Documentation
If a company makes doing a good job at the planning stage its number one priority, franchise documentation is relatively straightforward. A franchise operations manual and franchise training program are developed, often from scratch, to impart business operating skills to the franchise owner as well as ensure uniformity of products and services. The franchise operations manual and franchise training program curriculum must be drafted or edited with a particular focus. Certain topics, chapters and policies used in manuals for company-owned locations, for example, are entirely inappropriate in a franchise environment, creating significant franchise liability issues for the franchise company.
Finally, after all of the above are underway, a Franchise Disclosure Document or FDD – similar to a securities (stock offering) prospectus, is prepared by a competent franchise attorney and registered with various regulatory agencies to comply with applicable federal and state franchise laws.
How To Franchise A Business Phase Three – Training And Implementation
The exciting implementation phase is where the sparks begin to fly as franchises are sold, the new franchise owners are taught and trained, and opening assistance is provided. It’s also when most new franchise companies make serious mistakes that haunt them for years or even decades to come.
The reason: most new start-up franchise companies have not been trained in how to properly operate their new business, nor can they afford to hire a six-figure, salaried person with franchise management experience. A better solution: provide new franchise companies with in-depth instruction based on three decades of excellence and experience in franchise industry best practices. Coupled with on-going, as-needed advice, this instruction is affordable, practical and will save new franchise companies tens of thousands of dollars initially and even more going forward (and, of course, not having to pay a yearly six-figure salary for franchise management experience).
copyright 1982-2009, Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. – all rights reserved