At BDC Partners, we recently hosted our second franchise growth workshop for the year, this time in Sydney. This dynamic event brought franchise owners and our seasoned BDC collective together to delve deep into the world of franchise operations and growth. The conference was a journey through the intricacies of building a thriving franchise, covering a multitude of critical topics, including:
Franchise Operations and Efficiencies
Facilitated by FCA board member and experienced franchisor, Tanya Robertson, CEO BDC Strategy, the workshop started off with an introduction from one of our partners for the Growth23 event. Brent Everett, COO of Dokio, demonstrated how Dokio’s software simplifies branding and marketing materials, ensuring consistency across all franchise locations.
Op Central is dedicated to ensuring operational consistency and excellence in franchise management. CEO Josh Cairns emphasize setting clear standards and creating essential SOPs, policies, and best practices. Communication and collaboration are facilitated through robust delivery channels, and continuous training keeps teams informed and adaptable. Op Central places a strong focus on understanding and optimizing human engagement levels. Quality control is paramount, with regular site audits to maintain standards.
With the insights and experiences from Brent and Josh, Tanya led our first interactive exercise with each of the franchisors, a SWOT and then some actions for each of the participants.
Location & Territory Intelligence
Understanding customer demographics and the dynamics of catchment areas were at the forefront of our discussion with Tim Shaw, CEO of GapMaps.
Tim’s key points were to consider catchment areas as the essential geography that defines your business’s reach. To illustrate, think of a coffee shop and a colossal retailer like Ikea. A coffee shop primarily attracts ‘hyper-local’ customers, as most individuals won’t venture far for a cup of coffee.
In contrast, an Ikea draws customers from considerably greater distances. This distinction results in a significantly larger catchment area for the retail giant compared to the neighbourhood coffee shop.
The key takeaways are clear: Gather data to comprehensively understand your catchment area. Collect home address data to pinpoint your customers’ origins and determine the distances they travel to reach your establishment.
Best Practice Franchise Recruitment
Franchise recruitment, often considered an art form, was explored in detail. CEO Rori Kokken highlighted the challenges of finding the perfect franchise partner and shared insights into the deselection process, ensuring the right fit for your brand. She also explored the lead generation process and what challenges franchise recruitment is currently facing.
Exiting and Selling
The art of selling greenfield sites and gracefully exiting the franchise brand were explored. Understanding that franchisees may not stay forever, attendees gained valuable insights into transitioning out of the franchise system and selling existing franchises.
Legal Compliance
Bruce McFarlane, Ceo of BDC Partners and Principal of BDC Law, provided a comprehensive overview of franchise code changes that took effect in 2021 and how they are working in practice now. Attendees were encouraged to review their franchise documentation for accuracy and clarity, ensuring franchisees fully understand their contractual obligations.
Finally, Bruce outlined the terms of reference of the latest review of the Code. Read more about it here.
Benchmarking and Financial Data:
Aaron March, Director of Accounting Blue Rock, spoke to everyone’s favourite topic, accounting. He spoke through the importance of benchmarking and assisting your franchisees to understand their financial reports. Being educated to interpret and use the data to assist them with their business can help their grow, not all your franchisees will have an analytical mind or financial knowledge – but nurturing them to understand the numbers is imperative to success.
Jehan Hapuarachchi from Spotlight Reporting demonstrated how consistent reporting can assist both franchisors and franchisees, discussing case studies of the spotlight reporting system and how it can be beneficial to franchisors and their operations.
Franchisee Finance
Nick Price from BlueRock and Sasha Melicov from NAB unveiled the fascinating world of business lending, where 70% is done through banks. They cracked the code of the four C’s that banks scrutinize:
Capacity: The magic of cash flow and how it mesmerizes banks.
Capital: The art of balancing cash in and property assets.
Collateral: A safety net for banks, ensuring debts can be cleared.
Character: The mesmerizing tale of CVs, credit files, and ATO portals.
Intrigued? The Franchise Conference was a revelation, and these insights are the keys to unlock a world of franchise success. It’s not just business; it’s an adventure, a journey into the heart of franchising, where each twist and turn reveals a new treasure.
Panel Discussion: Insights from the Franchise Frontlines
A panel discussion featuring the BDC former franchisors team of Jon Sully, Rori Kokken and Tanya Robertson, together with Hire a Hubby CEO and FCA Chairman Brendan Green, provided a unique opportunity for attendees to pick the brains of seasoned professionals who’ve walked the franchise path themselves.
This conference was a day filled with knowledge sharing, networking, and learning from the best in the franchise industry. The collective wisdom and innovative solutions presented have the power to revolutionize your franchise’s trajectory.
If you’re hungry for growth, eager to overcome challenges, and committed to success, join our growth conference in Brisbane in October.
A heartfelt thank you to our sponsors, NAB, Dokio, Spotlight Reporting, and Op Central, for their invaluable support and dedication to helping our clients on their franchise journey. To embark on a journey of franchise growth and success, simply fill out our form, and we’ll be in touch to assist you on your path to greatness!
