In the franchising industry, most franchisors typically award their franchisees a territory in which to grow and scale their business while protecting that location from being overrun by the same brand. In some situations, however, being awarded a limited territory can have a downside. By Cindy Charette
In the franchising industry, most franchisors typically award their franchisees a territory in which to grow and scale their business while protecting that location from being overrun by the same brand. In some situations, however, being awarded a limited territory can have a downside. For example, if the buying demographics are not correct, there are too many competitors or if traffic patterns change, a franchisee might be stuck in their awarded location.
“When most people talk about portability in relation to franchising, they are really asking, ‘Can I move my franchise from one location to another location?’
With Schooley Mitchell, we absolutely can do that. There’s a certain portability built right into our model because we are not restricted demographically,” said Dennis Schooley, founder of Schooley Mitchell.
With Schooley Mitchell, there’s another approach to portability in that franchisees don’t have geographic restrictions. Since franchisees can service their clients remotely or in person, they can obtain clients wherever they choose. For instance, if a franchisee starts in one location with clients and then moves, they can still support their clients from the last location while building up their business in the new area. This means that once clients are established in one area, they can be served in person. However, if the franchisee moves to another location, those clients can still be served remotely. Franchisees can even stay in one location and build their business in other cities; they don’t have to live where their clients are located.
In terms of portability, Schooley Mitchell offers five touch points. Franchisees can:
- Obtain clients from anywhere.
- Service clients remotely.
- Physically move their business.
- Have a wider opportunity for future resale.
- Share clients in a different geography.
Protection for franchisees of Schooley Mitchell comes not in the form of land/geography but with Schooley Mitchell’s user-friendly registry system. “It works great, and we never have conflicts, but we are not tied to a piece of land,” Schooley said. “We feel this registry does a better job in our world than a piece of geography would.”
With the brand’s registry system, whenever a franchisee signs on a client, that client is placed on a permanent client list, and no other franchisee within Schooley Mitchell can do business with them, which is important in three ways:
- It protects the revenue stream of the franchisee that obtained the client.
- It shows the professionalism of the brand by not competing/bidding with one another.
- It protects the company assets, which can then be sold.
Schooley Mitchell, the largest independent cost-reduction consulting firm across the U.S. and Canada, has been established as a well-respected and innovative franchise opportunity. Schooley Mitchell reviews various business expenses for its clients – including telecommunications, merchant services, shipping, waste, eSignature, electronic logging devices, utilities and fuel – and matches them against their databases and experience to identify areas where costs might be reduced. Then, Schooley Mitchell negotiates with service providers on its client’s behalf to secure those decreased costs.
Cindy Charette