Five Things to Know Before Buying a Franchise

How military training techniques taught me how to “adapt, adjust and overcome.”

By Maurice Welton

It’s been a little over a decade since the evening that I was watching a TV program and saw an interview with Tariq Farid, the founder and CEO of Edible Arrangements. At the time, I was one of thousands of New Orleans residents who had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina and I was trying to figure out what to do next.

My military training had prepared me to respond to unexpected events. In fact, to this day I continue to follow the mantra I learned during that training of “Adapt, Adjust and Overcome.” And if ever there was a time to put that mantra to work, it was at that point in my life.

Hearing Farid describe the benefits of opening a franchise business inspired me. The more I thought about it, the more I found the idea of starting my own business appealing. I contacted Edible Arrangements to see what was involved in becoming the owner of a franchise.

One of best decisions I ever made

Today, I have five thriving businesses in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and I just renewed for another 10 years. Of course, building a successful business did not come without its challenges. Despite degrees in culinary arts and food-service management as well as an MBA from the University of Phoenix, I quickly discovered that in the day-to-day reality of running a business an owner faces challenges that are not taught in the classroom.

Fortunately, my military training coupled with a strong franchise support team made up for anything that my professors had overlooked.

Looking back, there are five areas that I wish I had been better prepared to deal with before I opened the doors:

Financial Management

In a controlled environment such as college, what they teach you always works. That’s not the real world, of course. The most obvious example is that you never know what your income is going to be, especially during the early days. I ended up relying on my personal financial strategy to manage my business like I manage my life.

I’m a frugal person. I buy off the rack. I don’t mind my cell phone being my watch, and I don’t need a fancy car. These are also traits that came in handy during my time in the military, so responding to the uncertainty of a revenue stream early on was something I was able to handle.

I’ve seen a lot of businesses come and go because of financial issues and I faced a lot of those same unexpected issues. I was fortunate, however, that my military training had prepared me to adapt quickly to the situation, adjust my operations and overcome what could have been serious obstacles.

Taxes

This was similar to my financial management reality-check. Suddenly I was dealing with city, county and state taxes. When having a slow month in those early days, I often wished I could use that money to invest but the state or county or city was always there wanting its cut.

I discovered that even my inventory was not off limits when it came to setting taxes. There are times that I still feel like I am a piggy bank for the State of Texas, but thanks to my ability to adapt, adjust and overcome I was able to get through those tough early days that always seemed to come with a surprise.

Employees and Customers

As a soldier you do what you are told. You don’t ask why. You just ask “how high” and you jump. Otherwise, you know there will be repercussions. With civilian employees you quickly realize there will not be the same control. I’m in my mid-forties and I realize that a lot of people were raised in a different way than I was. The key is that you have to figure out how to get the best out of them without having the same type of control you have in the military.

The same applies to customers. Sometimes you believe you have delivered great customer service, only to discover that the customer may not have the same feeling. You just never know. To this day I wish I was better at understanding what makes people work, but at least I have my military-bred adapt, adjust and overcome philosophy to fall back on and, in this area, it comes in handy quite often.

Technology

I know I am not alone in this area. Technology moves so fast that it is hard to keep up, and in coming years it will be even more important for owners to understand how technology can drive their businesses.

I remember shortly after opening my business, a lady asked me if I had a phone book so we could look up an address. I asked one of my employees for a phone book and the employees responded, “Why don’t you just Google it?” I had to admit that I didn’t know what they were talking about, so they showed me and instantly found what we needed. Right then I adapted, adjusted and overcame by putting the computer mouse on top of the phone book and never opened it again. It made a great mouse pad.

Looking back, I wished then that I had been better trained in the basics like Word, Excel and even Quickbooks, but now I realize that mastering technology — like military training — is a never-ending process. There is always something new to learn and master if you want to stay ahead ofthe competition.

Start with an Exit Strategy

I walked in the door of my first business with a plan because I knew I had to hit the ground running. But while I had an entrance strategy, it was seven years before I realized that I should also have been thinking about an exit strategy. I love my stores, the company and my customers, but I also know I’m not going to do it forever.

Do I sell young, or do I sell old? How will I generate income if I sell my stores? These were the type of questions I didn’t even think about before I started my business. I wish I had. I probably would have made some different decisions.

For example, initially I didn’t even consider buying my buildings instead of renting. When I began to consider life after franchising, I realized I was missing a great opportunity for post-career income. Had I thought more carefully about that going into business, I’d be seven years ahead of where I am now. I believe it is critical to have an exit strategy from the start. As we used to say in the military, “you need to know when to pull the parachute.”

The bottom line is that operating any type of business is a nonstop learning process with unexpected challenges lurking around every corner. It’s a process that can create uneasiness and fear, but thanks to the training I received in the military I am prepared for whatever challenge tomorrow might bring.

I’m prepared to Adapt. I’m prepared to Adjust. I’m prepared to Overcome.

Maurice Welton is an Edible Arrangements franchisee in McAllen, Texas. Find him at fransocial.franchise.org.