GLEE
I’m very happy about my relationship with the franchisor. I love the business they have set up. I can see how being a part of a franchise will benefit me and help me grow my own business with all the support structures in place and someone who cares about my success. I am excited – I am now my own boss.
FEE
What do you mean I have to send you money every month. Can’t you see I’m struggling to get started. Why should I pay you money to make you rich. And anyway, what exactly am I getting for my money?
ME
I don’t need you. I can do this business standing on my head. All this rubbish about economies of scale and you spending a fortune to set up the website and taking months to set up suppliers. Who cares that it took years to grow the brand. What’s a brand anyway? Give me a break. Get a life. Get off my case.
FREE
You know what? I’m outa here. I don’t need all this agro every month to pay my fees and follow the blessed ‘system’. So what if I use cheaper materials – isn’t that good business sense. I can find cheaper suppliers – I can build my own website – and who needs a website anyway? I don’t need a brand – and I surely don’t need a franchisor breathing down my neck at every turn.
SEE
Well I left the franchise. Set up on my own. For a while it was great, work came in and I was doing well. And then I’m not quite sure what happened. Work dried up; I started getting complaints about shoddy work. Had difficulty paying suppliers so I’m having financial problems, and now I’m working longer hours and still not making ends meet. What went wrong?
WE
I’ve been a franchisee for a number of years now. It took me a while to ‘get’ it – the fact that I had to follow the ‘system’ because it was proven to work. Once I realized that the franchisor doing all the back-end work; websites and brochures and marketing and stuff; which isn’t my thing anyway, that’s when I realized the value of being part of a franchise. It takes the drudge work off me and helps me