What really is resilience in business, is it even possible? With the franchising model it is.
The aim of any business is to reach a point in which there is the ability to withstand any challenging events, whether external or internal, and continue to not only survive but thrive.
Resicert was started in 2009 in Western Australia – at the height of the GFC. The business grew rapidly and within 2 years had a national footprint using a Franchising model. Over the lifetime of the business we have seen a number of market events including the end of a long-run mining boom in WA in 2016, major challenges in the property sector around the country, and the most current one which is still ongoing is the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Through all these events the business not only survived but expanded in other locations, increased profitability and enterprise value significantly. This was a direct result of the Franchising approach and framework which was implemented as a growth strategy.
A well-designed and built Franchise model will provide a high level of resilience for any business.
Having diversification and spread will provide a level of Resilience to any business. Franchising enables you not to have all your eggs in one basket.
Some of the key benefits with regards to this include:
- Geographic baskets – the more spread the more resilience to withstand local market challenges
- Revenue baskets – you will have cash flow from Franchise sales, support fees from Franchisees, and from the product/service delivery in your business
- Service baskets – adding additional service/product lines, ideally which are in different market areas, which your Franchisees are able to deliver
In the end, the lesson from this is that you need a diverse income in business. The best part about a good franchising model is it has it built-in by default.