ith franchising, theres someone you can go to for suppo, and they will assist you on planning, marketing and so on, because they want you to succeed. nd that is pretty useful suppo to have”


As a successful entrepreneur, what’s brought your focus to the world of franchising? Essentially, when you when you start a business from scratch, you have what you might describe as ‘rings of risk’ that emanate from the centre outwards. And when you start, everything's a risk, right? You’ve got to ask: Are you capable? Is there a market? Is your product right? Can you fund it? Can you scale it? The beauty of it franchising, however, is that in terms


of those concentric rings of risk you're not starting at the centre where it’s all risk. With franchising, the point at which you start means you're around three rings ahead already, where the risk is reduced and you’re protected from some of the factors that really do trip up new business owners and start up founders. Speaking to a few of the franchisors at a Franchise


Exhibition earlier this year, what struck me is that they're passionate, they want to scale the operation and – this bit is crucial – they only do well if you do well. And that's the interesting dynamic. It’s not an enormous, faceless company, the franchisor wants you to succeed, so they succeed.


Of course with franchising you have the benefit of ongoing support… I don’t like using this word, but it’s the 'holistic' kind of partnership and I think that's quite a good thing, because often entrepreneurs are lonely! For a franchise network, for businesspeople running that kind of model, there's a place or someone you can go to for support, and they will assist you on planning, marketing and so on, because they want you to succeed. And that is pretty useful support to have!


What should anyone looking to start a business, whether start-up or franchise, always look out for? It's like anything in business, isn't it? You're not going to buy a franchise, set up shop, and then… the money just comes through the door, right? You need a plan, don't you? So, ask yourself: what is it you're trying to achieve? You need a strategy to start building your franchise and then opening up other ones if you plan to scale it. It’s about having a plan that suits you and your ambitions – and that can evolve over time – but you still need a plan. That’s really a business plan, but you also want a


timeline. It’s about aligning the front end of the business with operations and delivery. I always say, you don't want to become a pantomime horse, where the front end detaches from the back end and operations. On stage, it's always going to be funny trying to see them trying to reattach, but in reality, it's really painful to put right! So… you need you need an operational plan as well, as well as well as a business plan. Then the last factor that’s crucial is your people. In fact,


that’s second only to planning. When you're building a business, of course so much of the onus is on you, the business owner, but beside that, or actually, because of that, really what’s essential is putting together the best team you possibly can – hiring people to actually know what they're doing, and not just because they're available.


How do we get the right people? It can be hard, but often it’s about how you incentivise people. Recruit a team of people that can grow at the same time as the business, so you don't spend an inordinate amount of time replacing them!


Piers Linney is an entreprenuer, adviser


and public speaker. Co-founder of Implement AI, which supports businesses to understand and


implement artificial intelligence, Piers


has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 100 Most Influential Black Britons and in 2020 was recognised as one of the UK’s top 20 ethnic minority executives.


Something that people hear a lot when they start their research into franchising – even before they’ve launched, or actually found, their business – is ‘have your exit strategy in mind from the start’. Yes! I started life as a lawyer, specialising in venture capital, then as an investment banker. So I knew all about the lifespan of a business career, well before going into actual business. Franchising is different, though, you can generate a lot of money. You can buy and open more franchises, buy out existing franchises to grow your business and at the end, what you're going to sell is not so much a brand you’ve build because – although that has its appeal – that's owned by the franchisor. What you're selling is a business and a cashflow. I always say: don't build a business to sell, build a business somebody wants to buy.


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