Are there commonalities between exceptional franchisees? Without a doubt. “Everyone masters the concept down to the tips of their nails and declines it scrupulously, without trying to reinvent the wheel”, indicates Laurent Kruch, president of the specialized firm Karedas Consulting. Succeeding in this area requires first of all self-discipline, rigor and careful reading of the “bible” specific to each network. This operating manual, the purpose of which is to transmit the brand’s know-how, must become the professional’s bedside book, especially when starting out.
Champion of home cleaning, the Shiva brand finds that its most successful partners adhere perfectly to the values of the brand, namely “integrity, respect, altruism and concern for quality”. “On the other hand, entrepreneurs with an ultra-creative temperament who like to do everything by themselves find it more difficult to flourish,” warns Laurent Delafontaine, of the firm Ax Réseaux. To the rigor they demonstrate in the concept’s declination, the best add a strong commercial temperament, whether in canvassing or building loyalty.
Don’t be carried away by turnover
As a business leader, he must also be a good manager and not be intoxicated by the amount of turnover he generates – from which he will have to deduct multiple charges. Being endowed with a strong morale and a strong resistance to stress proves to be just as useful. As a merchant, he has to deal with fluctuations in activity, recriminations from customers, demands from employees, even injunctions from banks or the URSSAF if he is going through a bad patch. Finally, an excellent professional is often an entrepreneur who has a real personal appetite for the items he offers, whether plants or DIY materials.
Industry experts also stress the importance of team coaching. “A successful franchisee is a boss who knows how to recruit, motivate and retain his employees. This is why employees who have learned to manage departments in a company leave with a head start”, confirms Laurent Delafontaine. This ability is even more important when the entrepreneur focuses on business development and relies on his collaborators to manage the day-to-day. When supervising housing thermal renovation projects or installing swimming pools, it is not necessarily necessary to master all the technical aspects. On the other hand, one must be able to recruit, supervise and motivate the specialists that one sends to the field.
Julien Kopras, serial entrepreneur
At 37, Julien Kopras, a Shiva franchisee, has opened… 20 agencies in 10 years.
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At 37, Julien Kopras, a Shiva franchisee, is at the head of an SME of 46 people, after having opened… 20 branches in 10 years. A great performance that Olivier Guiter, director of operations and development of this brand specializing in home cleaning, attributes to his personal and professional qualities. “Julien is organized, autonomous, dynamic, exemplary in operations, respect for the commercial policy and the premium positioning of the brand”, he boasts.
Coming from real estate, the young entrepreneur learned to “go find the client”. “I did everything in my first Shiva agency, from recruiting to putting up flyers. I sometimes fumbled, but I was able to learn from my mistakes,” he says. His efforts eventually paid off and his success now allows him to bet on other promising networks. He has thus opened three agencies specializing in home support for dependent people and even… a shop that sells frozen yoghurts.
An article from the Special Edition “Franchise” of L’Express to be published on March 16, 2023.