This article first appeared in Franchising Today.

When it comes to running a franchise, 95 percent of the factors of success are the same factors that any small business owner is thinking about: maintaining cash flow, finding new customers and retaining quality employees, to name a few. However, there is a small albeit paramount subset of issues unique to franchisees that revolves specifically around the franchisee/franchisor relationship and the co-marketing of a brand.

The majority of franchisees would agree that they started down the franchise path because they wanted to be a small business owner. At the same time, they didn’t want to assume all of the risks and costs of managing the entire learning curve of business ownership all on their own. They have the gumption it takes to harness their strengths and be successful in their own franchise locations, but they see the value in being interdependent with established franchisors that can provide expertise and established infrastructures. If this sounds familiar to you, you might be an entrepreneurial franchisee. Read More