3 Similarities Between Franchise Business Ownership and Football

“Take one for the team.”

“Offense sells tickets, defense wins championships.”

There sure are a lot of football cliches used in the workplace! As football season nears its exciting end in both college and the pros – and a new, opportunity-filled year kicks off for small business owners – this is a great time to take a look at a few of the similarities between franchise business ownership and America’s favorite sport.

1. Setting Goals

Football teams begin every season with clearly defined goals, and a championship is the ultimate aspiration. Being in a position to contend for a title requires a great deal of short, medium and long-term planning.

Setting goals as a franchise business owner can be similar, although the goals usually aren’t that singularly focused! Companies have wide ranges of financial goals, which can include basic benchmarks like profitability, revenue, and increased profit margins, as well as more targeted goals that are specific to their industry.

SMART goals are a popular project management tool that makes goals more detailed and impactful, by keeping them “Specific, Measurable, Attainable, and Relevant.” Other effective goal-setting techniques include using daily goal markers and focusing on specific tasks in order of importance.

Regardless of the goal-setting strategies and tactics you’re using, it’s critical to have a clear vision of what the ideal future of your business looks like. It’s also important to have actionable steps to turn that vision into reality. This will keep you and your employees engaged and on the same page, and it will help position your company for short and medium-term victories, and most importantly, long-term success.

2. Leadership and Team-Building

Leadership in football takes many forms. General managers (or athletic directors) fill their rosters and coaching staffs with the personnel who put the team in the best position to win. Coaches delegate responsibilities to assistant coaches and coordinators, who then delegate responsibilities to players, who lead each other play-by-play.

Franchise entrepreneurship is similar in its distribution of responsibilities. Business owners are often required to be a dynamic mix of owner, front office, and quarterback, all while receiving guidance from their franchisor. Although a business owner is where the buck stops, delegation of leadership responsibilities is required for a business to be victorious. No one person can be everywhere and do everything, and micromanagement can be costly. It’s key to hire the right people, trust them, and put them in positions to succeed.

Successful hiring techniques for franchise businesses can include making sure your job descriptions are clear and detailed, developing a solid interview process, and leveraging recruitment technology.

When you’re working with your employees, remember why you hired them in the first place: to provide expertise, compliment your skills, and to do things that you’re unable to do yourself. It’s likely that your franchisor also has tools in place for things like training, involvement, and employee incentives. This framework can be a huge advantage for franchise businesses, and it’s important to lean on these resources as you plan and execute your X’s and O’s.

3. Strength in the System

Football is the epitome of a team sport, both on and off the field. Owners, front offices, coaches, and players form a complex network, moving together in pursuit of a shared goal. It’s impossible for one person to carry an organization all the way to the top.

Football dynasties are successful because they’ve built and maintained winning systems and achieved buy-in at all levels of the organization. This is also true of successful franchise organizations. Owning a franchise is an investment not only in yourself, but in a franchisor’s proven system. When executed properly, it’s the best of both worlds.

If you’re an aspiring franchise business owner, or a current business owner considering expansion, it’s critical to work with a trusted funding provider. FranFund provides custom strategies to meet entrepreneurs' unique needs, which is especially important in these dynamic times.

Our complimentary funding webinars allow current and potential business owners to learn about funding strategies in a casual setting.

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