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When I speak to those in the franchise industry, I always try to speak to the specific issues franchisees are facing. I need to know their challenges in order to offer solutions. Take a look at the survey responses I got from one brand when I asked what they believe are the biggest factors impacting their business:

• "My local concerns have to do with hiring good people and retaining them. Millennials like to job-hop. We are also facing growth issues in our physical space."
• "Receivables, finding new business partners, maintaining pace with the technology."
• "Economics, employees, getting quality materials to produce final products." "The economy and online competitors selling at bottom-dollar prices."
• "Sales and marketing."
• "Recent influx of new competitors, finding the time to generate new sales through prospecting/networking."
• "Pricing, competition, staffing."
• "I believe that as an owner, I need to ensure that I am prioritizing and staying positive."
• "Corporate."
• "The biggest factor to my success is how I make customers feel and how much time I spend selling."
• "Adversarial relationship with franchisor."
• "Price, price, price."

These responses are fairly typical. The franchisees are running identical operations, but their concerns vary considerably. This is understandable. Some locations have less square footage, while others face more competition. Not everything is equal from location to location.

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If we were to list all the issues referenced in the above responses, they would be:

• hiring
• retention
• physical space
• bad economy
• supply chain
• sales and marketing
• competition
• time management
• pricing
• franchise culture
• owner attitude
• customer service

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Some of these are circumstantial, some are operational, and some are human. Now let's look at the below and compare the differences in how a struggling franchisee and a wealthy franchisee might approach these issues. The struggling franchisee in this table is totally compliant with the system. They are working hard and addressing each issue in their own way. But their mindset is hindering their execution. Facing the same factors, the wealthy franchisee is far better equipped to excel. Wealthy franchisees and struggling franchisees get different results because they react and execute differently. Their respective handling of the human elements is an important distinction.

If you think of C + O + H = R (circumstances + operations + humanity = results) as a recipe for success, most franchisees don't consider how important the ingredient "H" is. They still have a human mindset, but it doesn't enhance their business. For wealthy franchisees, H is the key ingredient. It's why they do so much better.

It's not enough to duplicate the circumstances and operations of wealthy franchisees. If you want their results, you must also duplicate their human characteristics. You need the same mindset. Once you achieve that, you'll run a better business. That doesn't mean you can neglect the other two factors, of course. You need to invest in a solid concept in a good territory and run it well. You need to market, you need to grow, and you need to work.

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Positivity is not a business plan. But for most franchisees, the right mindset is the missing ingredient. And the best part is it's completely under your control. It's one BIG change you can make to improve your business and your experience of running it.