Many coaches and trainers dream about opening up their own studio. Transitioning from a coaching role to a franchise owner can be a fulfilling and profitable career move. Coaches possess unique skills such as leadership, motivation, and a deep understanding of personal development, which are all critical for successful franchise ownership. However, this journey also requires new knowledge and skills in business management and operations.
Coach360 reached out to some of the leading franchise owners in the business to ask for their advice, strategy, and to share any important information they found throughout their experiences in becoming franchise owners to assist other coaches and trainers in obtaining their dreams.
Understanding The Franchise Model
To understand the opportunity of owning a franchise, understanding how the model works is imperative.
What Is a Franchise?
The franchise business model consists of the owner of the business (franchisor) granting the rights to their business model, brand, products, and services to an individual or other business (franchisee). This individual franchise operates their own business, but it utilizes the model laid out for them from the original franchisor.
An example of this would be F45, a famous franchise studio with presence in 66 countries and more than 2,000 locations open across the globe. Successful in their model, F45 offers the opportunity for career progression starting from coach, and assisting the coach as they develop skills to move up through local and regional manager roles, and eventually studio owners if they so desire.
How The Franchise Model Works
Not all franchise models operate in the exact same way, but this is a brief cookie cutter overview of what the process might look like as you consider your journey from coach to franchise owner.
It all starts with the original franchisor developing a successful business model that they want to expand upon by opening up the opportunity to others. The franchisor creates a comprehensive system which includes manuals, training programs, marketing strategies, and more.
Then the franchisor seeks out potential franchisees, or others come to the franchisor to discuss the opportunity. Once an interest is established, the franchisee signs a contract or agreement, pays the franchise fee, and prepares to open their own location of the franchise. If it’s done with good intention, the franchisor acts as a mentor, providing extensive training of all aspects of owning and operating the franchise and how to make it successful.
The location opens under the franchisor’s brand, follows established business model and operating procedures, and the franchiser continues to support the franchisee as they wade through training, marketing, and operations. The franchisee pays regular royalties and advertising fees to the franchisor. Both the franchisee and franchisor benefit symbiotically from this relationship, and because the success of both is generally tied to each other, they can continue to expand and grow the business together for the highest success rate.
Body Fit Training (BFT), an international group function + strength community gym experience has become an extremely successful franchise. Their website boasts that 40% of their franchisee’s own more than one studio, which is a remarkable number and proves that the franchise opportunity can be extremely successful for the right coach.
Assessing Readiness
Dave Thomas, from Performance360, shared some of his sage advice for anyone looking to start their own journey to Franchise owner. One of the first things Dave shared with me about assessing readiness is making sure you have the financial backing to begin your endeavor. Some people may already have the money themselves, or a partner to financially back them, many don’t have the resources to start from the ground up. Dave suggests you research exactly how much money you need and to be loud about your dreams! The more you share your dreams and desires with the network, the more likely you are to find someone who believes in you and your dreams.
Similarly, Travis Barnes of Journey 333 shared the importance of investing time learning about the financial, operational, and marketing portions of running a franchise business. By doing your research up front, you’ll be more equipped to face the challenges that franchise owners face. Barnes states, “Resources like franchise training programs and mentorship from experienced franchise owners can be immensely helpful.”
Final Thoughts
Transitioning from coach to franchise owner is an exciting journey that combines passion for fitness with business acuity. With proper financial planning, thorough research, and tapping into their network, coaches can successfully navigate the transition to franchise ownership.
The experiences shared by successful franchise owners highlight the importance of preparation, mentorship, and continuous learning when it comes to achieving business success. By embracing this path, coaches can turn their passion into a thriving enterprise, multiplying their impact on the people they help, all while maintaining a fulfilling career.
