From Soldier to McDonald’s Franchise Leader

By CEO of the BFA (British Franchise Association) Pip Wilkins QFP

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an ‘owner operated’ and a ‘management’ franchise? The BFA (British Franchise Association) explains how both can be an excellent choice for Veterans looking for their next career move.

What is a franchise?
Franchising is a business model that has offered ex-Military personnel successful second careers for many years.

Essentially, a franchisor builds a business that they then allow other people, known as franchisees, to run replicas of. In return for an initial purchase fee and an ongoing monthly fee, the franchisor trains the franchisee in every aspect of running the business and offers wraparound support from the day they buy the business until the day they sell. It’s this combination of using a tried and tested business model, coupled with first class support, that makes franchising such a success.

How safe is your franchising investment?
According to our latest survey, sponsored by NIC Local, franchising contributes £19.1 billion to the UK economy and has a very small failure rate – less than 6% for the past 20 years, compared to 50% of new start-up businesses failing within their first three years. That’s a pretty impressive figure.

Management versus owner operator
Simply put, with an owner-operator franchise, the franchisee is the entire business; they walk the dogs, rod the drains, teach the classes, deliver the tools, do the marketing, advertising, social media, accounts, ordering, invoicing, etc, but with a management franchise they have teams of staff to deliver the service or product and they take on the role of running the business and managing the staff, as the name suggests.

Which is better?
It’s not a case of better or worse; simply what your budget allows and where your skills lie.
As you’ll read in our case study, after his Military career, Dean knew he had the skills to run a large team of people, so went for a management franchise.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that owner operator means small or less successful. Many franchisees buy their first territory, make a huge success of it, and expand to multiple territories. They end up, by default, becoming a management franchisee as they build a team around them, enabling them to step away from carrying out the everyday tasks of the business themselves.

How to finance a franchise purchase
For many, finances will be the deciding factor – as it usually takes more initial investment to start a management franchise than buying one territory with an owner operator, although finance options are available, particularly when investing in well established brands.

Whichever one appeals to you, make sure you take these four essential steps before making your final choice.

• Visit the BFA website to see the 350 plus brands dedicated to ethical franchising and read the many articles we have on how to buy the right franchise for you.
• Take our free ‘Prospective Franchisee Certificate’ to get a deeper understanding of what being a franchisee means.
• Do your due diligence – speak with plenty of franchisees of the brands you’re looking at.
• Always consult a franchise solicitor before signing anything. Franchising is a specific area of law, and you need a specialist to check the agreement is fair. We hold a list of BFA affiliated solicitors on the BFA website.

Visit: www.thebfa.org

Case Study

Dean Fitzmaurice joined 1 Close Support Regiment in Munster, Germany in 1999 and then moved to 5 General Support in Preston, leaving in 2006.

What did you do after leaving the Army?
I was a regional security director (Middle East and Africa) for a Canadian engineering organisation, focusing on crisis management, business continuity planning, physical and cybersecurity.

How did you find your franchise?
I was working in Dubai and started to search for businesses to buy in the UK. Franchising kept coming up.

Which franchise did you buy?
McDonald’s. We now operate five restaurants, soon to be six, when our new build in Stockton is finished, employing almost 640 staff.

What attracted you to buying a franchise, rather than going it alone?
Franchising allows me to focus on the areas of the business that I’m best at and take advantage of my skillset – operations and people – while leaning into the system-wide expertise around areas I
may not be as experienced at, such as marketing. McDonald’s was an easy choice for my family and I; it is somewhere we used to visit regularly and is such an iconic brand.

How did you know it was the right franchise for you?
In the Military, our everyday foundation is teamwork, and this is underpinned by having zero tolerance to any form of discrimination. The McDonald’s franchise model is looking out for the right person who fits in with our values around people and ‘Military’ is a perfect fit with this. To be a McDonald’s franchisee you have be the right person for McDonald’s, the system and yourself; the Military provides an excellent core foundation for this.

How did you finance your purchase?
25% equity and 75% bank loan.

Why do you think ex-Military personnel make good franchisees? What are the transferable skills?
The restaurants are dynamic and challenging every day, with a focus on people and customers. This is no different to being in the Military and living our favourite phrase: ‘Adapt and overcome’, analysing the operations constantly to optimise in the best way. In addition, building a team is essential; the Army runs on Soldiers and McDonald’s restaurants run on crew members, so fostering an inclusive environment that enables your team to grow is essential.

What advice would you give to someone about to leave the Forces and thinking of buying a franchise?
What attracted me to franchising was that it played to my strengths as a former Serviceperson. As a franchisee, there’s already a ‘best in class’ franchise model, brand, customer base and team. It’s your role to grow, support and optimise this with 100% commitment; something Serving and former Service personnel do without question. Becoming a McDonald’s franchisee has been one of the proudest achievements of my life and I would advise anyone considering it to reach out to the franchise recruitment team for more information.