Abetz attends Franchising Bootcamp

We were pleased to see the Member for Southern River Peter Abetz MLA in the audience at the recent Franchising Bootcamp, as part of the Franchise Expo that was on in Perth last weekend. Abetz has been a keen driver of changes to franchising in the west.

The 1.5 hour Franchising Bootcamp comprises of an overview of franchising by the Franchise Council of Australia which is followed by a panel discussion and open forum with current franchisees, facilitated by Corven’s Julia Camm.

While we wouldn’t call it a formal pre-entry education program, the Franchising Bootcamp certainly helps prospective franchisees learn more the concept of franchising and givens insight into what good due diligence actually includes. It certainly forms part of a prospective franchisees pre-entry learning efforts.

Abetz was spotted in the audience on Sunday ... incredibly engaged, nodding, smiling and making notes during the current franchisee panel.

When the time came for audience questions, he asked two ... being [words to the affect of...]:

Abetz: During due diligence you are encouraged to contact existing franchisees. What if they say something that is against or derogatory towards the franchisor? Aren’t they in breach of their franchise agreement if they say something negative against the franchisor?

Responses from current franchisees included:

“...you can’t legislate against opinion and where is the onus of proof?”

“...the more franchisees a prospective franchisee interviews during their due diligence, the more they are going to get a feel for the mood of the franchise and what it takes to make it work”

“...not everyone is going to be happy and that doesn’t mean that the franchisor’s at fault. There are a million other factors that impact a franchisees opinion.”

Abetz: What if the relationship with your franchisor starts out well and then turns sour?

 Responses from current franchisees included:

“...depends on the involvement of the franchisor. Are you dealing with them or their team? As a franchisee, we deal with all sorts of personalities and people every day ... franchisors are just another person.”

“...you don’t need to like your franchisor if the system is the best fit for you and your goals.”

“...if you’ve selected to join a franchise system wholly based on the fact that you ‘like the guy’ you haven’t done your due diligence at all.”         

Abetz may well have been warning prospective franchisees attending the expo* but we felt that the current franchisees that participated in the Franchising Bootcamp panel provided a smack hand of reality ... indicating the critical need for further engagement with  thousands of  franchisees to get the true picture of franchising, not just the odd one or two.

*Source: MP slammed over ‘rogue’ warning to budding franchisees Smart Company, Tue 24 May