Quantcast
Taking a unique approach to the franchise model – Metro US

Taking a unique approach to the franchise model

Starting a business can cost some serious cash. Operating a franchise? Well … it does too. If you’ve got the spirit of an entrepreneur, but the bank account of student, what are you supposed to do?

Some companies, including beauty product retailers Trade Secrets and Glamour Secrets, offer exclusive opportunities that make franchise ownership much easier for eager owners.

As part of the Manage to Own program, successful store managers are offered franchise ownership opportunities unavailable elsewhere. They get franchise rates and loans, while having the comfort of staying within an organization they’re familiar with.

“It’s for people we want to get in on the business but might not have the money to open a store,” explains Doug Warren, firector of franchising for Trade Secrets.

Without revealing the exact terms and conditions offered to people in the Manage to Own program, Warren says that “it’s a very attractive deal that we offer.”

The program works in a couple of different ways. Applicants can simply apply to the program, where they are trained and streamlined into a management position with a franchise. Their performance is monitored and when it appears the applicant is ready to move in to the franchise ownership role, the offer is made. The other way the program is instituted is when a current manager’s skills and success are noted and the company itself makes the offer.

Warren says it works out for Trade Secrets and the manager because the company gets a franchisee who has proven themselves in the system, while the franchisee gets to own a franchise at an exclusive price. Furthermore, he says that many of the most successful franchises have owners that went through the program.

“The incentive is that if they perform, we give them good terms,” he says. “It’s attractive for a lot of people.”