Should You Take On A Second Unit?

QSR Magazine:

Obviously, you’ve got to have capital. Capital is really important. Secondly, you need to be convinced as a franchisor, and a good franchisee should also be convinced, that from a managerial standpoint the operator can take all his attention and focus it on his second facility and not lose anything in his first effort. By losing anything, I mean any kind of edge or ground that he has gained in all areas, whether it’s service, inventory control, cost percentages, or anything of that nature.

Many times, franchisees build that second one thinking, “This first one was easy; the second one is going to be just as easy.” They lose sight of all the really hard work that goes into it. I tell franchisees all the time, “You have to understand that when you build a second restaurant it’s not just a doubling of your job. It’s about a 110 percent increase of your job because now you’ve got logistics and time out of store that you didn’t have before—on top of another store. You’re more dependent on your management.”

Photo by Rob Lee.