“Franchisees are gold” according to the Chairman of Mail Boxes Etc. in Australia and New Zealand, Ralph Askar.

Having been a franchisee of multiple centres in the U.S., Askar continues to grow his franchising empire with multiple brands, including The UPS Store and Instant Imprints in Canada and the Mail Boxes Etc. brand across Australia and New Zealand. “Franchisees are what make you, the franchisor, successful” and Askar has been doing this for more than 28 years.

Franchisees

According to Askar, behind every successful franchised business is a franchisee who has put a lot of work and energy into making it happen. He believes that it is important to do thorough research and that potential franchisees should consider the following:

- Find out who is behind the scenes and operating the company (i.e., management team, operational support, marketing and training).

- Ask how long their key members have been in the business and what experience do they bring to the franchise organisation.

- Conduct your own due diligence and validation by talking to as many existing centre franchisees as you can.

- Review the franchise agreement and understand it well.

- Have a franchise advisor or a lawyer provide guidance.

- Discover what ongoing support is offered in operations and marketing.

- Have a good (and realistic) financial plan, especially in the first 12 to 24 months when you will be actively building your business.

Mail Boxes Etc.

Since late 2014, Mail Boxes Etc. in Australia has undertaken a complete management restructure, with one of its franchisees, Clayton Treloar, being appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Clayton also owns and operates two Mail Boxes Etc. centres in Perth CBD and has been instrumental in a change of direction for the franchise, which now has a focus to not only increase network numbers but also increase the average sales turnover of each centre.

Treloar was originally attracted to the franchise due to its Monday-to-Friday working hours operation and minimal staffing requirements and finding that he did not need any industry experience to operate a centre because of the thorough training and support given by the franchisor. He also proudly boasts of the great network of fellow centre owners, who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from all walks of life, which make annual conferences a special type of “family reunion”.

The thinking of both Treloar and Askar is in sync with Askar’s take on franchisee success: “Owning your own franchise can be very rewarding if you work hard, follow the system and guidelines in place and do not ‘reinvent the wheel’”.