The Mag
Today we have with us Marietta Snetsinger with Ascend Franchise Solutions. Welcome, Marietta.
Marietta Snetsinger
Thanks, Lee, how are you?
The Mag
I am doing great. I'm so excited to learn what you're up to tell us a little bit about Ascend how you serve in folks.
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, so I help the person or the successful entrepreneur who's thinking about franchising their business, they're not really sure where to start. I teach them what they need to know, to get the Franchise Disclosure Document ready, often in as little as 90 days. And it's more of a done with you approach versus a done for you. So, I believe there's a lot of value in having done the work yourself. You'll show up as a more confident franchisor as a result of that.
The Mag
Now, what are some characteristics of businesses that are out there that might be that might make good franchises?
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, that's actually a really great question. And I get asked that every day I have those types of conversations every day, I think the first thing I'll start with is they need to be profitable. In fact, I kind of says they need to be highly profitable, so that they have a really good sense of what the metrics are in their business, the dollars and cents, if you will, around their business, and that they actually are more profitable than many of their competitors. So, there's some room for that merge that margin. And, of course, the royalty as they move forward with the franchise model.
The Mag
Now, how important is a kind of the operation side of this, because I know a lot of successful business people who are their businesses kind of melded with their personal and it's hard to, for them to discern kind of when where one starts and one stops like I would think in a franchise, you got to be pretty tight and have really solid systems that you can transfer. So, it isn't like, oh when you get this, I put that in that goes over here. And I got this deal with them here. And I don't even show that you know like a lot of businesses are kind of in a lot of gray areas when it comes to Yeah,
Marietta Snetsinger
yeah, I would, I would say that's probably two others, you've hit on two other areas that I think are really important when you're kind of that franchise prep timeframe. One would be you have a really solid way of attracting or retaining and onboarding if you will your clients. So you've kind of got the marketing part of it figured out, you know, exactly how you're going to attract it like so it's like kind of the marketing and the sales process have been figured out the two, those would be kind of the two areas I would love, I would like to be looking at, to make sure that you know, you've kind of got that figured out, you've got a steady flow of customers, you've got the marketing, the branding is solid, it's in alignment with your brand.
And you're able to bring those customers in, and then you have a process internally from the time they say yes, to become your customer, you've got a process in place to help make that happen. That's probably more on the service side. And you could apply that to really any business but having a solid, kind of beyond-the-financial solid marketing, client acquisition, and retention plan in place would be really important.
The Mag
Now, when a person is saying to themselves, okay, you know what, we run this one pizza place, I think we got this, I think there can be one of these things everywhere. At that point, do they call you? Or is it something that they have to open a second one to kind of prove the model before they call you? Like, at what point do they get involved with you?
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, you know what, I don't think it's I don't think it's ever too early to start making a plan to franchise if it's something that you're thinking about. Whether you ever franchise or not, I find my clients will take a lot of value away from working with me just because, you know, normally they're, you know, entrepreneurs, very entrepreneurial-minded, maybe a little bit averse to that system process. Maybe they're more sophisticated entrepreneurs, and they've kind of understood why that is important. I don't think it's ever too early to get started in the best practices of franchising and even getting ready to franchise can be applied to any business.
So, I would say it's never too early to start. And what you really want to think about is what is the proposition and the value that you bring to the table? How do you differentiate yourself at the customer level? What's your unique selling proposition around your pizza, like whatever, whatever that looks like to your customers, what makes it a better option than maybe some of the other brands that they would consider and Then on the other side, like when you're when you become a franchisor. Basically, you're starting a brand-new company as a franchisor.
What's the proposition? And I call it the UFP, your unique franchise proposition again, what is it that you do uniquely different better than maybe some of the other franchise concepts, whether they’re, you know, similar pizza franchises, or you know, maybe another food concept? What's the value that you bring to the table as part of the business, the operating system? And I call it the franchise operating system? How are we going to duplicate it? How are you going to make it easier for your franchisees to get up and running and profitable more quickly and more efficiently than if they were to do it themselves?
The Mag
Now, if I have a business like a pizza, or chicken wings, or something that looks like in some markets, there's 5, 10 of them in a market? How do I know that that's really, you know, franchisable? Or scalable? Or is it just something that well, in my market, there's only two and I've been here 20 years? So that's why people love me, like, you know, I don't know if it transfers in another market?
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, for sure. You have to look at market penetration that definitely makes sense. Like, is there room for another chicken wing place in my market, or, you know, and maybe that is part of it, that you have kind of maybe your part of your proposition is that you have created a model that will serve a smaller market that might be underserved by some of your competitors, that might even be part of your proposition.
The Mag
So, then you would say, well, of course, in the, you know, in the maybe the big Metro City, there's 10, but in your kind of secondary city, there's only two, and that these people are, instead of driving to the big city to get it, they can just stay here and get it.
Marietta Snetsinger
Right. And that might be part of like that might actually be part of the proposition that the model is built, and the economics of the model work in a market that's maybe you know, 50,000 versus 150,000. And that is part of the proposition is we actually have a franchise model and a business proposition that can be well, you know, can do well in a market of 50,000, for example.
The Mag
And then so rather than looking at it as a negative, you can kind of look at it as a positive and then kind of tweak your franchise operations in your system to accommodate that market. Yeah, totally. And that's where I would think, oh, an expert like you comes in where you're able to, well, even though they might have started in 150,000, kind of population area, but it might be better to franchise in 50,000, you can help them kind of think of that strategically and help them position that their offer better.
Marietta Snetsinger
That's exactly the case. In fact, it's so funny, you even mentioned pizza, because I have a client right now, he is in a smaller market, he has done phenomenally well in that smaller market, and there are a few competitors in there. But because he's in a smaller market, and the branding and the marketing that he has done, he's done really well. And he's really mastered local marketing and really creating a presence for himself, and he is able to stand out to me because he is in a smaller market.
The Mag
Now let's talk about local marketing because I would think that some people who are considering buying a franchise think that the marketing is not as important for them because they think that I'm buying this brand so that's part of what I'm getting is they're supposed to be smart about this part of it. But local marketing is critical to the success of any franchisee and a lot of times it falls on the franchisee to kind of do the heavy lifting when it comes to their own specific local market.
Marietta Snetsinger
So, what I would say around that is number one a franchisor needs to understand, and a franchisee needs to understand the roles and responsibilities. Like who does what, in the marketing like in pretty much every aspect of the business. You know, one of the things I do with my clients is to take them through roles and responsibilities exercise where we break down you know, the key functional areas of the business, for example, you mentioned the marketing and we understand who's going to do what in each of those on each of those sides.
So, so and usually the franchisors kind of look after the branding side of it, but in most cases, the franchisee is going to be responsible for that local store marketing and they're going to be you know, the franchisor as a successful business has kind of probably got a handle around what that looks like and often it's event-based you know, it's like kind of the in-person stuff that you just can't do digitally or it has to be done in person maybe it's like you know like I said the bad side of it often. And the franchisee you know, needs to be willing and able to kind of go out and market their business locally using, you know, strategies and tactics that the franchisor is probably going to teach them to do so.
You know, a great example of that would be like a local Home show if the franchisor in their experience has found that home shows are a great way to generate the leads for the next six months, then the franchisee would be responsible for implementing that in their own market, and you know, of course, when we can be back to doing more things in person, they would actually maybe go and, and do a Home Show and meet people in their local community for whatever period of time, so, so that kind of like local marketing, the other side of it too, which, which I think is really important, there's no such thing as a builder, and they will come. And I think that can be a little bit of a misconception for prospective franchisees when they're looking at it, they think, oh, I don't have to do anything, like you said, they're just going to come because it's a franchise and they know the name and the brand. And, you know, sometimes that's the case, often it isn't. And when I'm qualifying franchisees or meeting people who want to be potential franchisees, I'm going to ask them, if they are thinking they're going to join a franchise to avoid sales, to having to actually do sales and be a salesperson, that's probably the wrong person for a franchise system. It doesn't mean just because you're in a franchise system doesn't mean you don't have to have to do sales anymore. As a franchisee you should be really good at local sales, building networking, you know, again, building that like no trust with people very quickly and efficiently and easily and really enjoy that side of it. Because that's gonna be a big part of what you're doing as a franchisee.
The Mag
Now, when a company comes to you, an emerging franchise, sometimes they're at they don't have any other locations, right? They have the one business that they're inquiring about, can I franchise it? Do you ever work with franchises that may have tried to start franchising and have kind of plateaued at like three or five and haven't been able to get that escape velocity?
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, I have in the past worked with those types of clients. And it's kind of it's a challenge, it can be challenging for sure. I've kind of like, you know, let's just start with a really great offering. Because what happens is, if they've got three or four people already in their system, and you know how to how to future franchisees validate a franchise system? Well, they're going to talk to your existing franchisee. So instead of actually doing that, what I would say is they probably have a problem with the relationship between their existing franchisees and themselves now, and I would be inclined to say, let's get that figured out, let's get let's kind of maybe it is a part of like, revisiting what it is that they've done.
And I would be focused on making sure those existing franchisees, those three or five, franchisees are highly successful, and that they're really doing well, before I even went back to the market to find, I kind of want to go, reverse engineer, it a little bit and find out what's gone, what's not really going well, for those franchisees and let what can we do to support them? And then kind of go back to market? Maybe we do have to refine the offering, but it's kind of I guess, I don't know if I really answered your question. But that's kind of what my solution would be to, to something like that
The Mag
Now, but in your, in your practice? Are you focusing primarily on that first time? franchisor? Or are you kind of fixing it?
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, so through my own practice, I, you know, I'm 10 years into this now, you know, 25 plus in the franchise space, I really enjoy, I kind of want to get it done right the first time. So, I probably am a better fit for someone who is really in the early stages of making the decision, should I franchise? If I do, what does it look like? How can I get there, and then once they kind of get the business model figured out, then we would work with the lawyer to kind of you know, most states and provinces have a franchise disclosure requirement? There are legal documents that need to be done.
And when they go to the lawyer, they're going to be in a much better position to be able to answer the questions that are going to of course be incorporated within the Franchise Disclosure Document. So, to answer your question, I'm probably could be either, but mostly my clients right now are in the pre-FTD phase, really the early decision making getting ready getting started, and getting prepared to convert to a franchise.
The Mag
Now you're in Canada, is your work primarily in Canada? Or do you do the kind of us you do in other countries?
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, absolutely. The way the beautiful thing about franchising is it really is a business model. And it's a way to scale and expand a business. So, on the legal side of it, obviously, you're going to need local counsel. But the model, the franchise model scaling is basically universal. I mean, there may be some minor tweaks around the legality, but that's the legal you're gonna need the local legal counsel anyway. But as far as it's really how it's a way of scaling of business, and that is somewhat universal. So, it doesn't really matter where my clients are. Primarily, they've been in Canada, but I would really love to work with more companies outside of Canada and you know, I've begun dipping my toes into the US market and you know, had some good success there so far. And I look forward to serving clients in other parts of the world.
The Mag
So now, how do you identify a bit Isn't that you think is franchisable? Or, you know, how do they even get on your radar? Because I would think they're just kind of doing their business out there? Are they? Are you do you have thought leadership, you have a book? Do you have something that they're that kind of can capture their attention?
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, those, my book is actually going to be finished this fall. And it is going to be called the franchise business. And it really is for those people who are thinking about it so you can watch for that maybe I'll get back in touch with you. And that's done. And a lot of my leads truly do come from lawyers and other consultants or, you know, I'm very referral-based. And a lot of people come to me because they're looking at their clients need someone or they have a client who's been thinking about what that looks like, or what franchising looks like. And it's beyond their, their scope of expertise, but definitely a lot of referrals.
The Mag
So, like a business attorney would have a client that says, hey, I'm thinking of franchising, and the attorneys like, oh, I know the person. You got to talk to Marietta.
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, we're franchise attorneys and lawyers. Yeah.
The Mag
So, there are attorneys that are just specialists in franchising, that, that don't do the part that you do. They just do. The kind of the legal part legal drafting
Marietta Snetsinger
of the front. So, a Franchise Disclosure Document, again, it does vary by state and province, what's required, but it's essentially a backgrounder on the franchisor. And what they are legally able to say to a prospective franchisee. So those folks, I mean, that it's more of a business, you know, I'm helping them with the business side of it, that the franchise operating systems side of it, and then the lawyer is going to step in. And in usually, it's kind of a bit of a back and forth, and often collaborating with the lawyers to help, you know, between the two of us, we can generally support a client really well, as far as making a business decision, and what are the legal implications? And likewise, making a legal decision? What are the business implications, it's kind of marrying the two together, so I often work very closely with franchise lawyers.
And it is definitely a very specific practice of law and area of practice. And that's generally who would bring me into the picture. Sometimes I'm sending people to, you know, sometimes people find me through associations, like, you know, in Canada, we have the Canadian Franchise Association, so they would be, you know, kind of looking there, and they might find me there. But yeah, it's a lot of offsets a lot of referrals, a lot of like, no trust.
The Mag
Yeah, just like, their business will be in there, wherever local market that they're in. Yeah, I mean, that's, that doesn't really change from that standpoint.
Marietta Snetsinger
No, and, and with technology today, honestly, it doesn't really matter where someone is in the world, you know, we can work together.
The Mag
So now, you mentioned that kind of there's a business model around franchising that as an effective franchise are going to check certain boxes and be exceptional in certain areas because that's what will make them a successful franchise, do you find that that concept translates and transfers to a business that doesn't necessarily want to franchise they may want to expand or they want to, you know, kind of be the best they can be, but are these kind of foundational elements in a business.
Marietta Snetsinger
I think they are truly because it's really perfecting what it is you do. So that would be beneficial to any business, it’s creating brand awareness, and, you know, top of mind awareness, that would be effective for any business, you know, the profitability piece that's effective for any business. I'll also kind of this is another area that I think is kind of interesting, you know, again, around franchise preparation and, and a successful business, I believe a successful business is one where you're able to remove yourself from the day to day operations, as an entrepreneur, so that you have, you know, a team, a system, a process in place where you don't necessarily have to be there every day. And that means that you know, you get that freedom of being an entrepreneur. And at some point, you may want to exit your business.
So, it also sets you up really well for a nice exit strategy, where you know, someone else could step into your business and maybe purchase your business or acquire your business from you. And because you've kind of operated in this way and added and documented how we do things around here, it's easy for someone else to kind of step into that. So, it adds a value an extra level of value to your business.
And in fact, you know, if I if you're looking at on the kind of the resale or you know, how you exit from your business, if someone's looking for a business to acquire to purchase, and, you know, they're kind of comparing apples to apples, perhaps a business that has already an established branding, you know, can actually show proof of concept around what the operating system looks like. That's a more valuable business than one that does not have that infrastructure or that operating system in place.
The Mag
So then it would be worthwhile that Have a conversation with you or somebody on your team, even if they're thinking of exiting, probably in the next five years or so, because then they can build up to having kind of those tight systems, get the culture, right, get the brand, right, and get the systems right so that they can then have a sellable business rather than, hey, I'm doing well. But you know, every one of my customers is not going to follow me when I quit, you know, they'll find somebody else.
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, it's kind of almost I don't, I don't mean this to be a negative thing. But really, it's kind of removing the person of the business and building an actual true business, not a person-centric business. Does that make sense?
The Mag
Yeah, well, that's what I see a lot of, like, I'll give you a real example that happened to me, when I was younger, I had a dentist that I went to for many years, and the dentist was great. And then he retired. And he's like, now this new person is going to take over my practice. And then I'm like, who is this new person? Like, they just like, kind of, you know, they just change the name on the door. And I'm like, well, why would I go to this, if I'm going to go to this new person, I'm going to pick a new person that's closer to my house, you know, like, there's no compelling reason to switch to this new person.
Marietta Snetsinger
Right? Like, it's, you know, you know, really truly what it's that it's creating a proprietary way versus a proprietary person who could leave the business,
The Mag
right. And I think a lot of folks, especially small business people, it is personality centric, and the people are buying that person, they're not buying the business solution, they're buying that individual's personality.
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, so it's how do we duplicate your personality? How do we find that many me that person that can kind of come in and be mentored by you trained by you, and, and, you know, kind of get your customers used to that, you know, that it may not always be you, but they are trained in the way that you do things, and can deliver a consistent, you know, consistency also comes into that, right, as a consistent way of delivering on a customer experience can be really valuable to a business? And that is really the that's really the gift in removing yourself from the business.
The Mag
Right? And I bet you if you do that, right, now, you've increased the value of your business. It's not dependent on you anymore. Yeah, it's the business they're buying, not you.
Marietta Snetsinger
Right. And if you look at failure rates of businesses that our you know, change hands, and the founder-led organization, the founder leaves, and someone else purchases it, purchases it, the failure rates are, you know, of that business being successful and continuing and the legacy part of it is often very low.
The Mag
So now, if there's somebody out there that wants to kind of have a conversation with you or somebody on your team about taking this next step, and maybe elevating their business, to the franchise level, or just to learn more about how to have a succession plan that's going to be effective and maybe increase the value of their business. What's the website?
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, it’s ascendfranchise.com. And, or you can also email me at marietta@ascendfranchise.com. And we can, we'd have a conversation and see if that does make sense for you. I mean, again, we do specialize in the franchise space. It is very niched. However, like I said, I do believe that you know, some of my clients will start to work with me, and some of them will go on to franchise they're kind of not sure. And other times, they'll be like, you know what, I'm really glad that I went through this process because it helped me determine that I actually don't want to be a franchisor. So, you know, that's that also can be very valuable.
The Mag
Right? I would imagine just going through a conversation with you and you can kind of share with them the pros and cons and the kind of upside and downside about taking this because franchising is a big deal. And that is it a different business being a franchisor is different than running, you know, a pizza franchisor is not the same as running a pizza shop. I mean, your clients are different. I mean, you have a different kind of it's a separate business really,
Marietta Snetsinger
totally, totally true. And I would agree with you, you know, like it really is, it's probably the biggest decision you'll ever make within your business other than deciding to exit your business, converting to a franchisor your business will never be the same even if you don't franchise, I take my clients through my program is called the franchisor blueprint experience. And, you know, we take you through the steps and the considerations that you need to make in order to franchise your business. Now, like I said, some people will, and some people won't, but you will never I can promise you, you will never look at your business the same way once you've kind of gone through that process because really we are setting up that operating system for franchisees or even for your own personal exit strategy.
The Mag
Right. It's a good exercise either way.
Marietta Snetsinger
Yeah, totally.
The Mag
Well Marietta thank you for sharing your story today you're doing such important work and we appreciate you.
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