Buying A Franchise
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WHY I WISH I’D BOUGHT A FRANCHISE
Simon Lord shares lessons learned from over 30 years of owning an independent small business
At the end of last year, my wife Lorraine and I sold Franchise New Zealand media – a business which we had founded, grown and loved for over 30 years. It was never a large enterprise, but it was successful and profitable, it won national business awards and built an international reputation, and we like to think that it has made a big contribution to the understanding and growth of franchising in this country. And yet, as we step back, there’s a part of me that is reminded of the many times when I’ve said to myself, ‘I wish I’d bought a franchise!’
Harshad Shiba is known for his specialist expertise in franchise law having advised many of New Zealand’s leading franchise brands over his 18-year career. A: Level 10, 43 High Street, CBD, Auckland P: + 64 9 302 0070 W: www.quantumlaw.co.nz E: contact@quantumlaw.co.nz 62
That might sound weird. After all, when we began, we were in the best possible place to start our own business. We both had a lot of franchising and management experience, and we had support from key players in the sector who wanted us to succeed. We weren’t even starting from scratch – I had edited the first few issues of the magazine before we bought it. To top it all, Lorraine had spent years developing systems, training and supporting other people to run franchised businesses. And yet it was still hard. Very hard.
Making the decision At the time the opportunity to buy Franchise New Zealand came up, we had a 20 month-old son and a new-born daughter. The original publisher was about to collapse and I was going to be made redundant. We had been in New Zealand less than three years. Starting a business was a risky decision and we had to take out a sizeable mortgage to fund it. Although some elements were in place, there was no-one to show us what to do. We had to work out for ourselves how to run a whole independent business. How different it would have been if we had bought a franchise. We’d have had a franchisor to explain things to us; indicative figures from other franchisees to look at and help set expectations and make bank Franchise New Zealand
Winter 2024
Year 33 Issue 02