“We ended up with a much larger facility than the model called for. It was one of the earlier locations. I think it was the third location in the system. The facility has a grandiose look and feel with a lot of cut glass. One of the attractive things was that a typical facility today has the capacity for about 32 students for any given class period, and our facility has the capacity for almost 60 students. I thought if we could just fill this place up, then everything would be great. But that proved to be much more difficult than we originally thought.”

If you’re considering a franchise but thinking of deviating from its established model, proceed with caution. Franchisors may adjust the model over time, such as reducing square footage to lower overhead for new franchisees. These changes are intentional, so avoid straying too far from the recommended setup. For example, if the model works best in a strip center, but you’re being encouraged to rent mall space at a much higher cost, be cautious. The model’s success might not translate to a setting with higher rent, so it’s best to stick closely to what’s been proven to work.

We cover many current and relevant topics. A few include:

◈Understanding the labor pool you’re comfortable managing

◈Be prepared to do things in your business you may not have done in your corporate job

◈Why it’s best to keep emotion out of your decision when buying a business