What Does It Mean to Be a Wealthy Franchisee?

Franchising is critical to the restaurant world, but not every
franchisee is successful. So, what’s the secret recipe? Franchise
expert, speaker, and author of The Wealthy
Franchisee Scott Greenberg joined The Main Course host
Barbara Castiglia to shed light on the subject.


Greenberg started his career as a professional speaker and
leadership coach. Looking for a second stream of income and a
“lab” to try out concepts, he ventured into the franchise world.
For the next 10 years, he ran Edible Arrangements stores. His
speaking career then moved into franchise events. 


“I was looking at the differences between struggling and
top-performing franchisees. After a while, I kept hearing the
same themes. A franchise is a scientifically sound experiment.
You have people running the same business with different results.
I wanted to define the variables.”


In doing so, Greenberg looked at the human element of success—how
people think, lead, and serve. “Thinking is getting rid of
subjectivity to make data-driven decisions. Leading is about
developing others, and serving is building connections, not just
transactional relationships.”


The human element to Greenberg also meant ego is the enemy of
service. “If your focus is yourself, then you aren’t focusing on
those that matter—your team and customers,” he added. 


Greenberg’s speaking career and interactions led him to write the
book as a resource and truly defined a wealthy franchisee. There
are three parts to achieve this, financial return, controlling
time, and quality of life. Without all three, true wealth is
elusive. 


He shared some stories from the book, including how a franchisee
took underperforming locations and made them the top, dispelling
the myth that success is all about location. He also spoke about
Jersey Mike’s owner and his unique support for franchisees. 


Greenberg also offered advice for franchisees in building their
teams. “Define the most important traits for that role and ask
questions to see if they demonstrate these. You also need to
prepare them for the culture, not just train them for the job.”