Entrepreneurs and business-minded people are always looking for new business opportunities for expansion. However, those opportunities may not align directly with their current and past experience. Does this matter?

Individuals with sales and business development experience or C-suite and leadership roles, possess a professional skill set that are interchangeable between a corporate career and B2B franchise ownership.  In comparison, food franchise business or retail franchise opportunities do require prior experience in the franchise industry since those require inventory and sales management on a daily basis. Therefore, as a first-time franchise owner, it’s important to recognize which franchise opportunities do and don’t require previous experience.

However, to be a successful franchisee, no matter the industry, an owner should possess the following credentials:

Excellent communication and relationship building skills:

Effective communication skills are an important part of any working or personal relationship. The stronger your connection with others, the more you are able to understand and empathize with them.

Strong business acumen :

Business acumen is defined as the behavior that produces a keenness and quickness in dealing with business situations. This includes intelligence, ability to strategize, skills needed to communicate and the will to innovate, as well as accountability.

Pro-active attitude:

This is the mindset or attitude that one can own and be ready for things even before they happen. It is more about taking responsibility for our actions and ourselves. Proactive people are changemakers because they don’t wait for luck or chances, but take actions for improvement.

Leadership skills:

As famed NFL coach and executive Vince Lombardi once said, “Leaders aren’t born, they are made.” Great leaders work hard to achieve their goals. They invest in the experience and the education needed to become the best they can be – and moreover, to lead others in doing the same.

Customer centric:

This is an approach to doing business that focuses on providing a positive Customer Experience; both at the point of sale and after the sale in order to drive profit and gain competitive advantage. The philosophies and operations of customer-centric businesses revolve around their most valuable Customers, making sure they are happy.

High emotional intelligence:

Emotional Intelligence is a set of emotional and social skills that collectively establish how well we perceive and express ourselves, develop and maintain relationships, cope with challenges, and use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way.

Although most franchisors provide training focused on their product or service, the daily duties of being a franchise owner rely on those hard and soft skills you gain through experience and knowledge. This is how successful franchise owners learn how to become leaders, and how to think like a business owner. So essentially, no you don’t need experience in business ownership to be successful however your intrinsic skill set will help you to adapt to franchise ownership quicker and with less issues.

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