The Business Cases for Veteran-Focused Franchisee Development
A recent SBA study found that over 20% of veterans are currently purchasing a business, starting a new business, or considering one of these options. With 15 million working-age veterans in the U.S today, that’s 3 million prospective franchisees!
BUSINESS CASE #1: MILITARY TRAINING
The military teaches you how to execute a plan. Veterans bring this know-how in execution of the franchise business plan. Currently one out of every seven veterans owns a business, compared with one out of every 14 non-veterans own a business. But this over-representation should come as no surprise. The military teaches leadership, teamwork, integrity, resolve and ingenuity. These also happen to be the most important ingredients for success in running a business. These intangibles constitute what makes corporate America want to hire veterans as employees;and the same essence of what makes them so attractive as franchisees. As a result, military training is truly a proving ground for America's business community. The fact that our nation's military has churned out some of the most successful vetrepreneurs in American history helps illustrate this point:
Chick-fil-A founder and CEOTruett Cathy, U.S. Army
Little Caesars founderMichael Ilitch, U.S. Marine Corps
Mail Boxes, Etc. (now UPS Store) founderJim Amos, U.S. Marine Corps
Play-N-Trade Video GamesRon Simpson, U.S. Marine Corps
BUSINESS CASE #2: RENEWABLE TALENT POOL
Veterans are a renewable pool of franchisee talent. Stop playing the zero sum game with other franchise companies sourcing from the same talent pool. A successful outreach strategy includes four key areas of recruitment opportunity: At the point of transition from military service to civilian life, 400,000 military members per year are looking for the right next step. Veterans looking to become vetrepreneurs — 100,000 will become business owners every year.Vetrepreneurs looking for additional investments or franchise opportunities. Over 3 million vetrepreneurs exist in the U.S. today. Outreach to current military spouses planning the next steps for themselves and their families represent a population of over 1 million strong.
BUSINESS CASE #3: YOUR CUSTOMERS
Veterans are your customers; they should also be your franchisees. Demographic data shows that the U.S. veteran population includes:
25 million veterans
20 million spouses
45 million siblings
55 million children
The purchasing power of the U.S. veteran population is well over $1 trillion annually. What are you doing to connect with this vast & loyal consumer group?
BUILD A SUCCESSFUL FRANCHISE PLATFORMAND THEY WILL COME, RIGHT?
With roughly 4,500 active franchise organizations in the U.S. today and hundreds being added annually, it becomes even more difficult to stand out in the crowd. In addition,most experts forecast that baby boomer retirements will cause a 12 million person labor shortage by 2010. Think today's franchisee market is competitive? Just wait a few years. Veterans are a successful and renewable source of franchisee talent.
HOW WILL YOU MAKE YOUR FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY STAND OUT?
Clearly, franchises that establish proven veteran pipelines of franchise talent will enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage over other franchises in their industry. Proactive and targeted NaVOBA branding efforts lead franchising firms to differentiate themselves from the industry as a whole.
BRANDING AND DIRECT RESPONSE ADVERTISING
Your company sells its products and services by using a predominance of brand/image advertising. You pay sophisticated ad agencies to preserve your company’sbrand to your customers and consumers. Your marketing department realizes that brand building advertising is the long term anchor and direct response advertising fills short term needs. So, are you treating the marketing of your company to future franchisees differently?
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