YOU MIGHT BE A BETTER FIT THAN YOU THINK

Does a cat-focused franchise only want cat lovers? No! Sometimes, people have the wrong idea about what makes a great franchisee-as these three brands can attest to.

- BRITTA LOKTING

When a franchise brand tries attracting W new franchisees, they often run into the same problem: Potential franchisees think they're not the right fit when in fact, they might be perfect.

Why? Because oftentimes, people assume they need a certain kind of background to run a niche franchise brand. They think they need an education background to run a school, for example, or they need a blue-collar background to run a cleaning business. This often isn't the case, though: Brands want franchisees who understand the business opportunity first, and who are willing and able to learn everything else.

So how can a brand get that message across? “You have to make sure your brand is attractive and constantly letting them know why you should be a part of this," says Celebree School founder and CEO Richard Huffman. “If you can't answer that question, then why would they?"

To appreciate the challenge, we asked three specialty brands to explain the biggest myth people have about their franchise, the reality of who they're actually looking for, and how they've worked to recruit the right people.

Myth No. 1

PUROCLEAN WANTS FRANCHISEES WHO LOVE STANDING IN DIRTY WATER

PuroClean cleans up buildings' biggest messes, age, mold, and biohazard removal. Because the labor is hands-on, potential franchisees often presume that they'll be the ones performing messy tasks themselves.This in turn leads some of them to believe that PuroClean wants owners who have a significant background in blue-collar work.

Reality

PUROCLEAN WANTS FORMER HIGH-LEVEL CORPORATE EXECUTIVES