It’s Not Just About People - It’s About the Right People: How to Build a Galaxy of Franchisee Success

In franchising, people are everything, but not just anyone. Your most valuable assets aren’t simply the people involved in your franchise galaxy. Your most valuable assets are the right people, those who bring light, energy, and progress to every part of the system.

I call them your bright stars.

Imagine for just a moment that your franchising system is a galaxy of stars within the vast cosmos of the business world. It’s a powerful metaphor because, like galaxies, franchise systems are made up of constellations (franchise territories) held together by gravitational attraction.

Explaining the Cosmic Metaphor

(2 Minute Video Explaination of the Costmic Metaphor)

You need the best stars in every corner of your galaxy: from starship pilots and their crews, to your mothership team, your suppliers, and even your clients. When you identify the attributes of your brightest stars and find ways to replicate them, you unlock the key to sustainable growth and performance.

Why Finding the Right People Is So Hard (and So Critical)

Let’s not sugar-coat it: everyone in franchising is struggling to find the right people.

Franchisees say they can’t find reliable team members. Head office teams can’t find the right franchisee partners. Employees can’t find strong leaders. Customers can’t find decent suppliers. And suppliers? They can’t find loyal, profitable customers.

It seems like everyone’s looking for “good” people, but few are truly defining what that means, or building systems to find, develop, and replicate them.

From Good to Great to Galactic

Jim Collins, in Good to Great, says that great organisations get the right people on the bus. Much as I agree with this concept, in franchising, a bus doesn’t cut it.

To achieve the extraordinary, we need to fly starships, not drive buses.

So, rather than use the bus metaphor, I prefer to think of a successful franchisor as a mothership navigating through a galaxy of stars, hence the creation of the cosmic metaphor.

Are you ready to rise to the challenge of flying starships instead of driving buses?

A high-performing franchise network isn’t just driven by a management team. In franchising, success requires a constellation of bright stars working together across the galaxy. That includes franchisees, franchisee support, head office, suppliers, and clients, all aligned and contributing to the mission.

Forget the “genius with a thousand helpers” model. What we need is a collaborative galaxy where everyone shines, contributes, and grows.

What Makes a Star Shine?

If you want to replicate success, you have to start by identifying what makes your current stars shine. Ask yourself:

Who are your best and most successful franchisees? What do they do differently?
Which team members consistently go above and beyond? Why?
Who are your best suppliers? What makes them a great fit?
Which clients become brand advocates? What sets them apart?

Once you identify these stars, look for the attributes and behaviours they have in common. These become your Star Builders, the markers you use to select new stars and help existing ones shine brighter.

Can Anyone Become a Star?

According to Carol Dweck, attitude is a stronger predictor of success than IQ. That means a dull star can learn to shine, if they have the right mindset.

And that, at its core, is what franchising is all about: replicating success.

If you’re serious about becoming the best in your category, your entire galaxy must be aligned around one mission: developing successful franchisees. It’s your economic engine. Your unifying vision. And your ultimate competitive advantage.

But here’s the challenge: many franchisors focus only on onboarding new franchisees. While that’s important, it’s not enough. For your franchisees to truly succeed, every part of the system must shine.

Offboarding the Stars That Refuse to Shine

Some stars can be nurtured. Others, despite your best efforts, simply won’t shine.

That’s when you need to act decisively. Offboard franchisees, suppliers, and clients who consistently pull your brand down. The same goes for internal team members who resist growth, misalign with your values, or damage morale.

This isn’t about being harsh, it’s about protecting the integrity and performance of your franchise system.

Don’t compromise. Just keep improving.

Pass the Keys Case Study

Pass the Keys is a UK-based short-term rental management franchise with a tech-enabled platform and a growing presence across the UK and Spain. In April 2024, they began implementing the Ultimate Franchising Success Formula – and took the bold step of offboarding 30 franchisees who weren’t aligned with their brand or culture.

The result? A leaner, stronger network of 65 committed franchisees. Just one year later, total network revenue is up 20%, and the remaining franchisees are averaging a 40% increase in individual sales.

It’s a clear example of what happens when you stop trying to fix what’s broken – and focus instead on fuelling the ones who are ready to fly.

Star Building: Your Navigation System for Replication

Whether you’re an emerging franchisor or leading a mature brand, you need a navigation system that guides who you bring onboard and how you help them succeed.

The Success Formula provides that system. It’s your strategic compass, developed from deep analysis of the world’s strongest franchise systems and refined into an actionable model for all to use.

Here’s how the navigation system works:

Identify Success, Study the actions and behaviours of top-performing franchise systems.
Refine It Into a Star Building System, Distil those behaviours into a replicable success framework to use for recruiting, developing and replicating successful franchisees
Expose Silent Killers, Pinpoint what’s dragging down performance.
Achieve Extraordinary Outcomes, Drive growth, consistency, and stronger networks.
Prevent Burnout, align people, systems, and purpose to keep your galaxy energised.
Fuel Success, like rocket fuel for your franchisees, the formula powers your whole system.

Remember: you’re not just looking to fill seats. You’re building a galaxy.

Galaxies don’t thrive by accident. They shine because someone has charted a course, selected the right crew, and built the systems to help them soar.

How to Get Bright Stars into Your Franchising Galaxy

To build a thriving, high-performing franchise galaxy, you must go beyond theory. Here’s how you put the navigation system into action:

Create Star Builders, Identify the specific behaviours of your brightest stars. These become the foundation for your replication system. Use them to guide recruitment, coaching, and culture.
Cultivate Franchise Constellations, get your mothership crew aligned first. Then build strong franchise partner constellations. If franchisees employ stars, they become micro-constellations too.
Augment Your Galaxy, Partner with star suppliers and nurture star clients into becoming vocal advocates for your brand. Don’t overlook these external contributors to your galaxy’s shine.
Select New Stars Carefully, Have the rigour to say no to anyone who doesn’t meet the mark. Silent Killer #9 warns against short-term financial performance gains at the expense of long term strategy. Don’t fall for it.
Motivate & Reward Stars, show your stars that they matter. Recognise performance and reinforce the behaviours you want to see more of. Recognition is part of replication.
Use the Right Fuel, one size never fits all. Tailor your support, coaching, and knowledge transfer to the needs of each starship. That’s how you keep stars burning bright.