Skedaddle CEO Shares Franchise Success Secrets in New Interview

In a recent interview with 1851 Franchise, CEO and Founder of Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control Bill Dowd spoke at length about why you should consider the franchise model to grow a brand, but there are a few tricks of the trade to keep in mind. 

As the owner of the largest wildlife control franchise in North America, Bill operates Skedaddle franchises in more than 75 different municipalities in Canada. The company’s plans to expand into the United States is already in the works.

If you’d like an insider’s take on what to avoid and how to thrive as a Franchisor or Franchise Owner, take a few moments out of your day to listen to the interview and hear what Bill has to say for yourself. But if you’re pressed for time, here’s a rundown of the interviews questions and answers.

Q – What should every Franchisor understand about working with franchisees?

A – “I believe every Franchisor should understand about working with franchisees. Your franchisees are entrepreneurs. They’re business people. They want to succeed. They want to be successful.

They’re not your employees, so they’re going to have their own minds and ideas that as a Franchisor you can work together with them and help grow the brand together, so I think there needs to be that understanding that they want to be that successful. They want to follow your methodologies, your procedures, your successes and replicate that for their own business that they will own.”

Q – In your experience franchising, what was the biggest challenge you faced? What did you learn from it?

A – “I think the biggest challenge that we’ve learned as we’ve franchised Skedaddle is that we’re the experts in terms of humanely removing animals and securing the homes. We have the methodologies down, the procedures, the marketing, and the technology. But the biggest challenge we’ve found is franchise development.

We’ve tried it ourselves. We’ve had a number of false starts, so I think that working with a franchise development company can really grow your business, which is the main reason why we have partnered with, or are working directly with, Raintree Franchise Sales Group.”

Q – What do you think every business owner should know before franchising their brand?

A – “I think every business owner should know that if they want to get into franchising and to franchise their brand, it’s a lot of work.

It does take a lot of money or capital to get that started in terms of registering your brand in every state. There’s a lot of legal work and a lot of preparing your FDD, so there is a lot of work, time, and money that goes into franchising your brand.

And of course, you have to have all the procedures and the methodologies and the systems in place – and the people in place – to ramp up and scale the business to hundreds of locations across the US.”

Q – What should every franchisee know before joining a brand?

A – “I think every franchisee first and foremost comes in with a great attitude and wants to be successful in business.

You’re buying a franchise to learn and follow the methodologies of success of the Franchisor. You may have some ideas. It’s great to bring those ideas to the franchisor but follow the system.

Don’t assume that you can do it better because chances are the Franchisor has already tried those methodologies and those ideas. Maybe they were successful? Maybe they weren’t?

So, the franchisee wants to come and follow the system to match or exceed their expectations in terms of a better work-life balance and a financial future for themselves and or their family.”

Q – If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself as you begin your career in franchising?

A – “Probably the biggest advice would be that franchise development and recruitment is a totally different game from what your core business is. So, speaking with the right organizations and finding a partner as we did with Raintree Franchise Sales Group works well to go to market and do such franchise development and recruitment.

We’re the experts in terms of humane wildlife control and securing homes, but franchise recruitment is a totally different game.

As I said, we had a number of false starts trying to do it internally, hiring a couple of different companies, so finding that good partner – and we did that with Raintree, people that we like, and they want us. It’s always good to do business with people you like, so I think that finding a franchise development company that you feel comfortable with to grow your brand across the country works well.”

With insights like those, it’s no wonder why this segment is a must-watch for people considering the franchise model for their business.

For more information about franchising with Skedaddle, visit our website.