When thinking of a franchise, the first thing that pops into my head is a fast-food chain like McDonalds or Taco Bell. These restaurants are scattered all over the US and even internationally, often seeing them at every corner. As we got the chance to learn about what goes into owning and running a franchise location, I will uncover the franchise I would choose to own and what the pros and cons would be overall. While I chose a business that is not directly tied to the tourism industry, it is important for my readers to know that there are many different franchises out there for travel specific interests in the hospitality realm. As I currently work at Starbucks as a supervisor, this company would probably be my first choice, but Starbucks does not franchise their locations. Instead, I have chosen to uncover Dairy Queen and what goes into franchising a location overall. While this would be my first choice, I would make sure that I was in a warmer climate as I would aim to create an atmosphere that is up and coming, allowing for an atmosphere that would interact with tourists and beachgoers.
The reason I would choose this franchise all leads back to my personal love for ice cream. As a kid, I would always ask for this treat for dessert almost after every meal. Whether it was snowing outside or it was 100 degrees, this would be my go-to treat that would make me so happy. As I know ice cream brings joy to many others as well, I would hope to share this love to my employees and my customers. As I noted in the last paragraph, I would want my location to be located somewhere with a warmer climate and a lot of tourists. This would allow for my employees and I to interact and get to know those coming from all different parts of the world. Additionally, I think it would be cool to have a location that encompasses the climate. For example, I think it would be a lot of fun if I had a store that could have an open entrance at the front allowing for the air and atmosphere to be reflected in the store. Overall, I would aim to make this franchise different than many other Dairy Queen locations most are used to.
In looking at start-up information on this franchise, it is important to note that Dairy Queen has been doing this for over 80 years and has been very successful thus far. With 4,537 locations within the US, only two of these locations are company owned. This is a very strong success rate as this franchise is still very prominent in today’s society, especially in Michigan. In order to even be considered for this franchise, one’s net worth must be above $750,000. From there it will take anywhere from $1,100,000 to $1,800,000 in the initial investment to get this franchise up and running. When choosing this franchise, it was important to look for any specifics or regulations that I would have to follow by when opening this location. A few things that Dairy Queen requires is that the menu reflects what their current offerings are and not anything that isn’t promoted or created by them. For me personally, that is okay as I have always been a fan of the choices they have to offer, and I know that customer do too. Although I would not like that we would sell food too, that is something that doesn’t deter me from this business.
In looking at more of the specific in regard to this franchise, it is important to note that their royalty fee is 4%. For those who don’t know what a royalty fee is, it is basically a membership fee that allows you to continue to run your business under their name and standards. As I have explored many other businesses for franchising, this rate is lower in comparison to other companies. As training is also a major part in franchising, Dairy Queen allows for almost 300 hours of training for the opening of new location, in addition on training at locations that are already established. Looking at what else franchising one of these locations allows for, it can be understood that the company provides support at all angles, whether it be just safety and operations all the way to marketing support. These tools provided by the company shows that they have the best interest in their franchisees and have the resources pessary to fully support their team.
Reflecting on this franchise, I would say that I have a positive view on possibly becoming an owner of Dairy Queen location in the future. As it would probably not happen until later on in my life (if it did), I would be proud to work for a company like Dairy Queen and hope that their reputation keeps as I grow older. I feel as if this opportunity would be something that I take on after I’ve hit the peak in my career and start to wind down. While I don’t know if this will ever happen in my career, it is definitely a possibility that seems promising to me. I feel as if I would bring a lot to this location, especially if it fit the criteria for the location and style I would like to have. Overall, while franchises are not at the top of my list in the hospitality and tourism field, it is definitely a plausible scenario for something to do later on in my life. Learning about franchising this week has allowed me to gain a strong insight on the endless possibilities I could take on in the future.
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