25 things learned over 25 years: A CEO shares his insights

When reaching a milestone of 25 years in business, it is a time of celebration and also reflection. In today’s fickle and competitive business world, it’s no small feat to achieve longevity – and to not just survive over time, but to flourish and continue to grow.

No franchisor walks a completely smooth road and over more than two decades we’ve ridden ups and downs and faced numerous obstacles. Every year that has passed has been rich with new lessons and also reinforced many of the core business values we know to be true.

As we pause at this milestone, we share 25 of the most valuable lessons we’ve learned over the past quarter of a century of running Genesis Health + Fitness in the hope that it will assist other franchisors, whether new to the industry or on a journey towards their own significant milestone.  

1. Values matter. They’re the foundations you build your business on over the years and they guide your decisions. We’ve always been “the gym for every body” – and we’ve never deviated from that. It helps guide our decisions, our strategy, the sort of people we hire and the franchisees we choose to work with.
2. Listen to your customers. Times will change and while some things will stay the same, some needs and desires of your customers will change. Over the years, we have left some offerings behind and introduced new ones to stay relevant to the people that matter – our members. 
3. Don’t stop improving. It’s easy to fall into a rut as more time passes. Stay static and you’re destined for a decline. Be alert, listen and always look for ways to do things better. To ensure this happens you need to build improvement into your processes and schedule regular reviews of different areas of the business. 
4. Treasure your brand. It’s not something to be chopped and changed or flippantly aligned/positioned. In 25 years, we’ve only had one brand tweak and always carefully consider who we align with. We are recognisable and trusted today by many different age groups for that reason.
5. Face obstacles with an open mind. We survived what is probably one of the biggest challenges faced by many businesses this century – the pandemic. Gyms were forced to shut their doors immediately. Did that stop us? No. We shifted our service online, even though it was a huge shift. No matter what the obstacle, with the right attitude and a good team you can think your way around it.
6. Don’t grow just for growth’s sake, grow carefully and with integrity. Fast growth does not necessarily equal success. We’ve always been focused on steady and strategic growth, opening locations in areas we know will work with franchisees we’re confident can manage the site.
7. Grow a community, not just a business. Don’t lose site of the fact that a business is people – it’s your staff, your customers, your franchisees – real people with feelings, goals and needs. Value your people at all levels of the business and build that sense of community that people want to feel. That’s what keeps them coming back to work, choosing your brand and coming back to your businesses every week.
8. Evolve through collaboration, if it makes sense. As a business you have your core strengths. If you’re looking to evolve, is there someone else you can align with that may have the expertise, passion and experience in that area that can help? If so, is that a better option than reinventing the wheel?
9. Treat your franchisees as equals, it’s a partnership. The relationship should be one of mutual respect with regular consultation. Your franchisees are at the coal-face, while you have the broader perspective, expert support team and the industry experience – it’s a powerful combination if you work together.
10. Be honest, without fail. When you’re in business for a long time, you won’t get every single thing right – but you can always communicate openly and honestly and be on the front foot when issues arise.
11. Head office should not be an island. The head office support team is obviously an important part of the franchise machine and needs to be in touch with what’s going on, listening, observing and being open to feedback from the frontline. In some cases, we have our regional managers based at gym sites. 
12. Don’t lose the passion. A franchisee wants to be inspired and a franchisor’s passion is infectious. Don’t lose that passion over time – find ways to keep it alive, hold on tight to team members who have it and instil it at all levels of the business. 
13. Don’t ever let your franchisees feel alone. The reason a franchisee makes the choice they do in the first place is for support. If you drop the ball on that, you risk losing your franchisee or damaging the relationship beyond repair. 
14. Stay connected with both your industry and the franchising world. Some franchisors do one really well and not the other. To be a leading franchisor, you have to be in touch and immersed in both worlds.
15. Keep a positive mindset. Positivity breeds positivity – and a positive mindset has the power to make a business strong and successful, even in the face of challenges. A positive franchisor sets the tone for the entire organisation.
16. Be an advocate. As a franchisor, the role often needs to be one of advocacy, for the franchisees and the wider industry. When it’s needed, you must have a voice and use it loudly, speaking with required government or industry bodies to fight for the best interests of your franchisees. You may not always get exactly what you want, but you are guaranteed to earn the respect of your franchisees.
17. Be accessible, offer accessible information. When potential franchisees are deciding which brand is right for them, an accessible CEO and transparent information makes all the difference.
18. Keep some sites company-owned, if possible. It not only shows you have faith in the model and care what happens, but it also keeps the business in-touch and hands-on with the day-to-day running of sites. It’s also a great testing ground for new initiatives.
19. Keep an eye on the competition, but don’t obsess over it. While it’s important to keep your eye on the competition – we’re all at risk of giving them too much attention. If you let it, there’s a lot that can distract you. We’ve seen a lot of our competitors in trouble over the years because they lost sight of considered, strategic growth and were too focused on just getting another site open. 
20. Do the right thing. Too many franchisors have been deservedly hauled over hot coals for dishonest behaviour. The business world has a long memory and so do online search engines and social media. Don’t tarnish a long-established reputation by choosing dollars over decency, as it will always come back to bite you.
21. Communicate clearly and repeat through different channels. Your franchisees are busy people. If something is to be properly taken on board by the entire network, you need to reinforce it through different communication channels – email, text, webinars, though regional managers, through the advisory council etc. 
22. Be decisive. In the end, it’s the franchisor that must make the final decisions based on the perceived best interests of the majority of the group. Take everyone’s voices into consideration but then make a well-considered decision with confidence and authority. 
23. Don’t say no, ask ‘could we?’. Don’t knock down an idea immediately. Give it a chance to float – ask, can we really do that? Could we make it work? Is it worth it? If it ends up being a ‘no’, so be it. But at least you gave the idea a chance.
24. Keep a check. Just like we all do with our own physical health, it’s critical to have regular company check-ups to ensure the business is healthy from the inside out. This is all about effecting change before it affects the business. 
25. Leave a legacy that’s bigger than you and your tenure. It’s no surprise that leaders increasingly fall into the trap of acting only for short-term results. This trend seems to have accelerated with the instant availability of information and the instant-gratification mentality that society is shifting towards. But if you want longevity for your franchise brand, you should be thinking longer-term. 

Looking forward, we have a lot of exciting developments in progress. Some will involve technology, while others will see us returning to our roots. Over the challenges of the last two years with lockdowns, we’ve been reminded what it is that people really love about and need from us – it’s that sense of community, friendship, support and genuine care. That’s the difference between working out alone and working out with us. We’re looking forward to the next 25 years, taking our learnings with us as we embark on a future that has yet to be written.