The Power of Teamwork

For those outside of the franchise industry, it may seem counterintuitive to open stores in close proximity to each other. After all, how can you be successful when you’re competing against your fellow franchisees?  Aren’t one (or more) of you bound to fail?

But the result isn’t always conflict and unhealthy competition…rather, it can be a community of like-minded business professionals focused on one thing: working together to build a better, more successful brand.

The Benefits of Froggy Fellowship

When showing how powerful this teamwork can be, there’s no better place to look than the relationship between a group of Big Frog franchisees in Texas. “One of the first things I noticed as a Big Frog owner, was that the top three stores in the country were all in the Atlanta metroplex,” Plano franchisee Joe Mock said. “This was also where Big Frog had the largest concentration of stores. This led me to the conclusion that rather than compete with one another, there was an obvious advantage to building brand recognition in a market that benefited all owners.”

Inspired by what he saw in Atlanta, Mock made the decision to embrace Big Frog newcomers in his Texas community- rather than compete with them. From loaning printing equipment when a store’s machines were down, to letting a new franchisee try their vinyl cutter before deciding to purchase their own, franchisees worked together to build each other up.

“Over three years, we went from being the #3 store in the system, to #2 and last year we were #1,” Mock said. “Clearly it took more than adding new stores, but it certainly didn’t hamper our ability to grow and prosper.”

Today there are seven stores in the area and they continue to work together closely. In addition to lending a helping hand (or heat press) when it’s needed, the owners meet several times a year to discuss business issues such as special pricing, personnel and vendor performance.

And then other times? They get together for nothing more than a good meal and some froggy fellowship. After all, building a strong, supportive community is what Big Frog is all about.