Article featured in Franchising Magazine USA

Every jobseeker has undoubtedly heard some version of this old adage: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

This familiar saying underscores a basic truth — that forging connections and nurturing relationships is essential for success. It’s a truth that applies not just to career progression, but also to business development. Simply put, growing any kind of business requires leveraging key relationships, including those with vendors and suppliers, regional business peers and beyond.

When it comes to nurturing and leveraging relationships, however, not all business models are created equal. For example, franchising offers unique opportunities to generate sustainable success through a strong network of relationships—providing franchise owners with a head start compared with those who pursue independent ownership.

This head start can be especially meaningful in more niche verticals, such as biohazard and decontamination cleanup—areas where the relational advantages of franchising can provide a meaningful competitive edge.

Franchises are relational by definition—and the relationships that exist within any franchise system can be leveraged to earn trust and facilitate growth.

One of the great perks of buying a franchise, as opposed to building a new business from scratch, is the embedded name recognition—simply put, franchise owners are buying into an identity that is already well-established and widely-known. They can leverage whatever positive associations are attached to the brand name in order to reach more customers and to make inroads within their region or community.

Consider the example of decontamination cleanup services, where having a recognizable brand identity is essential. Backed by a national reputation, individual franchise owners immediately have some cache with insurance companies and local authorities. This built-in reputation makes it easy to generate trust early on without as much expectation for local franchise owners to prove themselves or to demonstrate credibility.

In other words, simply operating within the relational structures of a franchise — and enjoying the good reputation conferred by those structures — can help jumpstart business success, establishing a bedrock of trust where it matters the most.

That’s just one example of how a good reputation, built on positive relationships, can facilitate business growth. Another example is through having established supply chains—and here again, operating within a franchise ecosystem can be especially beneficial.

Having proven, strong relationships with suppliers and vendors is necessary for any business to get the parts and materials needed to produce consistent, high-quality products and to ensure products and services are delivered to customers in a timely and predictable manner.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ways in which established supply chain relationships can help a company grow. Other benefits include heightened operational efficiency, less waste and favorable pricing structures — all of which ultimately help a business to run smoothly and to promote a frictionless customer experience.

Built-in supply chain relationships are a significant advantage that franchise owners enjoy, as suppliers tend to be vetted and terms negotiated with the franchisor. This means local owners often inherit established vendor relationships and need only steward those relationships in a judicious way.

Also note that, in a field like biohazard and decontamination cleanup, having close relationships with trustworthy vendors can ensure a more seamless, interruption-free process, which is an important way to provide clients with peace of mind during an otherwise anxious time in their lives.

Still another important relationship is with the community itself, where the franchise model shines.

Simply put, franchise owners tend to know their neighborhood, city or region well, and they can leverage their local connections to facilitate further growth. Combining that local knowledge with a national reputation yields additional benefits, as franchise owners can simultaneously claim intimate knowledge of their community as well as access to a broader range of resources.

The resources available within a franchise system also empower local owners to spotlight charities, nonprofits and sponsorship opportunities within their community, elevating awareness for causes that matter to their local customers and clients. This is a great example of how the franchising model better equips business owners to leverage relationships in a way that fosters goodwill.

These are important benefits within any industry but especially in a field like restoration services, where demonstrating real concern for local home and business owners is a prerequisite for earning their trust.

No matter the industry or niche, franchise owners exist within a web of relationships—with their local community, with their business peers and with other franchise owners who belong to the same system. These relationships can be significant assets and, when properly nurtured, can prove essential for franchise growth.

Danessa Itaya is president of Bio-One®, the most trusted crime and trauma scene cleaning franchise in the United States and part of the Five Star Franchising platform of brands. Itaya has more than 30 years of experience in the franchise industry, including 10 years of national and international leadership experience. She serves on the Women in Franchising Committee of the International Franchise Association and was named one of Entrepreneur’s Top Influential Women in Franchising in 2022.