Business View Oceania - June 2023

43 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 5, ISSUE 6 which in turn means an accelerated rate of market reach. It’s also worth noting that franchisees have local market knowledge and operate in a community. This also allows these individuals to feed their families and uplift communities. According to research conducted by IFA, franchisees tend to pay higher wages, offer better benefits for workers, make different programs available, and these owners give back to their local communities in more powerful ways compared to other business models. While the business model is unique, it’s not suited to everyone, so both parties must be informed upfront. Without this clarity, many potentially interested franchisees will leave the opportunity. Regarding accountability, the franchise is the overarching business owner of the brand. They are separately incorporated, and who the government will refer to if laws are abided by. In the franchise agreement, the franchisee has to follow federal, state, and local laws. “In states like California, particularly in the area of labor policy, there’s been an attempt to hold the franchise brands (the franchisor) jointly liable for franchisee infringements regarding labor and working conditions. “If this happens, it will eviscerate the whole rationale for the business model and isn’t fair. Right now, there’s a push from organized labor to make the bigger party in the franchise agreement pay for the infringements of the smaller party,” says Haller. According to IFA, this has been an ongoing dispute for roughly ten years. Haller firmly believes that labor unions are targeting franchisors as it would help increase their market share of workers in the private sector that they represent. Franchises form the backbone of the US economy. Within the private sector, franchises provide over 8 million jobs which are associated with 800,000 franchise businesses. INTERNAT IONAL FRANCHISE ASSOCIAT ION “In 2023, franchise businesses are looking to grow by 2% in new business and 3% in new jobs, led by the restaurant industry, followed by the commercial and residential industries,” says Haller. Marketing and promotion are important to IFA. Currently, a marketing and communications team promotes policies to elected officials to ensure they hear what’s happening in the franchise landscape. It also ensures that individuals hear about the different conferences and events hosted by the organization, as well as partners who collaborate with IFA. This focus on marketing and communication is also important for the franchise model, as franchisees buy into a brand ethos that is communicated to the public. As with all businesses, the pandemic drove faster adoption of technology. In the franchise world, meetings with franchise