Ecowash has taken its mobile waterless car cleaning system international, launched its Nanotek brand and invested in IT systems. Founder Jim Cornish shares some of the points of building a franchise business for the long term.

Looking back at what you know now, what two things would you do differently if you were setting up your business from scratch?

I don’t think there is a lot we would do differently; everything was a learning experience at worst. But if I had to pick two things I would say, first of all, a bigger focus on our own operations. Our business model is very profitable and as franchisees came on board we lost focus on our own operations for a while; it would have been very easy to do both with the right people and systems in place.

Secondly a stronger belief in the structure of our system and the principles upon which it was built. In the beginning, when we were just starting to head overseas it was easy to be influenced by the ‘but this market is different’ claim, but time has proven that 99 percent of our principles hold true for anywhere in the world.

What was your international expansion plan?

To be honest we didn’t really have one. I knew that in time we would take the business overseas, that was always the goal, but when and where was not set in stone. We were inundated with international inquiries very early on and our approach was to assess them based on the candidate (just like we were doing with domestic inquiries) and then if it was the right person, just make it happen.

Now we are a lot more structured in our approach: we have a regional focus (with offices in France [Western Europe], Greece [Eastern Europe], Central America and Australia) for immediate development and then a medium-term plan for expansion into India and Asia (specifically China).

You simply can’t be everywhere at once overnight and get it right. No matter how developed a system may be in Australia, it takes time once you are in an overseas market to really understand how the system will need to adapt and integrate into a new market and culture.

It’s important to have the right people in place first and then it requires focus and support.

What have been the main lessons learned from your overseas experience?

Our international expansion has enabled us to not only prove our system in a variety of conditions and cultures, it has also given us a lot of experience in structuring our business from an international perspective.

The most important lesson has been that it is about the people; I would rather have the right person in any country, than the wrong person in a specific country. The next most important lesson when it comes to international expansion is getting the business structure right. There are a lot of options when a franchise starts expanding overseas – master franchise, area developer, joint venture, and so on – and the right structure will depend on a number of factors.

It is important to not only thoroughly research the market but to really think hard about how to manage the relationship on an ongoing basis before deciding upon the long-term structure.

What structures or systems have you put in place recently to build a stronger business model?

We have a big IT focus, which is something we have always had; from day one we have had online ordering for franchisees (which was quite advanced at the time), but now we are really developing our IT systems. A new website was launched at the end of 2010 (nanotek.co) which features a new franchisee extranet/ordering system and customised printing portal and is linked through all our social media (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Flickr).

We are also in the process of developing more IT systems to increase both franchisee and headquarters efficiency; this includes a customised global CRM/POS application for franchisees based on the iphone or ipad platform. This will revolutionise the way we market to, and interact with, our customers and provide instant information on our system worldwide.

We are also working on an online training program for franchisees as part of our ongoing training and support program.

What tips would you pass on to a potential franchisee about choosing a franchise system, particularly an emerging business?

You need to look at more than one system so that you get a feel for different structures and cultures; each system is different. Look for a system that has a long term approach. Promises of guaranteed incomes and negligible fees may sound great in the short-term, but will the structure be compatible with long-term franchisee support?

Ultimately you need to match the system with your personal goals; not just your immediate goals but the goals you may have in the future, and the business should be able to grow and evolve as you do.