Bill Gallagher argues that franchise success depends on people, not product. He points to Howard Schultz building Starbucks through hiring and culture, and his own work with Wingstop and Krispy Kreme, where following operational systems and staffing well matter more than individual talent.
Franchise businesses are mostly service based businesses, and it's, it's driven by people. Even Howard Schultz with Starbucks, he always told people, I'm not in the coffee business, I'm in the people business. And virtually every successful franchise brand has a core group of great people. I was successful at Wingstop as an example, or Krispy Kreme because I had great people. I wasn't some super genius, but I did figure out the formula, so to speak, on how to run people, the brands themselves, figure out all the technicalities, how hot the fryer needs to be, how long I have to, you know, make a donut or fry a donut or proof a donut or whatever it might be. This isn't rocket science. So the beautiful part is virtually anybody fit in.
