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"Be humble enough to admit that you're imperfect, and also willing to take help and advice from people."
Honesty. It is probably the most important trait of a successful franchisee. From the day they first approach a franchise, describing their previous business experience and what their goals are, to the day they sell their profitable franchise unit, they must be completely open with their franchisor.
Honesty is not an attribute for which John Rusnak is famous. His fraud began in 1997 when, working as a currency trader for Allfirst – then the US branch of AIB – he used the bank's money to bet on the future value of the Japanese yen and made a big loss. From there problems spiralled out of control, but he refused to be honest about it; secretly taking more and more risks until in 2002 he was exposed for having lost $691 million. Many senior managers at Allfirst lost their jobs and he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
He was let out early for good behaviour and has now turned to franchising, currently running four ZIPS laundry outlets in the US state of Maryland. He employs former criminals and drug addicts, giving them a chance to redeem themselves.
He has now become a campaigner for truth, promoting responsibility in the workplace and declaring that what he did was "terrible". He points out that rogue trading is still abundant in the financial markets, both in Ireland and abroad.
"We just want total transparency…put your hand up if there's a mistake, because the sooner we know there's a mistake, the sooner we can assist in order to fix it."
The franchise relationship is based on trust, with the franchisee giving regular reports on how their section of the business is performing. They also need an ability to admit when they are struggling and require help from the more experienced. They cannot keep to themself, as Rusnak did – during those five years he didn't even tell his wife that there were any problems, barely speaking to her, his children or any other person towards the end.
A franchisee must also be able to stick to the rules, operating a system according to the instructions provided. Much time and money will have been invested to perfect the business model, and a franchisee has to stay on course...and of course, be honest.
Quotes are from John Rusnak via The Irish Times.