Why I quit the "underperformer club"

The loudest voice in your franchise brand might be going broke.

Sure, they may dominate every discussion, post constantly in franchise forums, and quote their impressive revenue numbers. 

And you may hang on every word because surely someone that confident, that vocal, must know what they're doing!

But volume doesn't necessarily equal value.

I learned this the hard way. When I was starting off, I followed the loudest franchisees in my groups. 

I took their advice. I mimicked their strategies. Then I looked closer at who was actually winning.

The real winners? You barely heard from them.

They were too busy running tight operations and opening profitable locations to dominate forum discussions. 

While others talked, they executed.

You see, you can have amazing top line numbers while bleeding cash. 

Wrong people scheduled at wrong times. No operational efficiency. Labor costs eating every dollar of profit.

That franchisee bragging about their revenue might not even be able to make payroll.

So I developed a simple litmus test for any group, mastermind, or email thread:

What solutions have come from this in the last 60 days?

Not complaints. Not venting. Actual solutions you can implement.

If you can't list them, you may be in what I call “the underperformer club.” 

These are those group therapy sessions where every solution gets shot down by more complaining. Where people gather to feel better about failing together.

I shut that down fast. I won't let my managers near those groups. 

There's nothing there to help you get better customers, tighter operations, or higher profits.

Instead, look for three things in the people you follow:

1. Profitable growth. Not just revenue, actual year-over-year profitable growth. They're opening more locations because the numbers work, not because they're chasing scale.
   

2. Solution focus. They share what's working, not what's wrong. They bring answers, not just problems.
   

3. Operational excellence. They know their P&L cold. They can explain unit economics. They're either operational themselves or have excellent ops people executing.

These people exist in every franchise system. But often, they're quiet. 

They're not necessarily leading discussions or dominating forums. They pop in occasionally to share something valuable, then get back to work.

Find them. Learn from them. Ignore the noise.

Stop confusing confidence with competence. Stop mistaking volume for value.

Your business depends on following the right voices.

Until next week,

Erik

PS: We've learned from every mistake these underperformer clubs make, and we've cultivated a private Facebook group that's relentlessly solution-focused. Want actionable insights from operators who are actually profitable? Join us here.