Making smart choices every step of the way—and avoiding certain pitfalls—can make a big difference to your bottom line and your franchise’s viability. Read on to find out 10 ways to improve your odds for franchise success.

Choose the right business for you

Simple: ask yourself what you like to do. For example, if you love kids, find a franchise that allows you to work with them. If you have a passion for technology, seek out a computer-related franchise concept.

Don’t just think about the product or service, but what your actual daily tasks will be. You may love to cook, but owning a restaurant will be about more than just food. In fact, your primary tasks will involve managing, hiring, training and firing staff.

Improve your business skills

While franchisors will teach you their system to help you build a successful outlet, most also expect you to bring some basic business skills to the table. If you don’t know accounting basics, how to read and work with financial documents or how to hire and fire employees, you’re going to encounter trouble.

If your sales skills are rusty, your knowledge of business taxation is a bit shaky or you’re not up to date on Internet marketing, consider taking a class to improve your skills. Continue to upgrade your knowledge annually. These classes are often available at a local school; there are even one-day seminars and webinars (Internet-based seminars) that take less time and monetary investment.

Follow the system

Part of the reason you choose a particular franchise is because it has a successful system. In order to be successful, you have to learn that system. Don’t just ‘get by’ during your initial training; absorb everything they can teach you. You are purchasing a tried-and-true system, and you owe it to yourself to follow every element of that system until you understand it completely.

Don’t try to be a rebel – only make changes after speaking about your concerns at length with your field representative. By taking this approach, you can avoid making a rash error (and possibly save your franchise).