There’s a magical stage of growth that every franchisee dreams of reaching. It’s the point where your business has enough scale and momentum to run without your hand on the wheel every minute of the day. Finally, you get to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Unfortunately, between the comfort of your first successful location and the stability of true scale, there lies a brutal and unglamorous stretch of growth. I call it the Hell Zone.
As a former chair of the International Franchise Association board, I’ve advised many franchisees through the Hell Zone. I’ve also experienced it myself.
My entrepreneurial journey began when I bought two KFC franchise locations. It was manageable and generally enjoyable, and the units made money. I knew every employee, every number, and every problem. Then I opened a third location, and my life became a whirlwind of chaos. Constant work. The business was too big to do everything myself and too small to afford the structure of larger organizations — area managers, HR, finance, marketing. Instead of me controlling the business, the business was controlling me.
At the time, it felt like I was doing something wrong. But I’ve since learned that this is a normal part of multi-unit growth (and it holds true for people outside franchising too). The Hell Zone is the phase when your growth outpaces your resources, and you are the only thing holding the business together. You’re running two, three, maybe four locations — or juggling a handful of key clients — but you don’t have the financial or operational cushion to breathe. You’re scaling revenue faster than infrastructure, and every decision feels like a trade-off between short-term survival and long-term stability.
For most of us, this phase is unavoidable. The good news: It does not last forever. And if you approach it right, then you’ll find incredible growth on the other side.
Here is my advice for building through the Hell Zone.
1. Understand why the Hell Zone occurs, so you can focus on solutions to move beyond it.
I believe that most multi-unit franchisees need at least $5 million of revenue before they can afford a multi-unit supervisor. This is because, for most concepts, it is difficult to pay out more than 2% of revenue for this supervision and still have an income statement that shows a return on investment. Thus, the answer is either grow revenue organically or through development, or invest early in multi-unit supervision and accept a lower return.
2. Acknowledge the pain, but don’t dwell on it.
Create time to work on solutions versus getting stuck on the urgent problems in front of you. While you are in the Hell Zone, the tyranny of the urgent can become a real impediment to growth.
3. Invest in processes early.
The systems you think you can’t afford are exactly what will get you out of the Hell Zone faster. Better unit-level management, better training, better technology for multi-unit management — all of these processes allow for the entrepreneur to focus on vision and growth. Don’t procrastinate on investing in processes, because either you or a future multi-unit supervisor will need these tools to manage the business regardless.
4. Be sure you have the financial and intellectual capital you need before starting to scale.
Entrepreneurs who are starved for funds often get stuck in the Hell Zone. But too often, the focus is solely on financial capital, when the entrepreneur does not have the intellectual capital (knowledge and experience) to grow the business. Your growth plan should address both.
5. Stay positive and committed to the destination.
The Hell Zone is part of the journey; it is not your destination.
If your dream is to have a larger business, stay focused on that.
A positive attitude reframes challenges as opportunities and allows your team to rally behind you as a leader.
When you emerge on the other side, you will have a team that executes without constant oversight, systems that run without you, and growth that compounds instead of consumes. The Hell Zone is where entrepreneurs are forged. If you are in it right now, take heart — you’re not failing. You’re graduating.
There’s a magical stage of growth that every franchisee dreams of reaching. It’s the point where your business has enough scale and momentum to run without your hand on the wheel every minute of the day. Finally, you get to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Unfortunately, between the comfort of your first successful location and the stability of true scale, there lies a brutal and unglamorous stretch of growth. I call it the Hell Zone.
As a former chair of the International Franchise Association board, I’ve advised many franchisees through the Hell Zone. I’ve also experienced it myself.
