generation” franchises provide care
directly to people—whether they’re
children being tutored or elders being
helped at home—they have to also
contend with an ever-changing
regulatory landscape. Regulations and
safety standards may change, or vary
in different states, and particularly in
elder care, franchisees face a shortage
of trained caregivers. “It’s definitely a
huge category. But not an easy
category,” Neonakis says.
Data may also have an unexpected
downside for franchises: It enables a
lot of strong competition. Because
franchises are generally run by locals
who have solid knowledge of their
laws, people, culture, real estate, and
demographic trends, the franchise
industry has typically connected with
communities better than nonfranchise
corporations. But Todd Saxton, an
associate professor of strategy and
entrepreneurship at the Indiana
University Kelley School of Business,
thinks data could change that—giving
centralized corporations the same
window into local needs that fran-
chises have traditionally had.
“In some ways that trend toward the
use and availability of data is counter
to why franchisors have historically
→ CLASS ACTSA teacher and a
student at KiddieAcademy.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF KIDDIE ACADEMY