How We Will All Become Entrepreneurs

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While not everyone may be cut out to be an entrepreneur, the fact is that the way we work is changing and companies with traditional hiring practices are disappearing fast from the employment landscape.

This infographic shows how the workplace has evolved from employment to entrepreneurship, and if what it portrays is true, then why wouldn’t you want to work for yourself rather than lending your entrepreneurial skills to someone else?

To learn more about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path.  The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

 

5 Tips for Vets to Kickstart a Franchise Career in 2015

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After a relaxing holiday season with family and friends, some military veterans might be making a New Year’s Resolution: to become a franchisee.

But before they transition from the military to franchising, it’s important they take the right steps to ensure they get off to a successful start.

Here are 5 Tips for Vets to Help Kickstart a Franchise Career in 2015:

1. Take the time to search. Don’t hastily rush into buying a franchise, just because you want to take care of it early in the new year. As a veteran who’s selflessly served their country, it’s important to finally take some to find a franchise that’s right for you.

2. Keep an eye on market trends. Have a passion for healthy, active lifestyles? This progressive mantra has been booming in franchising recently, but what could be the next trend in 2015? If you have an eye to catch something that could be big, make sure it aligns with your core abilities that were honed in the military – leadership, teamwork, and the ability to follow processes.

3. Investigate financing options. While SBA Loans and Patriot Express Loans are among the most popular options for veterans looking to become a franchisee, cash, leasing, conventional loans, self-directed retirement plans, and receiving home equity are all options for veterans.

4. Get everything in writing. Promised something by a franchisor? Make sure you get it in writing. Otherwise, it could come back to haunt you when things go wrong or you try to sell your franchise. To help with this process, hiring an experienced attorney to guide you through the legalities can be a major help.

5. Get professional advice from consultants and mentors. By getting professional advice from a certified consultant, you can help understand the process of buying a franchise even better from an industry expert. On top of this, getting a mentor with experience in the franchise industry – such as a fellow veteran – can really help ensure you make a smooth transition to becoming a franchisee.

To learn more about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path. The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

Martha Stewart: 4 Key Steps to Succeed as an Entrepreneur

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Last week at the National Association of Professional Women’s National Networking Conference, Martha Stewart was interviewed about her path to entrepreneurship.  She offered these 4 key steps for success as an entrepreneur:

Never stop learning.  Stewart says she plans to work until she’s “150”, and says “retirement” is not a word in her vocabulary.  Her career has had plenty of second acts, and she advises entrepreneurs of any age to keep learning, saying, “There’s always something else you can do.”

Find inspiration everywhere.  Stewart looks for inspiration everywhere she goes, from the flower arrangement on her set that inspired a new design for bedding to scouting craft shows for artists to feature in her magazine.  Look around you; ideas for new products or services are everywhere.

Work-life balance.  Stewart says that there is no line dividing her work and her life: “My life is my job, and my job is my life.”  While this has made her incredibly successful as a personal brand, it won’t necessarily work for everyone.  You need to define what work-life balance means to you.

Persevere.  Keeping a positive outlook has helped Stewart through some very trying times, including a five-month stint in prison for insider trading.  However, she says she has never hit bottom, just “bumps in the road.”  When times are tough, she seeks opportunities for inspiration in favorite activities like gardening.

To learn about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path.  The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

 

How to Optimize Your Time as a New Franchisee

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Time really is everything in business, and even more so for franchisees.

With your bottom-line success dependent on how much you ensure all operations follow your franchise’s tried-and-true formula, there is little room for error.

Don’t use a one-size-fits-all approach

While sticking to the process, be sure to custom tailor your management style around different employees. Each employee will react differently to various approaches to management, so be sure to use the right one that works best for their personality.

As well, while you might use one strategy when dealing with customers – say, friendly and accommodating – you will likely need to have a stricter, more business-focused relationships with your suppliers to ensure on-time delivery of product.

Keep lines of communication open

Unless you can teleport, you won’t be able to be everywhere at once – so you should hire, and keep, the best talent to ensure all operations are running smoothly.

To do so, ensure you keep positive lines of communication open between you and your employees, so that they feel comfortable enough to contact you regarding problems even before they arise.

Plan ahead and keep a documentation log

Optimizing your franchise as a new franchisee is crucial, and planning ahead is one of the best ways to do it. By pinpointing how things need to be conducted in advance, you and your employees won’t waste time scrambling for answers under pressure – instead, they’ll know an efficient way to take care of problems before they arise.

Along with a plan, document how your operational efficiency is progressing. Highlight both positives and negatives, and make suggestions for the future and incorporate them into your long-term plans.

Doing so will optimize your franchise even more – leading to greater success.

To learn more about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path. The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

Is the Next Big Idea Inside You?

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Today’s Wall Street Journal has a great article on how entrepreneurs come up with great ideas.  WSJ interviewed a number of startup mentors, investors and educators on what causes inspiration to strike and here is some of what they had to say:

  • Solve a problem – look at what is bugging you and chances are, it is probably bugging lots of other people too. 
  • Look outside your industry to see how other people are solving similar problems.
  • Be driven.
  • Take a break and listen to your subconscious.
  • Tackle practical problems.
  • Stretch your brain by going to unfamiliar places.
  • Improve on something already out there.

To inspire you this Monday, take a look at some entrepreneurs who succeeded in coming up with a big idea:

To learn about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path.  The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

5 Ways to Prepare for Franchising Before the Holidays

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Not many people want to be focused on work around the holidays.

For prospective franchisees getting ready to buy their first franchise, it’s an especially busy time of year as they prepare for the holiday season while trying to get ready to become a franchisee before things get busy.

That said, there are ways a prospective franchisee can work more efficiently before the holidays to ensure they can relax and enjoy the season.

Here are 5 Ways to Prepare for Franchising Before the Holidays:

1. Write your own franchise plan. Incorporate materials given to you by your potential franchisor, and begin to implement a plan of action. Be sure to not only detail how you want to run day-to-day operations, but also the long-term plans for the business.

2. Visit an existing franchise location. See how they operate around the busiest time of the year. If possible, try to take in the customer experience to find out what it’s like. Speak with the owner or manager if you can, as well, and note things you think you can do at your location to make things more efficient.

3. Determine your real estate. If you’re not a home-based business, you’ll need to lease or buy a property to house your franchise. By doing so ahead of time, you can try to negotiate and find a better deal than by leaving it for the last minute or over the holidays.

4. Talk to your family – before the holidays. Your family will need to know what to expect, now that you’re becoming a franchisee. They’ll need to know how busy you’ll be, but to also understand that with the freedom of entrepreneurship through franchising you’ll also be more flexible.

5. Focus. Focus on your key goals. How much sales do you want to do? Write it down. How to you want to treat customers? Add it into your plan. Overall, you need to be dialed into your business to ensure you come out ready for success in the new year.

To learn more about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path. The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

How to Run a Small Business From a Smartphone

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If you’ve thought about starting your own small business, then you’ve probably given at least some consideration to how you would manage all the tasks – especially if you’re the only employee.  

In fact, the SBA says that more than 79 percent of small business owners in the U.S. are sole proprietors.  The infographic below gives some great tips on how a smartphone and a few good apps – some are even free – can help a small business owner manage his or her business from a smartphone:

To learn more about starting your own small business, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path.  The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

5 Ways to Spot Franchise Marketing Success

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Before you invest in a franchise, make sure their brand brings in customers.

There’s nothing worse than investing in a company as a new franchisee, only to find out that the company you thought to be a sure-fire great investment was struggling to drive business through the doors.

In franchising, one of the greatest strengths is centralized marketing – pooling money from all franchise locations to leverage greater marketing power.

But before you sign your franchise agreement, keep an eye out for certain things. Here are 5 Ways to Spot Franchise Marketing Success:

1. It drives customers through the doors. The #1 question to ask a franchisor: Does your marketing bring customers to all regions? What are their strategies? Find out what ideas they have coming up, and track how recent marketing strategies have affected sales.

2. Franchisees’ ideas are incorporated. Great ideas often comes from great teams. That’s why some of the most successful franchises seek marketing input from their franchisees, to better strengthen their strategies. If a franchise has some sort of marketing bridge between franchisees and franchisors – such as an advisory group – it’s a good sign they take franchisees’ ideas seriously.

3. It allocates money effectively. From the marketing fund, money needs to be allocated into three key areas: (1) internal/external costs of administering ideas; (2) cost of producing marketing materials; and (3) advertisement costs. If a company is spending too much in one area than other, it’s a sign their marketing efforts aren’t being conducted effectively – which could have a major effect on sales.

4. Marketing plan and strategies are well documented. Marketing strategies with significant thought and effort put into them will be well documented. They’ll have drafts, ideas, and formalized presentations of them available. While a franchisor won’t hand everything over to a franchisee, they will likely give you the skin-and-bones of it to ensure you have a good understanding of the level of effort they put in.

5. Check with franchisees to see if marketing works. There really isn’t anyone better to ask than those benefitting (or not benefitting) from a franchise’s marketing. Find out if different marketing strategies have had an effect on sales, and whether they have any concerns.

To learn more about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path. The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

5 Ways Franchises Operate Just Like the Military

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For many veterans, transitioning from the military to civilian life can be difficult.

Needless to say, for the thousands of veterans that have made the transition over the past few years, most have found the success they were looking for.

But what is it that makes veterans so compatible to franchising?

More and more franchises are putting in a serious effort to recruit veterans, because of how much a natural fit franchising is for them.

Here are 5 Ways Franchises Operate Just Like the Military:

1. Structure. In the military, there is a clear chain of command and rank – and the same goes for franchising. As a franchisee, you’re head of your franchise’s operations, and are responsible for the execution of successful tasks, team leadership, and strategic direction. However, you’re able to take training, support, and guidance from the franchisor – a sort of central command center – to help optimize your success.

2. Systems and Processes. Veterans are highly adept at closely following systems and processes to help them achieve their missions. In the military, missions are broken down into objectives that need to be meticulously adhered to in order to attain a successful operation. The same is true in franchising, where franchisees aim to replicate the tried-and-true formulas that made all the other franchisees so successful.

3. Goal-Oriented Missions. Each day, a franchisee has one thing in mind: how to best optimize their franchise to achieve maximum success. With specific goals in mind – from sales and profit, to team performance and customer service – franchisees can track performance indicators as they strive to achieve all goals.

4. Problem Solving Under Pressure. Nobody knows stress under pressure like the brave men and women that serve our country; they put their lives, and their comrades’ lives, on the line for our freedom. While franchising takes place in a civilian area, the pressure is still high – and veterans thrive at finding quick, efficient, and effective solutions to problems under pressure.

5. Close Comrades. It’s no secret that the bonds shared between military comrades is a special one. In franchising, that same close-knit camaraderie exists, where franchisees lean on one another for support as they strive towards the same goal.

To learn more about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path. The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

Management Insight: How Millennials View Work (Infographic)

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All millennials are lazy, slacking, unreliable job-hoppers, right?

According to new information found in a study by Bentley University, how millennials actually view work may surprise you.

This information is particularly useful for franchisees and their managers, who frequently hire millennials to fill positions within their franchise. And with employee performance so important to a franchise’s bottom line, enabling your employees to perform to the best of their abilities – and taking the right steps to make it happen – is paramount.

In terms of shift work, 77% millennials prefer to work flexible hours – meaning that 9-to-5 isn’t their only preference.

However, 50% the millennials surveyed actually admitted that the biggest reason people their age were unprepared for their first job is due to poor work ethic.

To help combat this, 66% of millennials say you can boost their productivity by limiting their use of social media.

See the infographic here for more details:

This Is How Millennials View Work (Infographic)

To learn more about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path. The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.