5 Resolutions for Every Franchise Owner – Have you made yours?
So you’ve made the leap to business ownership – very exciting! By now you’ve realized it’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind and lose sight of the big picture. Sometimes you even forget the reasons you started your own business. Here are 5 New Years resolution suggestions to help you find success and happiness in your business.
1. Resolve to Define Specific Goals for your Franchise
As franchise owners, it’s easy to fall into the trap of having a goal of “growth” or “success.” There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of these goals but they lack depth and direction, both of which are elements necessary for keeping your franchise on track.
Instead, this year, resolve to achieve greater clarity around your goals. What does growth look like? The answer could be number of clients, revenues, or profits, each of which require a different approach. If your goal is to succeed, define what success looks like for you. The answer could be a revenue goal, but it could also be reputation in your community or publicity. Defining specifics around these big, bold words can help you understand what’s needed to make your goals a reality. Develop your strategic plan with these specifics and review it quarterly. Maybe your goal is to sign 5 new clients each quarter, or increase your response time for customer service from 2 days to 24 hours, whatever metrics have the largest impact on your business are the ones to specifically measure.
2. Resolve to Improve Personally and Professionally
Many times, franchise owners neglect their own personal and professional growth as they bury themselves in work. There’s a lot going on in your new journey but that cannot stand in the way of continuing to learn, trying new things, and maintaining a laser focus on improvement. You, your team, and your franchise will be better off for the extra effort.
Get clear on what this improvement looks like for you. For example, it might include reading a new book each month, or attending a webinar a week. No matter what it looks like for you, don’t neglect your own growth. This is particularly important is you franchise is in a new industry for you. Often franchisees invest in a business where they have no experience because it’s exciting – and that’s OK. But it’s important to continue to learn your new industry and new job as a business owner. Try making a resolution to spend just 15 minutes each morning either listing to a training video or reading a book as relates to your business. Starting your day like this can get your mind focused and ready for the day.
3. Resolve to Network
It’s common for franchise owners to get so tied up in their franchise that they forget to network. As you enter the New Year, resolve to get more active and engaged in your community. The more new people you meet, the more new doors you can open in your franchise. It’s also “good for the soul” to talk to business owners and discover others have similar issues and can often offer helpful suggestions.
4. Resolve to Collaborate
In addition to networking, resolve to act on those new-found business relationships and start collaborating. Strategic partnerships can fuel a franchise’s success but they take effort. By resolving to collaborate, you will have a more intentional approach to form these new relationships, helping push your business’s growth forward.
5. Resolve to Plan
None of this — growth, success, clarity, or partnerships — happens easily without being organized. Resolve to set up systems for your franchise and organize your back office so you can have a solid foundation to guide your business throughout the year. Planning is the one key element that can make a business successful. At the end of each day, find some “quiet time” to plan for the next day. You will find you’re more productive and less stressed when you know what your day looks like.
Back
