Clarity is Essential to Franchise Your Business
If you’re thinking about franchising your business, you probably have a lot of questions and concerns, but deciding to franchise your profitable small business isn’t that different than any other decision you make in business or in life. The principles are the same – you have to engage your head and your heart and then take massive action each and every day, even after you’ve met your initial goal. But there is one thing you absolutely have to have if you’re going to pursue franchising – CLARITY.
What’s your WHY? What is it that makes you want to turn your business into a franchise? What are your motivations and reasons? Are they strong enough to sustain you through all the ups and downs? Does your WHY truly excite and energize you? Franchising is a very costly, time-intensive endeavor with lots of operational and marketing costs plus legal regulations, which could take you several years, at best, to break even. Without a convincing WHY and a strong commitment, this long financial, legal and marketing gauntlet could leave you sitting in the mud.
As you start on your franchising journey, you just need to get clear about what you want, get excited about what you want and then get moving toward what you want. You don't need much - just clarity, excitement and action. These five steps can help you get your feet moving in the right direction, no matter your significant goal or dream:
Get crystal clear on what you want in your professional and personal life
Most people never do this and that's why they never achieve breakthrough results. They don’t get what they want because they never truly defined and wrote down what they want. They have fuzzy goals at best. Don't be like ordinary folks. Write down exactly what you want to have, be and do. (Some people struggle with this. To help, think about what you don't want and then write down the opposite.) But until you have a crystal clear goal of what you want, do not proceed. Clarity is step one.
Get rid of negative or limiting beliefs
Write down what the "critic in your head" is saying and throw that junk away. You are not that person. That is simply your fears trying to protect you and stop you from getting out of your comfort zone to start a franchise or take any other new direction or calling. Getting out of your comfort zone and taking manageable risks is essential to future success. In fact, to increase your wealth zone, you must enlarge your comfort zone. No risks, no big rewards. To counter your fears, believe in your heart and soul that you deserve a better professional and personal life. Stop making excuses. Visualizing and tasting success ahead of time and taking action, as discussed below, will help you overcome these fears. The key is to “Feed Your Dreams and Starve Your Fears®”.
On a daily basis (morning, noon and night), concentrate on what it would really feel like to already have, do or be what you wrote down in step #1
See the coming attractions in vivid colors. Get excited. Surround your goals with your positive emotions. It will be your vision and feelings that fuel your actions. For example, if you want a national franchise system, fully visualize that and soak in all the positive emotions that will produce. Feel as if you already have successful franchise units in 100, 500 or 1,000 locations. See it, hear it, feel it, taste it, smell it … and know it.
Write down a simple game plan to pursue your goals
Don't worry about mapping out all the steps, just focus on some of the initial ones. You don't need to have all the answers to begin – just get going. Don't get caught up in the overwhelming details of "how" you are going to achieve something; focus on the strong "why" you want it and then just get started. You will learn what you need as you go or other advisers and helpers like Franchise Funding Group will come along the way. Be open to getting help and build up a mastermind group – don’t try to do it alone. In moving forward, the answers and next steps will be revealed. Trust in the process. Just get going.
Take massive action on what you want
Focus on your goals every day and take some type of action every day. Follow your game plan and keep visualizing that you've already achieved your goals. Through action, you will create momentum, and with momentum you will achieve results. On a weekly basis, look objectively at your results. If things are not working, it's not failure - it's simply valuable feedback. Adjust your actions to get different results. Then continue to take massive action and learn and adjust as you go. Repeat this process daily.
Got clarity? For those wanting help with franchising out of the gate, fill out our application and it will simply serve as a starting point for discussions to see if it makes sense to work together. No obligations whatsoever. Here’s to a successful 2019!
