Tis the season

Are you preparing for the holiday season?  Perhaps you are getting out those holiday lights.  Whether you think of a season as being dictated by weather, or events, we are all impacted by seasons.  As individuals, consumers, parents, homeowners, and business professionals, seasonality is something we all face.

Working as a Franchise Recruiting Specialist for Outdoor Living Brands, a very common question from potential franchisees is “How does seasonality affect your business?”  Stop and think for a moment the impact of seasonality on everything in our lives.  Few businesses are not impacted by seasonality.  Tax preparers are impacted by the “tax season”.  Bulk mailing companies and tourist destinations are impacted by the “vacation season”.  Toys retailers, gym memberships, and magazine gift subscriptions are highly impacted by the “holiday season”.   Construction companies are impacted by the “rainy and snow season”.  And lets not forget the hot chocolate companies – it is getting colder you know.  Teachers – the “school season” is in full swing.   Doctors and nurses prepare for the “flu” season.  Just how many seasons are there?

Whether dictated by weather, geographic location, employment, holidays, or vacations, there will always be a seasonality factor.  If everyone simply stopped what they were doing during the “off season”, nothing would ever get accomplished.  The best answer I can give anyone to the question “How does seasonality affect your business” . . . we spend our “off season” preparing for “next season”.  Perhaps Henry David Thoreau said it best “Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.”

 

Don’t be afraid to fail – it can lead to success!

Without the risk of failure, many people would likey take more chances in an effort to achieve their personal and business goals. However, unfortunately, eliminating the risk of failing is just not possible.  Failure is a natural part of life.  Everyone fails during their life, sometime many times over. 

However, out of failure comes learning.  Out of failure comes personal growth.  Out of failure comes innovation.  A recent study of large company CEO’s revealed that many had gone through bleak, rough patches in their careers. These leaders didn’t see these experiences as “failures”, rather they saw them as opportunities to learn and get better in their lives and business careers. 

Fear of failure can cause dangerous paralysis – it can lead to inaction and a perpetuation of the status quo.  Feal of failure can lead to inaction which will ensure you don’t achieve the change (for the better) in your life and career.  However, as has been said many times, insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. 

If there are changes you are considering in your career to reach your goals – go for it.  whether it is a new job or investing in a franchise – make it happen.  What do you have to lose except the status quo?  What do you have to lose except the opportunity to reach your goals!

 

Lose Weight Fast and Keep It Off

Ever feel like the weight of the world rests solely on your shoulders? I think we can all relate to this feeling at times during our lives. I hear so many stories from my friends and family who are struggling with these feelings. Last week as I walked my daughter to the bus stop, I saw a “for sale” sign in the yard of one of my neighbors.

Yesterday, I visited with these neighbors to inquire about their plans. The gentleman had worked for years with the same construction company, and had been laid off last fall. After struggling for months to find a job, he went to work in his wife’s families business. Working for his father-in-law has really been difficult for this guy. I found out during my visit that his wife just lost her “Corporate America” job of 10+ years. I also found out she is two months pregnant. They are definitely relating to the weight of the world.

Like so many people I work with in franchising, they have gone through their 401(k) and savings and now are at a loss. As much as I can counsel someone about preparation for the future, convincing people that finding a job may not be the answer is not always an easy task. If people would step back for a moment, realize that what has happened really is a shame, and then look at ways to avoid having this happen again, they would realize that owning your business may be the answer. Before you utilize every penny you have saved to live the American Dream simply to survive, consider investing in yourself.

Invest in a franchise business – the opportunities are plentiful, but if you wait until you have exhausted your ability to invest, the weight may be unbearable. Take control of your future, and begin removing that excess weight. Franchising can be the best way to lose weight fast, keep it off, and also keep what is left of your sanity.

 

Advocate for Franchising on Capitol Hill

On Tuesday, I met with members of the Virginia congressional delegation about healthcare reform and other issues important to the franchise industry during the International Franchise Association (IFA) 10th Annual Public Affairs Conference held in Washington, D.C. on September 14 – 15, 2009

I joined 450 other franchise leaders from around the country in Washington to urge Congress to consider the impact of healthcare reform on small and franchise businesses. 

We urged congressional leaders to focus on reducing the cost of health care, improving the quality of care and making health insurance affordable for businesses to offer to employees. While the franchise industry supports healthcare reform, now is not the time, during the worst recession since World War II, for substantial new increases in healthcare costs. More consideration for small businesses in the healthcare debate is critical to the future of the franchise industry.

In addition, I highlighted the importance of franchising to the U.S. economy during meetings with Representative Eric Cantor and meetings the legislative staffs of Senator Jim Webb and Senator Mark Warner.  According to a study conducted for the IFA Educational Foundation by PricewaterhouseCoopers on the economic impact of franchising, there are more than 900,000 franchised businesses in operation across the country that provide for 21 million jobs and generate $2.3 trillion in economic output.

However, the tight credit markets are hampering our ability to create new, sustainable jobs. A 40 percent reduction in franchise lending is predicted this year, resulting in the loss of an estimated 200,000 direct and indirect jobs. During these meetings, we urged Congress to promote more lending and less government spending so franchise businesses can provide better jobs that help the economy recover at a faster pace.

 

The Social Media Promotion

I found an interesting article on the International Franchise Association’s website regarding Starbucks utilizing Twitter for promotions in the last couple of months. The story goes that Starbucks sent out a promotion for a free pastry with the purchase of a beverage using the coupon only offered through Twitter. The cost of putting together the promotion through Twitter and Facebook cost the company about $12,000. They placed this promotion on the web about 2 days prior to the event and ended up generating $400,000 in sales from this at a rate of almost 410% and an increase in followers by 250,000 people in one week.

While the $12k price tag may be a bit steep in a beginning small business, the theory still stands true. By offering “web only” deals through Twitter and Facebook or other social media outlets, people are more likely to follow them and increase sales through these deals at low cost of advertising.

Whether it’s a $500 off coupon promotion for an Archadeck Structure, a $200 off deal for an Outdoor Lighting Perspectives’ project or $25 off your next barrier spray with Mosquito Squad, the theory stands true… people will follow you if you are offering them incentives to do so; giving you the open dialogue not only offer deals, but create a persona as the expert in your field and educate them along the way!

 

Now that the kids are back in school….

I continue to see people explore making changes in their lives throughout the year but after almost 25 years on being involved in franchising, there are two times during the year that often create a flurry of franchise inquiries.  In January as people reevaluate their lives in light of a new year, and also in September, once many have gotten their children settled back into school.

I believe both times are times for reflection. There is no denying that time continues to march on when we see another calendar year roll over or when we dry our tears in unbelief as a child enters kindergarten, high school, or college. “Where have the years gone?” is a common question we say to ourselves as if someone snatched years of time away right from under our noses. In my experience, these are times when we pause and begin to review what we are doing, how we are doing it, and wonder if there is a better way to spend our precious time.  And let’s face it, we spend a tremendous amount of our time in jobs that are necessary for paying the bills.  If your job is a career you love, then it is not a drain but a joy. If you happen to own your own business and find joy then it is even more rewarding.  You love what you do and you are building a wonderful thing that cannot be found in having a job;  this wonderful thing is called equity!

Far too often, I see people who are in jobs they hate that end up zapping their joy and excitement each and every day they show up to work.  We promise ourselves that one day we will take action for change but then life just continues to unfold without any real action taken.  But then a birthday, a new year, or the reality of seeing our child another year older heading off to school forces us to stop and take notice.

Many times, I have heard people say “All my life I dreamed about owning my own business, and I realize I am not getting any younger so if not now, when?”

Actually, there is seldom a wrong time to explore your options of business ownership if you’ve been thinking about it.  Perhaps it is the perfect time for you to begin on exciting journey to explore the possibilities?

What do you have to lose when exploring possibilities?  Nothing.

What could you gain?  An exciting new adventure that could wind up being one of the very best decisions you ever made!

 

Take control of your future by carefully planning it…

Last week, our senior leadership team at Outdoor Living Brands met for two days offsite in a board room at the School of Business at Virginia Commonwealth University for a strategic planning session.  As the franchisor of Archadeck, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives and Mosquito Squad, we are regularly encouraging our franchisees to “work on their business, not just in their business”.  After all, how will any of us reach our business goals if we don’t first spend time to plan our desired future, then actively managing our progress against the key intermediate metrics in our plan? We “preach” this message to our franchisees, but we are also putting it into action in our organization!

We have spent time this year working with the franchise leadership groups in the Archadeck and Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Systems to discuss where we want these businesses to be in 3-5 years. As always, we get great ideas from our dedicated franchisees that serve on the front lines of building their companies everyday! Last week, we began to rollup this information into a long-term strategic plan for our entire organization and franchise systems. In addition to building off the input from our franchisees, we involved both our entire senior leadership team and our board of directors/shareholders. Our efforts were guided by an outside expert that has assisted many companies through a strategic planning process.  

Now, the real work starts!  As our facilitator said, success is 1% strategy and 99% execution. As the company’s overall leader, it is my responsibility to make sure we have clear alignment across our leadership team and organization with our business goals. Once we do, based on the talent we have in place, execution will follow. We are now working to clear set the short- and intermediate-term goals in order to stay on track with our longer-term goals.

While our efforts have been at the corporate level, the process applies equally well to one’s personal lives. If you are not where you want to be from a personal, career or financial perspective, have you set short- and intermediate-term goals for yourself?  Can you reach your goals without making changes in your life and career?  As you ask yourself these fundamental questions, I suggest that you explore if investing in a franchise could be a vehicle for you to reach your goals.  Whether it is one of our franchise concepts or not, franchising is a wonderful way to get into business for yourself, but yet have the support of a proven franchisor and network of franchisee peers to improve your chances of success.  If you want to make positive change in your life and take control over your career and future, I urge you to explore franchising.

 

Change can be for the better . . .

It is inevitable, change does happen.  Today was my daughter’s first day of school – Kindergarten is here.              Many children have faced this day, and most parents remember it well.  It seems the parents are far more apprehensive than are the children.  Why are we so afraid of change? “Don’t worry – you’ll do fine”, words of wisdom from mother to daughter, or perhaps I was trying to convince myself.  I can not believe my little girl is so grown up.  I remember thinking my mom was just so overly emotional when we went off to school that first day.  I know she only wanted what was best for us, and now she was allowing each of us to embark on a journey she could not control.  “Who will watch over her – make sure she eats, gets to the bathroom, and no one gives her a hard time?”  I suppose it is time to face reality – she can do all of those things herself – and, she will only get better at those things as time goes on.

Each of us have faced change and gotten better over time.  Do we always make the right decisions?  Of course not, nobody is perfect, and we all grow a little each time we stand and face the change and challenges coming our way.  How many of us have lost a job and thought “what will I do”?  Perhaps if we just had not gone to kindergarten, we would not be in this position . . . but, we did go, we learned, we grew, and we are better for having that experience.  We had the strength to take that step as a child, and have made many more in our lives.  Is now the right time to take that next step?

Stepping into the world of business ownership may make you apprehensive, but much like we had to take that step onto the bus, and away from Mom – the time may be right to step out of corporate America and into entrepreneurship.  If starting your own business was simple, everyone would do it.  Albeit difficult, the teacher may be closer than you think.  Consider a franchise opportunity.  Having someone to guide you down the path may make your journey a little less stressful.  Franchising offers success to aspiring new business owners with much lower risk.   Do not fear change, make it happen.  “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.”

 

Don’t be Afraid to Fail! Getting the Corporate Culture Right…

One of our employees at Outdoor Living Brands said something this morning that made me smile!  In a dialogue with some of our valued franchisees, he pointed out that if we are afraid to fail, we won’t grow. He said we can choose to do nothing and be immune from ever making a mistake (of course we might die from stagnation and/or decline) or we can choose to implement new things.  Sure, new ideas, new services and new programs (or a new career if you are thinking of investing in a franchise), may not be perfect immediately. However, if we make perfection our standard, we’d never move forward. Strive for it, but understand it’s unachievable.

This was pointed out by a member of our team in the IT department. As the overall leader of the business, this is an extremely gratifying sign that we have a team and a culture dedicated to growing and improving our businesses for the benefit of our franchisees. It brought a huge smile to my face and makes me quite proud of him and our team. There is a lesson for all of us in his statement – we must make the changes necessary to create the outcomes we want in our personal and business lives.

 

The Benefits of Entertaining Outdoors

Let’s face it, meeting friends for dinner in a restaurant is not quite what it is cracked up to be.  How many times do you find difficult parking, long waits, noise that is hard to talk over, and checks that do nothing but increase your anxiety? More often then you want to recall, right? The benefits of entertaining outdoors are many! Hosting a casual dinner in your backyard is a great idea and a much more relaxing way to go. It gives you and your friends a break from the stress and hassle of restaurant dining while enjoying the tranquil setting of your backyard at the same time.   When you move your venue to your backyard, it opens up a lot more possibilities to make your party relaxing, entertaining and stand out from the rest. There are numerous ways to spice up the party. To make your backward party a hit, use these simple tips.

Keep the menu simple.  Something delicious to grill, a tossed salad, yummy rolls, your favorite ice cream and your good to go.

Create a fun theme.  Example, ask each guest to bring their favorite childhood photo and swap funny stories about what you did as kids.

Pre-set the table on the deck. Again keep it simple, keep it inviting

Music sets the mood.  Keep it fun, festive, loud enough to notice … but not too loud to become distracting.

No Pests.  Don’t let mosquitos spoil the mood.  Call Mosquito Squad and they will keep them away from your yard throughout the year.

These are the ingredients I have found in the benefits of entertaining outdoors!