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The first decade of the millennium has come to pass. It seems like yesterday that we were all obsessed with being annihilated as a result of the Year 2000 computer malfunctions (Y2K). It seems that things we worry about are never as horrific as we make them out to be in our minds. Everything is temporary and a teaching tool. All things pass. Everything is changing and in the big picture; that’s a good thing. If not we’d all rust – or worse.
While most people are preparing for Christmas celebrations, Festivus or Chinese food and a movie, whatever your tradition may be, I wanted to get right into 2010 and resolutions. What’s your New Year’s resolution going to be? Will you resolve to quit smoking, eat less and exercise more? Other popular but less talked about resolutions are spending more time with family, learning something new, helping others and simply enjoying life more. The great news is that these less recognized goals can be achieved through owning a business. Time moves so quickly and we're on this planet for such a short time. Why continue to do something for a living that you hate? What are you waiting for? “I have no business experience,” you say? Maybe a franchise is just the thing for you – a business with training wheels!
Moreover, starting a new franchise will not only help you get to your dreams but you’ll create about ten new jobs in your community. In this job market, you’ll be hailed as a king for that!
As with any resolution, there is a lot of commitment and excitement on the first day of the year. In a business search the determination is never stronger than when that first inquiry is made – at that time, all possibilities are real. Images flash before your eyes of no boss to report to, no long commute and playing golf mid-week. Unfortunately, business searches, like most New Year’s resolutions, are usually short lived. According to Joe Mathews, author of Street Smart Franchising, out of 100 people who think about owning a franchise business, only 1 will actually become a franchisee.
One night, mid-slumber, the prospective entrepreneur sits straight up in bed and thinks, “am I crazy?!” All of the “what if’s” creep in: Can I make money? Will I have customers? Suddenly, she recalls a vague story about her baby-sitter’s uncle’s barber who cuts the hair of a guy who lost his shirt in a business – and it’s back to working for that idiot boss, waking to traffic reports on the alarm clock and waiting two hours on a Sunday morning to tee off. Wow, that was a short lived fantasy, it’s only February. What happened?
Fear of the unknown is what happened. Thankfully, there are ways to overcome the inevitable mountain of fear. Getting past the fear is the quintessential right of passage for a new entrepreneur. It’s a test all business owners face and it truly separates the wanna-bes from the people who know in their soul that there can be more to life than working a J-O-B.
How do you get past the fear? Acceptance. You need to acknowledge that this decision to change your life will have more anxiety than anything else that you would freely volunteer to do. Without facing the fear you will inevitably stay stuck where you are. There is no one forcing anyone to buy a franchise – unlike some to other high anxiety situations like making a speech at your brother’s wedding. There’s a sense of obligation to the sibling, so you make the speech and pray that it will be over soon. (The speech that is, not the marriage).
If you’re considering buying a franchise, address all of the fears up front and create a strategy for dealing with them before they arise. We all know that 98% of those things we fear never come to pass. Focus on the positives of business ownership and what it can do for you and your family. Understand that at the end of your due diligence, the real and final decision is yours and yours alone. If you get this far you will find that the real choice is between unhappiness (the boss, the commute, lousy pay) verses uncertainty (the possibilities of what could be if the chance is taken). I hope you choose uncertainty because life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
My wish for you in 2010 is to reach out, without fear, for newer, richer experiences.
Tom Scarda
Reach for the Top!
