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I was so excited when I bought my first franchised business. Finally I was a business person. I got to make the important decisions. I was in charge. Little did I know that there was a lot I had yet to learn. Not only that, I didn’t realise that I had to concentrate on three particular areas to be sure that running this franchised business was going to be a positive experience. Had I concentrated on these areas I would not have experienced that worn out feeling 18 months down the track when I was exhausted, I had no time to spend with family, my cashflow was troublesome and for the money I was earning, I would have been better off staying in paid employment.
I quickly learned that if I had just concentrated on these three areas then the beginning of my franchise journey would have been more enjoyable for both my franchisor and myself.
Your Team
Having the right team is the single most important thing you will need to run your business. You cannot be in your shop all the time. Nor do you want to be.
- Having a leadership team of “mini-mes” that will run your business your way when you are not there is GOLD.
- Communication is the secret to having a great team. Tell them what targets they need to meet and train them in how to meet them. Most importantly keep them accountable for meeting these targets.
- Implement an in-store book that details the daily, weekly and monthly tasks.
- Have weekly management meetings that you can review your previous weeks store operation and plan for the coming week.
- Monitor the individual team members sales data to find out who is up-selling and who needs more training.
Your Profit
You have bought into this business to make a profit, so it is important that right from day one you know your Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
- What are the daily sales targets that you have to meet to make your ideal weekly sales?
- What is your break-even sales point?
- What is the average transaction value (ATV) do you have to achieve to reach your optimum sales?
- What is the Cost of Goods (COGS) percentage you are aiming for?
- What is your productivity level, how many sales per hour does each staff member have to achieve to be sure that they are working at the right pace?
- What is the labour percentage you are aiming for and will the roster you have prepared achieve this percentage if your team reach the target sales?
Your time
Most people buy a business so that they have more freedom to do the things they enjoy doing. They want to escape the 9 – 5 grind. But before long they usually find themselves being totally consumed by the business. To avoid this
- Roster yourself regular days off. Make sure your team knows this is YOUR day and to only contact you if necessary.
- Schedule all the important things into your phone calendar with a reminder so you don’t forget eg: Coffee with your Mum, kids sports days, your golf day, dinner with your significant other
- Have a “To Do” list
- Have a weekly planner – download one here http://bit.ly/FSweeklyplanner
- Be realistic when planning your day. Make sure you allot enough time to each task
- Delegate, particularly to your leadership team, that is why you have them afterall. You cannot do everything no matter how hard you try.
If only I had my time again my beginning journey would have been so very different. I would have been making a profit from day one. But then again, sometimes we have to learn these things the hard way to be sure we have been taught.
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