My Franchise Journey…Finally Feeling Like The Owner
Note: Post #27. Imagine being 60 years old with a Ph. D. and 35+ years of non-profit administration experience, most as Vice President or Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement in colleges and universities. Now you are buying a franchise and becoming a small business owner. This is my story.
After adverse weather at the end of last week I was finally able to start providing mosquito control services to my clients this week. I had four scheduled on Monday, one on Tuesday, and three today. Weather got in the way again today, so I only got 1 done and pushed the other 2 to tomorrow. It’s definitely been a high learning curve week, juggling servicing clients with all the other things that are needed — marketing, administration, hiring, etc.
On Monday I used my backpack mist blower for the first time. Like every tool I’ve ever worked with, this one takes some getting used to. The basics are pretty straightforward. It is a 2-cycle engine requiring a mixture of oil and gas to run. Prime the pump, set throttle, pull to start. Admittedly, I wasn’t running a 2-cycle engine much at all as a senior administrator, but this all came back to me without much trouble! The mist-blowing part of the apparatus is a different story.
The unit has a 2.5-gallon tank on the top that holds the treatment product and water. Each product used must be mixed according to its label. The water comes from a 75-gallon tank inside the van. Measuring, mixing, not spilling are all part of the process. Once the product is ready to go and the engine is running it is time to strap the unit on and use the wand to spray mist on foliage and other places ‘skeeters hide out. It is not rocket science, but it does take some getting used to. There are decisions to make about which diffuser to use, what flow-rate provides the needed coverage, how fast does one move through a property again impacting coverage. Linger longer than necessary at the highest flow rate and your tank will empty in a hurry…believe me, I know!
I intentionally spent longer with each client than I will going forward. I wanted to meet them, walk the property with them, and tell them about the service. I believe this will pay dividends in the long run. It helps the client have a positive experience, makes them more likely to continue using the service and much more likely to refer us to others. It is the essence of customer service and it is what will differentiate us from others. With each client this week I have had this confirmed in various ways. A few have told me how much they have appreciated that I wanted to walk their property with them. Others have said they aren’t using their previous company because they didn’t listen to them or they didn’t communicate well. One even remarked that she appreciated how kind I was when I spoke with her. Most have offered to refer me to their neighbors. One even shared my business card with her neighborhood Facebook group before I was done treating her property!
I cannot tell you specifically when it happened but at one point, I realized that my thoughts about the business and being a business owner had changed. Once I wrote the check to buy the franchise, I understood I was the owner. Yet, it all felt different on Monday. Not sure what it was or how to explain it, but it is different. As I spoke with clients, I noticed my “business narrative” taking form. Part of that narrative is to tell people (in context of course) that this is my retirement job. It says a lot in a short statement. I have already had a long, successful career. I am adventuresome enough to try something new, take on a new challenge. It is possible I may care differently about their client experience than they may expect or be used to. When I told this to one client, he asked me what it was like for me to be in business for myself. During our conversation he said to me, “it’s got to be great. After all, you’re the boss!” With a new level of understanding of that, my psyche shifted from knowing I am the owner to embracing being the boss! I have to tell you…it feels pretty good.
