My Franchise Journey…Plugging Along
Note: Post #29. Imagine being 61 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 I am in my first few months of small business franchise ownership. This is my story.
Those who have been following along will notice a change to my preamble note. I turn 61 this week and it feels more accurate to say I am in the first few months of business ownership rather than state I am buying a franchise. It is easy to think of these things in a static manor when in fact it is a dynamic process and time marches on.
The last post highlighted some challenges which, for the most part continue at the time of this writing. My client base is growing, just not at the pace I would like. I am now at 31 and counting with a handful of promising conversations. I meet with two folks tomorrow that I think will sign on and an intriguing conversation is taking place with a potential neighborhood group of 3–6 families. The weather is not helping the cause. It has not been “sit on your back deck in the evening” weather so folks are not yet outside getting bit with regularity. I had a string of 3 days in a row with absolutely no inquiries, much less closed business. That gave me pause! Thankfully, it has started to pick up again.
Staffing is an on-going issue. In the “misery loves company” category it does not really help that I am not the only one scrambling to find help. Many Mosquito Hunter franchisees are having the same problem and the hospitality industry is in a collective panic trying to hire. I know a few restaurants unable to find dishwashers even though they are paying $18/hour! My situation improved dramatically with the arrival of my Marketing Intern who started a week ago. He is off to a great start and I am excited to have him on board. My next great idea for getting my door hanger ads distributed is to see if youth sports teams would like to take it on as a fundraising opportunity. I put a program together that will pay the team member and the team. Here’s hoping a few take me up on the idea. I also had an encouraging conversation with a retired law enforcement officer who is a client and may be interested in picking up some part-time Technician work. Again, here’s hoping…
This week I am going to experiment more with Facebook and neighborhood Facebook groups to generate interest and inquiries. Some franchisees are having success with this approach. I also plan on setting up opportunities to set up a display booth in strategically located parking lots where Gunther and I can be present to distribute material, answer questions, and generate business. I am capable when I am in front of people. I just need to create more opportunities to do just that.
On the service side, I enjoyed a spectacular week of weather, 70 degrees and blue skies, for being out and treating properties. It was great to be outside. It is supposed to be near 90 degrees in a week or so which will not be nearly as enjoyable! I also treated some of my clients for the second time. It is great to experience the repeat connections and I was able to talk with some about leaving a Google review. Up to this point (see Post #23), my reviews have been “character” or “reputational” reviews. I can now add 4 5-star reviews from current customers with more to come! These should help when people go to Google to check out my business.
The conclusion for this post is that I am settling into a routine and am feeling more comfortable in the day-to-day. I am even beginning to think about things to do differently next season, especially those things that I will have more available time to start earlier than I was able to this season. I also am continually reminded that while client growth now is desired, success will really be measured over years not months.