Deciding to start a new business is a heady time for every budding entrepreneur. As any experienced business owner will tell you, preparation is the key to success.
Related:Everything You Need To Know To Succeed In Business
That preparation becomes much easier when you decide to purchase a franchise. You gain a huge upside as a result of the amount of information available to you.
Since franchises come with a system time-tested by dozens or even thousands of others, you get a veritable operating manual and can ascertain before you start whether you have the skills and experience to succeed with this business.
So, the key question becomes whether this business is right for you. Your most invaluable resource to help you find the answers lies with the network of franchisees who once stood in your shoes.
We recommend you interview as many franchisees as you can. You will find a complete list of franchisees in the Franchise Disclosure Document, which franchisors are required by federal law to provide to potential franchisees.
6 Steps To Interviewing Your Way To Franchise Success
If you've never conducted an interview, don't worry. Every good interview follows the same basic steps. Commit these to memory, perhaps ask a friend to help you practice, and begin to explore possible business options for your future.
1. Be Cordial And Gracious
Inquiring minds cannot just ask any question that pops to mind. Remember you are imposing on the franchisee's time, so when you call, get right to the point, that you are interested in the franchise and are hoping he or she might have a few minutes to talk about his or her experiences. Ask if this is a good time, or when might be a good time to call back.
2. Plan Your Interview
You might want to plan a couple of layers to your interview. Use your initial research of written documents to help plan good questions. First, prepare a few questions that would take no more than 15 minutes of the franchisee's time.
Then, write additional questions you might get to if the franchisee has the time. Ask questions that only this person can answer. Be specific about what this person knows that you cannot get in any prepared written material.
For example: How have their experiences been with the franchisor? Did actions live up to promises? Were training and support sufficient? Would they buy the franchise again?
3. Show Respect
You may not like everything the franchisees tell you, but you are after their perspective. So don't argue, play devil's advocate or in any way imply their problems are due to their own inadequacies.
4. Listen
The most important time during your interview is when you're not talking. Try to draw out as much information from the franchisee by asking succinct questions, and then stop talking. Sometimes people need a few moments to clarify their thoughts before responding.
5. Clarify
Even with the best listening skills, you may miss some of what is said. Don't be shy about asking your source to repeat something or clarify an answer you may not have understood. As most journalism professors will tell you, there's no such thing as a stupid question. The question you wish you had asked is another thing.
As you go through your notes, and something important pops out that you fear you may have misunderstood or gotten wrong in your notes, call back. Most people appreciate conscientious attempts to get it right. Just remember to be respectful of the franchisees' time. And it never hurts to drop a thank you email after the interview. You might want to keep these lines of communication open for the future.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Ready to make your dream of becoming an entrepreneur come true? Get your free evaluation today! Contact Dan Citrenbaum to help you create the career you've always wanted. As a business coach, Dan brings years of experience helping people select and buy a franchise or existing business. You can reach Dan at dcitrenbaum@gmail.com or at (484) 278-5489.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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