Taking on a leadership role is a big deal. Whether you’ve worked up to the position from an entry-level job or become the owner of a new franchise, you’ve likely put in years of hard work to get where you are now.
But with a new title comes new responsibilities.
Luckily, there are ways you can prepare yourself for your new leadership position. Below are three tips to help you adjust to life as a first-time leader.
Focus on Communication
When it comes to being in a leadership role, your ability to communicate with your employees is the most important aspect of your job. You want to create an environment where your employees feel free to ask for help, give feedback or suggest solutions to a problem.
As the leader, you will want to learn how to communicate in a way that motivates your employees and reassures your employees that you are in firm control. The power of communication in your workplace can not be overstated.
Develop Time Management Skills
There never seems to be enough time in the day. This becomes even more apparent when you are in a leadership role. But how do you address this problem as a new leader?
One option is to create a plan to help tackle the tasks that you need to get done. As a leader, you should feel confident delegating different tasks to your employees. This will not only help you, but it will show your employees that you trust them.
Learning to be decisive is also part of developing time management skills. Once you’ve made a decision on something, stick with it and see it out. Flipping back and forth will only cause more problems for you and your employees.
Don’t Fear Making Mistakes
Everyone expects those in leadership positions to be perfect. But leaders are still humans, which means that they are more than capable of making mistakes. But these mistakes do not have to be a moment for you to beat yourself up.
Not only can you learn from them and do better next time, but they can be an opportunity to show your employees what accountability looks like. If they see you owning your mistakes and working to improve, there is a good chance they will do the same thing.
If you’re ready to start your franchising journey, contact me today!
With any business that provides a service, it is important to not only keep customers happy but to keep them coming back. Below is a list of three ways you can make your customers feel appreciated and welcomed, which may result in them becoming loyal customers.
Show Your Appreciation
The role your customers play in the success of your business can not be understated. They are the main reason why you can keep your doors open, and your business in operation. To thank your customers for all that they do, you can show your appreciation for them.
This could be in the form of a customer loyalty program, customer spotlights and customer appreciation days. While these gestures may seem simple, they will go a long way in making your customers feel valued.
Make It Easy for Customers to Contact You
Direct communication with your customers is a great way to show them that you value their input. As a business, pulling back the curtain between yourself and your customers will make them feel like they are more than just a number to you.
While phone lines are not the popular form of communication they used to be, they still play an important role in customers being able to reach you. Email is another great method for communicating with customers, be it to fix problems or for marketing purposes.
When it comes to communicating with customers these days, though, it is hard to beat the power of social media. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and TikTok allow you to quickly share blogs, videos and other information that your customers will find entertaining and useful.
Personalized Customer Experiences
The experience and relationship that your customers have with your business should always be something you are looking to improve. One way of doing this is by making sure that your customer service plan includes creating personalized customer experiences.
This means treating your customers as individuals rather than as one big group of people. You can do this by creating specialized offers for them, messaging that focuses on products and services they are interested in and using their preferred platform for communication.
When it comes to creating a personalized customer experience, your focus should be on how your business can make your customer’s experience as easy as possible.
Ready to take the leap into franchising? Get in touch today to get started!
As an entrepreneur, being self-confident can be beneficial for you and your employees. Your employees will look up to you as someone they can trust to lead them in the right direction, and this will help them feel confident in their work. A workplace with confident employees is more likely to be successful.
But being self-confident does not come naturally to everyone. For some entrepreneurs, while they may excel in business acumen, building relationships and having knowledge of their business or product, being self-confident may be difficult.
Luckily, there are ways for you to build your confidence as an entrepreneur. Here are some of the methods you can use to make yourself a more confident entrepreneur and leader in your workplace!
Learning to Be Resilient
Encountering difficulties is part of being an entrepreneur. Of course, you will want to be as successful as possible, but as with any profession, you will come across roadblocks that may take you slightly off course.
One way to safely navigate these roadblocks is by learning to be emotionally resilient. What does it mean to be “emotionally resilient”?
This means that even in the face of adversity, you will be able to find a way to control your emotions, pick yourself up and get back to work.
Facing Your Fears
Even the strongest people have fears. But when it comes to dealing with fear as an entrepreneur, letting your fear of failure, challenges and conflict at work get the best of you will only hinder your success.
So, what can you do to overcome your fears? You can confront them!
Take the time to acknowledge that your fears are real and that it is normal to feel the way you do. You can begin to explore the source of your fears and the impact that not dealing with them is having on you at work.
From there, you can take steps to work to overcome those fears. If a challenge or conflict arises at work, try to work through it rather than ignore them.
Being an entrepreneur can be a life-changing experience. But if you are a person who lacks self-confidence, you may find your entrepreneurial career challenging. By practicing these steps, you can help yourself to be a more confident entrepreneur and leader.
If you would like to know more about franchising and how I can help you, get in touch today!
We have all had times when we’ve wanted to increase our focus. For some, ignoring distractions is easy. For others, simple distractions can kick them out of the zone.
Whether you are working on a challenging work task or a home project, it is always a good time to be hyper-focused and productive.
As an entrepreneur it’s easy to go, go, go and forget about your health. As it turns out, if you take care of yourself, it can actually improve your focus!
Fortunately, there are many ways to boost your concentration. Here are my favorite ways to help you improve your focus to maximize your success with your franchise!
1. Improving Your Sleep
Getting more sleep is usually easier said than done. Unfortunately, entrepreneurs know this too well.
But improving your sleep can provide drastic changes to your focus. There is a strong correlation between sleep and cognitive function. Experts agree that sleep influences memory, attention and thinking.
If you’ve been feeling like focus has been hard to come by recently, try changing up your sleep routine. It may be hard to stop working late into the night, but it will greatly improve your overall health—including concentration.
2. Try Focus Exercises
Focus exercises are meant to improve your focus and overall cognitive function. A lot of focus exercises are activities that you probably enjoy doing, you just don’t have a lot of time for. These exercises include reading, sudoku puzzles and meditation.
If your focus needs a boost, try scheduling in time to read a book before bed or doing a sudoku puzzle during lunch.
3. Fit in Exercise
Yes, your schedule is busy. Where could you possibly fit in exercise?
Studies show a correlation between exercise and cognitive function. Being in nature can also improve both your physical and mental well-being, so why take an after-dinner walk to help boost your focus and improve your attention?
An easy way to do this is to keep a large water bottle with you at all times. You’re busy and always running around, so a water bottle with a handle or strap makes it easy to carry along at all times.
5. Take a Break
Really—take a break! Sometimes stepping away from your tasks and giving your brain a break can help you come back to work even more focused and productive.
If you need to, schedule in regular breaks throughout the day, and take short breaks when you’re feeling unfocused.
Being an entrepreneur is an exciting time, but it is also common to experience a lack of focus, concentration. With these five tips, you can improve your focus and, in turn, maximize your productivity and success within your business!
For all of your franchising needs, contact us today!
Have you heard the term running around like a chicken with its head cut off?
An entrepreneur’s day can be complicated, hectic and full of surprises. As a small business owner, you wear many different hats, every single day. It can be easy to lose track of time, feel unproductive and lack creativity from time to time. These situations can be amplified by disorganization or poor time management.
It may be time to sit back, re-evaluate your current time management abilities and create a new system that works more efficiently. Here are a few tips to help you manage your time effectively as a busy entrepreneur.
Make a List
The first step is to make a list of everything you have to do. Create separate lists for business-related and personal tasks.
Time management is about how you handle your personal time, as well as time spent working. Doing this well can also create a better work-life balance.
Sort Your Priorities
After you’ve made a list of everything that has to be done, begin sorting each item by priority. What has to be done first, or what has a deadline?
If there are larger tasks that will take a lot of time, break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks and prioritize those accordingly.
Prevent Procrastination
Procrastination happens to the best of us. Putting a task off until the very last minute is not only a recipe for stress and frustration, but it can throw your current to-do list out of whack.
Instead of procrastinating, break projects into smaller tasks, nip thoughts of procrastination in the bud and congratulate yourself when you’ve been proactive when you normally would have pushed a task to another day.
Delegate When Possible
Where can you outsource projects? Take a look at your to-do list and figure out which tasks can be delegated to others.
You may also need to consider outsourcing the job to a freelancer. The key here is to take tasks that you don’t personally have to do and have others complete them, taking the pressure off your shoulders.
Rest
Time management isn’t always about going, going, going all the time. Taking time for rest and relaxation can create a better work-life balance and put you in a better mind frame to be productive.
Rest is important and should be a regular part of your routine to help you reset.
Ready for assistance on your franchising journey? Get in touch today to get the support and guidance you need to be successful!
Company culture is one of the most influential factors when it comes to employee retention and overall growth. Dissatisfied employees cost companies billions of dollars in lost revenue each year, and up to one-third of employees do not feel engaged at work.
As a small business owner, there are many things you can do to create a positive work environment for your employees. A positive company culture can increase productivity, improve employee retention and boost your organization’s reputation.
Read on to find out how you can create a positive company culture in your business today.
Recognize Achievements
When a goal is met or an employee has been working exceptionally hard, there should be some recognition for those achievements. Something as simple as a shout-out during a meeting can have a significant impact on employee morale.
When employees feel appreciated and engaged, they are more likely to produce results and be productive in the workplace.
Make Meetings Worth Attending
The phrase this meeting could have been an email is painfully familiar for most employees. Instead of conducting the same old, monotonous meeting, improve your workplace gatherings.
Every meeting should have a clear objective, allow time for input and produce results. Conducting smaller meetings, with fewer employees, can allow more opportunity for questions and discussion compared to larger, full-team meetings.
Be an Example
As a leader, it is your job to demonstrate the qualities you want in your workplace. Encourage open communication by leading discussions and allowing feedback.
When there are achievements within the company, celebrate them. Show your employees that their successes are important and won’t be swept under the rug. Also, be the prime example for behavior standards.
Setting an example for work-life balance is incredibly important. If the boss can work hard, be productive and still have a satisfactory existence outside of the office, so can the employees. The benefits of creating a solid work-life balance are endless and include increased productivity.
Creating a positive company culture is beneficial to your business. Employees will feel more engaged with their work, and productivity will increase. When valuable employees enjoy their work environment, they are more likely to stay with their company long-term.
