Ten years ago I was teaching full time and pregnant with my second child.

I loved teaching but the majority of my paycheck was going to daycare and now with a second child on the way I had to ask myself if my career path was the right one.

I was looking for the ability to set my own schedule. I wanted to be in control of my hours and my income. I had thrown a lot of ideas around until I walked into a children’s hair salon and realized it was a manager based business. I could be the business owner but not have to work in the salon. I knew nothing about hair, I barely knew how to do my own. Although I had no expertise in the hair care industry, I knew I could manage people and after researching franchising I realized buying a franchise was a perfect fit. Franchising is an opportunity to build your own small business without having to reinvent the wheel while having the support of a team behind you. Now ten years later and with eight stores across the Wasatch front my business is able to sustain my family and because of the manager model I’m able to spend my time on other passions.

I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and let’s face it – we are more friendly to the idea of women choosing to raise their children as a full time job. I’ve watched multiple friends leave the workforce and then one glorious year their youngest child starts going to school full time. The brain starts racing, thinking of how productive they will become. For some of us it’s been ten to fifteen years since we’ve worked in our field of expertise. The universe is telling us it’s our turn and the last ten years has taught us that time is valuable and ours cannot be wasted.

How do we fulfill our dreams without wasting our time?

We educate ourselves on all of our options. One option may be small business ownership. There are many free services our state offers in order to help people see their dreams of small business ownership come true.

The SBA Small Business Administration provides a number of financial assistance programs for small businesses that have been specifically designed to meet key financing needs, including debt financing, security bonds, and equity financing. The SBA does not make direct loans to small businesses. Rather, SBA sets the guidelines for loans, which are then made by its partners (lenders, community development organizations, and microlending institutions). The SBA guarantees that these loans will be repaid, thus eliminating some of the risk to the lending partners. So when a business applies for an SBA loan, it is actually applying for a commercial loan, structured according to SBA requirements with an SBA guaranty.

The SBA has three arms that help them assist small businesses throughout Utah. They are SCORE, The Women’s Business Center and the SBDC.

SCORE connects entrepreneurs with mentors to help them build their business with free business advice. Our mentors come from all industries and have the expertise and connections to lead you down the right path. SCORE also provides a number of workshops for small business owners. If you feel a business coach would benefit you a SCORE mentor can give you the advice you need and lead you in the right direction. Mentoring sessions can be scheduled online or over the phone.

The Salt Lake Chamber Women’s Business Center (WBC): Helps Utah women build confidence, create opportunities, and experience success in business ownership. The WBC provides low cost in-person and online training, free individual business consultation, and networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs throughout the entire state of Utah. They believe any woman can start and run a successful business with the right skills, resources, and support.

SBDCs (Small Business Development Center) provide services through professional business advisors such as: development of business plans; manufacturing assistance; financial packaging and lending assistance; exporting and importing support; disaster recovery assistance; procurement and contracting aid; market research services; and healthcare information. Based on client needs, local business trends and individual business requirements, SBDCs modify their services to meet the evolving needs of the hundreds of small business community in which they are situated.

FRANNET is a partner of all of the programs above, providing guidance in the exploration of business ownership through franchise opportunities. If you are an entrepreneur without an idea FRANNET can help. An educational group that will give you an assessment and match you to the franchise opportunities in your community that would best suit you. You can take the assessment for free.

I’ve worked closely with all of these agencies and I have found that many Utahans don’t know they exist. All of these agencies work together to build small businesses in Utah, many of them provide similar services which will allow you to find exactly what you are looking for.

Take a few weeks off, go back to bed after your kids catch the bus. Hit the gym or binge on Netflix and when you’re done have the confidence to go after your next career.

The post Your kids are back in school, now what? appeared first on HER Magazine ™.

Ever considered a franchise? (lightbulb moment)

Whether you are a business woman, mother, or both – franchising offers options and most importantly, the support many new business owners lack. You’d be surprised how many franchising options are available in your community.  

Let’s break down the numbers for you

• There are over 3,100 different franchise companies in more than 80 industries.
• There are over 900,000 operating units and it’s not just burgers and fries.
• Popular franchise categories include: Education, Home Repair, Retail, Senior Care, IT services, Consulting (just to name a few – we are honestly just scratching the surface here)

As women, we juggle a tremendous amount of to-do’s and while you may want to become a business owner, being at work 24/7 may not appeal to you.

Here’s something refreshing: the role of franchise ‘owner’ can vary from home-based, office-based, storefront, to semi-passive. Point is, you’ve got options and who doesn’t love choices? Franchising offers a proven business model that is easy to replicate and grow, and again who doesn’t love the idea of inheriting a system which has a proven track record of bringing in revenue?

SOLD!

Advantages include: quicker ramp-up time, more funding options, and proven systems that give you the ability to be in business for yourself but not by yourself.

Have you ever wondered what owning a business could do for you and your family?

Do you have the confidence and support to take the leap and how could you possibly afford it?

FranNet has been educating and matching clients with franchise opportunities and funding options at no cost for over 29 years.

Numbers recently released reveal that by the end of year one, startup businesses will have spent an average of $90,000. p.s. most businesses don’t earn a penny in year 1.

With 28% of franchises being under $100,000 it’s worth exploring your options.

Why Franchising is Smart

Smart business owners outsource their areas of weakness in order to enhance their success. Being  part of a franchise family offers systems including marketing, accounting, sales, and operations. Franchising also includes initial and ongoing training along with a community of other franchise owners working to build the brand.

Here’s an important question to ask yourself: are you an entrepreneur?

FranNet’s proven track record will allow you the opportunity to understand where and if your strengths would benefit a franchise. Many franchises require zero industry knowledge; they are looking for candidates who can follow systems, policies and procedures in order to be successful.   

Where can you start and who can you trust? The numbers never lie.

FranNet has been educating and matching people with franchise opportunities at no cost for nearly three decades. Our advantage is a 91% success rate of new businesses who were still open after 2 years compared to 64% of general small business success rates after two years according to the U.S. Census. After 5 years 85% of FranNet assisted new businesses were still open compared to 50% of general small business success rates. From those successful FranNet assisted businesses, 15% became TOP PERFORMERS in their franchise systems.

A Success Story

Crystal Anderson worked in the clothing industry her entire career, which included a management position in the corporate offices of Victoria’s Secret Catalog for several years before her position was eliminated due to downsizing.  As part of her severance package, Anderson was connected to a transition agency. Through the agency, she took full advantage of multiple seminars and webinars, including one on franchising by FranNet. Although she didn’t think franchising was in her cards, she took a chance and decided to keep an open mind.

“I learned about the many ways you can start your own company and get funding for franchising such as rolling over some of your 401K funds. Once I realized that was an option, it opened up a whole new world for me,” said Anderson.

At first, Anderson didn’t want to let go of the security of a paycheck and looked into semi-absentee franchise ownership. She decided to go with a different job opportunity and put franchising on the side. However, after her second position was eliminated, Anderson was finally ready for something new.

“The clothing industry had been my passion for so long, but it no longer was. And it became just a job. I was ready to do something different. The opportunity of being a business owner and working for myself was very appealing. I work hard wherever I work but at least now I know my hard work is going to benefit me directly,” she says.

Anderson reconnected with her FranNet consultant and together they set out to find a concept that would best fit her goals.  

“Throughout this entire process, not only did they help find companies that were a good match for me, but my consultant was my sounding board throughout the process. It’s been a great partnership and honestly, I wouldn’t have done this without their expertise and guidance.”

Another Shining Success Story

Patricia Hughes was a career educator – she had spent a lot of time in both the private and public sectors. But after retiring, she knew she was not ready to stop her life’s work. Today she is the owner of a tutoring franchise which specializes in personalized one-on-one, in-home tutoring service designed for all ages.

“I didn’t like retirement, and I decided that I wanted to do something else. I discussed the matter with my son who has two boys, one of whom has been tutored. And my son suggested tutoring as a good possibility,” says Hughes.

Ready to apply her tenure to a new business venture, she started her research through the Small Business Administration (SBA). Through her research, she was referred to her local FranNet consultant. Hughes was looking for a franchise ownership opportunity. She wanted to be able to leverage the experience of the franchisor to build a successful business.

How do you get started? is franchising for me?

Patricia’s first step, like so many others, was taking a Personal Franchise Assessment (PFA). Think of it as a personality test of her business acumen. The assessment looks at several facets, including a behavioral profile, risk tolerance and financial background. Hughes’ PFA was used to help identify franchises that would align best with her attributes.

The truth is if you’re reading this – you’ve most likely toyed around with the idea of business ownership. You’ve imagined the title CEO next to your name on a business card, or you may be in the middle of amid-life business crisis and are craving change – or simply the chance to be THE BOSS.

Either way, here’s a free test you can take to find out your personal franchise personality.

I can be reached via email or by clicking the fancy buttons below this article.

The post Don’t have a business idea? appeared first on HER Magazine ™.