Built Confidence

Dear Potential Franchisee,

It would be impossible to share with you in one letter everything that you should know before signing up to be a franchisee. In my experience, this first year was one of the toughest and most rewarding in my life so far.

One of my main goals this year was to become less anxious when I talk to people. Spending hours going door to door was something that I had to do to market my business, and initially I struggled. I would stumble over my words or completely forget what I was supposed to say as soon as the door opened. After a couple of months I was confident enough to break from my “script” and actually talk to people at the door.

I met a lot of awesome people this year, between franchisees, clients, painters, district managers, and even polite people at the door. The payroll events were fun, and it definitely helps to talk to other franchisees about challenges or successes. I met a few clients who went through the same University program that I am going through now, and got some good advice from them.

Taking on a business was a huge challenge. All of us were given help and instructions through the Student Works Systems, but I made many mistakes in practice. There were so many aspects of my business to manage, I sometimes found myself neglecting certain things when other issues demanded attention. Being responsible for every success and failure along the way caused a lot of stress. Whenever something went wrong it was up to me to make it work. Even with the support of my district manager, there were quite a few situations where I ended up putting more time and energy than I should have. Sometimes it was difficult for me to slow down and step back so I could look at what I was doing and make changes. I put my business before myself more often than I should have, and I didn’t plan ahead enough to have a break.

With all of that, I have no regrets about signing up to be a franchisee. I met so many people, had fun, stressed lots, and really pushed myself to grow.