Come Out Of My Shell

Taught me how to come out of my shell, manage my time effectively, and ultimately see the rewards for doing so

It might be that at this point, all you have done is put your name on some signup sheet. Maybe, you’ve just begun your journey into University and you’re curious about the opportunities now available to you, so when that clipboard made its way through the rows-on-rows of seats to you, you put your name down.

Well, I was in that exact same position last September.

Naïve, but curious, I continued through the interview process. When the time came to decide whether or not to go ahead, I took the chance and began the process of opening my very own painting franchise.

Do I regret it? Absolutely not. Prior to starting my Student Works franchise, I was able to get away with not being great with time management or organization. While fairly confident with myself, I was never a very “social person.” Student Works taught me how to come out of my shell, manage my time effectively, and ultimately see the rewards for doing so. Not only am I able to pay off school, but I have a nice amount of spending money left over that I’m planning to buy a motorcycle with.

Was it easy? Hell no. When you hear people talking about how “this will be your craziest summer ever,” they aren’t lying. As a first year rookie, I, like most people, had little to no experience running my own business. My painting skills were sub-par and, like I said, I wasn’t exactly the most exuberant individual. All I can say is, you work hard, you’ll see results. You slack, and you won’t.

I came out of the year producing just over 75 thousand, which if you look at the pamphlet you were given, that’s just above average. How did I get there? I cold-called in the pissing rain for hours on end, I flyer dropped, and I FOLLOWED THE SYSTEMS. Pre-season is your go-season. Being an out-of-town franchisee, I was only able to come up every couple weekends to my home town. So when I was home, it was go-time. Like I said, you put in the work (right from the start) and you’ll save yourself in the long-run.

Do I recommend starting a painting franchise? Yes. Student Works develops you as a person. It’s not just your average summer job you do for shits every now and again. You’ll see yourself grow, meet some amazing people (clients and other franchisees), and build yourself a solid network. In fact, over the course of the summer, I was offered an internship at a real estate office, as well as the opportunity to work as an intern in the financial department for big oil companies in their development of LNG-Woodfibre.

Take this opportunity, grab it by reigns, and enjoy the ride. You will not regret it.