Why don’t you work for yourself?

23rd March 2022

This opportunity could be a great way of feeling supported in the transition

If there is one issue this pandemic has surfaced, it’s that there are challenges in employment relationships whether you are employer or employee. They’re different but equally challenging. Having had experience on both sides of the employment relationship I’ve developed some thoughts on this issue.

If you accept a role with an enterprise, you have a regular income, but you always feel like you are being paid less than you should be. It always seems that your good ideas get hijacked by your boss and passed off as theirs. Similarly, when things don’t go that well, it’s usually your fault! It’s a well-known adage that people don’t leave their jobs, they leave their managers.

On the other hand, if you choose to work for yourself, when you aren’t billing, you aren’t earning. Everything that happens is your fault. You have nowhere to hide. You have no one to blame. It’s all on you. That is challenging for most people and in my experience it’s why most people never get into business on their own account. And why most startup businesses fail within three years.

This is where the concept of a franchise fits in. It’s a middle ground where there is a brand that has been established by someone who has worked out how to stay in business. They have developed systems and processes that they know work and have systemised their own business to prove the concept. Essentially, they provide you an opportunity to ride the middle ground between being an employee and employer.

New Zealand is one of the most franchised markets in the world. There are many examples of successful franchises all around you that you hardly notice. Home builders. Real Estate agencies. Cleaning contractors. Fast foods. Business sales. Bed shops. The list goes on and on. Why so many? Well, the short answer is because they work.

It takes a long time to become an overnight success. But it takes a lot less if you have someone to help you avoid the pitfalls. Having spent the last 20 years in the recruitment industry I have met many successful recruiters and many who weren’t. When I look back at those that succeeded there were similarities that stand out.

Successful recruiters were organised and used back-office support. They spent their time talking to customers face to face and getting to know their clients and their businesses. They were efficient and realised the more time they spent with customers, the more opportunities they got to show their skills. They developed these skills through constantly evaluating their performance and benchmarking themselves against the best – trying to be more than average. They knew what they needed to know and didn’t concern themselves with things that didn’t add to their income. They did not try to be the Jack of All Trades, just the master of the one they were interested in and consequently they became good at it.

After 20 years I’m looking to step back from the frontline and help some people into their own businesses through a franchise opportunity that provides great mentoring and a host of other support. We have built some smart proprietary back-office IT systems over the years and we want to build a network that feeds off the other members. We want to develop into a symbiotic entity that is bigger and better than the sum of its parts.

If you want to row your own waka, earn what you are worth, and ensure you get to your destination, why don’t we talk?