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Educating Tomorrow's Franchisees
February, 2013
Author Image Greetings!

Over the past decade I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with thousands of people who hope, one day, to own their own business. The people I work with are generally honest, hard working and have exceptional ethics. They endeavor to treat everyone with fairness and respect. They work hard for their employer, spouse, parents and children. Interestingly, they are often so focused on doing the right thing for everyone around them, they are reluctant to take control of their own future.

 

Why is this? Well, some people don't feel like they 'deserve' it. Others folks don't want the 'responsibility'. Finally, most folks 'fear' the unknown.  This month I would like to share a couple of thoughts with those individuals who struggle to create the future they want.

 

First, you deserve it. Even if nobody in your family has ever owned their own business, even if the 'timing is not right' (it never is), even if it will make people around you uncomfortable ... you still deserve the opportunity to do the things that you really want to do. It may take some cajoling or negotiation with those around you, but you absolutely deserve it. Am I sounding like Dr Phil?

 

Second, take responsibility. There is a simple truth in life. If you do not take responsibility for your future, somebody else will. It is a choice. Responsibility takes courage; there is no doubt about that. However, do you really want travel through this journey called life without ever taking responsibility for your own actions, without trying to create a future of your own design? It is never too early, or too late, to begin. Start tomorrow.

 

Finally, there is fear. This is probably the number one issue facing new business owners. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever done anything new and exciting in life that did not also involve a certain degree of fear? Think about it - First day of high school, getting married, your first child, first time in front of an audience. All of these events are BOTH exciting and scary. Fear and excitement are flip sides of the same coin. If you seek to live your life without doing anything scary, you are also condemned to a life without doing anything truly exciting. Interestingly, dealing with fear is a learned skill, and it takes practice. The more often you try new things, the more exciting and enjoyable your life can become.

 

Taking responsibility for your life also means doing new things that may be scary. But you can do it and, most importantly, you deserve it.

 

A couple of days ago a lady that I am working with reminded me of the wonderful advice that Christopher Robin gave to Pooh -

 

"Pooh, promise me you will always remember: You are braver than you believe, you are stronger than you seem and you are smarter than you think"

 

Have a great February.


 

Respectfully, 

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Rick Bisio
Founder of The Educated Franchisee
Unstoppable Franchising is Beating the S&P 500

If you've been looking for a market-beating sector, the answer may be right at your fingertips - in the smoothie you drank, the flowers you sent, the rental car your drove, and the fast-food fried chicken you ate.

 

What these disparate businesses have in common is a business model: franchising. And in a wobbly economy, businesses relying on a proven franchise model seem to be faring better than many others.

 

The stats: The 45 largest franchise stocks gained at nearly twice the rate of the Standard & Poor's 500 in 2012 - 23.2 percent versus the S&P's 13.4 percent, reports industry research firm FranDATA, which tracks franchise-sector stocks in its quarterly FRANdex report.  

 

Why are franchise stocks increasing in value? Here's what the franchise industry has going for it that's driving sector stocks to perform better than the market average:  

      

 Go to Forbes, Click Here
7 Biggest Small-Business Trends in 2013

From growing a franchise to entering the cloud to purchasing a tablet computer, here are the seven best trends for small businesses this year.

1. Franchising as a career alternative is set to explode.
2. Are you prepared for the 1099-K?
3. Going "glocal."
4. Health = wealth
5. Customer service gets back to the basics.
6. Major clouds ahead
7. Tablets will become must-have devices for small businesses
  
Over 50, and Reinventing Themselves. (The Story of Bonjet and 4 others)

 

It's a baby boomer's nightmare. One moment you're 40-ish and moving up, the next you're 50-plus and suddenly, shockingly, moving out - jobless in a tough economy.

Too young to retire, too old to start over. Or at least that's the line. For millions of Americans over 50, this isn't a bad dream - it's grim reality. The recession and its aftermath have hit older workers especially hard. People 55 to 64 - an age range when many start to dream of kicking back - are having a particularly hard time finding new jobs. For a vast majority of this cohort, being thrown out of work means months of fruitless searching and soul-crushing rejection.

 

To which many experts say, "What did you expect?"

 

Everyone, whatever age, needs a Plan B. And maybe a Plan C and a Plan D. Who doesn't know that loyalty and hard work go only so far these days?

 

"Shame on you if you're not thinking every single year, 'What's my next step?' " says Pamela Mitchell, a career coach and author.

 

     
Go to NY Times.com, Click Here

 

The Power of Habit Investments

O
ne of the things I've learned in my last 7 years of creating new habits is the power of compound habit interest.

It sounds really obvious when you say it, but if you do something small repeatedly, the benefits accrue greatly over time. It's obvious, but not everyone puts it into practice.

 

It's like putting a little extra cash into an index investment fund ... let's say you put in just $5/day (less than you spend at Starbucks perhaps) ... at the end of 20 years, you'd have almost $70,000 if you could make just 6% interest, and closer to $90,000 if you could make 8%. Change that to just $8/day, and you're now talking about $140,000 or so. It adds up greatly over time.

 

The same principle applies to habits.Let's take a few examples:  

 

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There is a reality in life.  Greater knowledge drives better decisions and better decisions reduce business risk.  Franchising is all about risk reduction but not all franchises are low risk.  Our books are designed to empower you.  By following the advice and guidance presented in our books you will recognize high quality franchises and confidently pass over those that are not.

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Contact Information
 
Author - Rick Bisio
,  rbisio@educatedfranchisee.com