Franchises - Emotional Fulfillment The Challenge

Dennis Schooley, BBA, CA

Do you look forward to Friday afternoon or Monday morning? Perhaps thats the true litmus test of happiness. If youre thinking about the fact that theres only one day to go before the weekend, when you just got back from lunch on Wednesday, it may be time for a change. Maybe your day-to-day activities simply arent all that fulfilling. Maybe youre in a rut, and it feels like you have to crawl up the side of the Chrysler building to get out.
 
 I seem to carry a certain amount of guilt on weekends because Im always looking forward to Monday morning. I know the next challenge resides there. Although I certainly enjoy my leisure time, it seems that Im always looking for the next opportunity to rev up, and meet the next challenge of being in business. It is my belief that the vast majority of us, all members of the same realm of humanity, miss the opportunity of feeling that motivation in our work.
 
 On average, each of us gets about 3 billion heartbeats. We all have to determine what to do with them. If youre suffering through 35 to 40 hours a week in a job that offers no challenge, perhaps alternatives need to be examined. Perhaps thats a lot of blood being pumped nowhere.
 
 Now thats not to say that many jobs dont offer that challenge. Many of societys best producers are employed, and through that employment, they help their companies achieve great things. If thats you, then these humble thoughts dont address your situation.
 
 On the other hand, if it seems like its just past a million oclock, and its really just before your morning break on Tuesday, then its probably time for a re-think. Speaking of breaks, I think the last formal break I took was in 1977. I find that breaks arent as much fun as the business at hand, so why bother? Now thats got to have some psychoanalysts seeking me out to slather some wisdom on me like cocoa butter on a sunburn. Thats the price of loving what you do.
 
 If you are examining alternatives for yourself, and youre evaluating a Franchise opportunity, there are many objective factors to evaluate. In a previous article about Control of Your Destiny, I discussed the fact that every analysis should include the standard of comparing risk to return. It should include income projections, and cash flows. It should include the analysis of financing avenues, site selection alternatives, and many other objective criteria to lead to a final decision about becoming an entrepreneur. The course of due diligence should be driven by a systematic approach to each of these items.
 
 However, emotional fulfillment must also be evaluated if you truly wish to make the right decision for yourself. If you have a need to face challenge, as well as growth in your day, you must determine if your job can, or will, provide that challenge. Then determine if a Franchise can meet your need.
 
 In the book titled Trevayne by Jonathon Ryder, who is widely held to be a pseudonym for Robert Ludlum, the main character, of the same name as the title, said; I cant imagine being dead before Im President. Sorry to ruin the book for you if you havent read it, but he made it. Is there a challenge that you need to meet before there is no more opportunity?
 
 Thats really the question isnt it? Put in a much bleaker tone, in a song called Where Am I Going, Gino Vannelli said Every breath I take is farther from youth and closer to death. Whoa, that makes me think I shouldnt be sleeping so much! It also makes me feel that I dont want the birch leaves falling on me before I find fulfillment.
 
 Being a true follower of Adam Smith, I cant imagine waking up without the drive to provide some type of supply, in order to meet a market demand. Thats my self-worth. Thats my reason for clouding a mirror. Thats why I believe in the credo we have in our business that Good is the Enemy of Great.
 
 In your analysis of a Franchise opportunity, determine if it will provide the challenge that you wish was already in your life. If not, then dont do it. Compare your current situation to the situation you can create for yourself. Some of the related questions include:
 
 - Do you have a general feeling of self-satisfaction?
 - Are you happy when you go home at night?
 - Are you able to progress up the ladder?
 - Are you increasing your knowledge and skills each day?
 - Are you growing or static?
 - Is there challenge in your life?
 - Are you respected for what you do?
 - Are you mapping a course to reach your goals, dreams, and desires?
 
 Each question should be answered systematically from the perspective of the job youre in, the job you could be in, and the business opportunity you are evaluating, to determine which is most likely to get you in flight towards the place you want to be.
 
 If you have trouble shifting your seat to the upright position for take off every morning, you should probably see if theres a better flight crew to help get you where you really want to go. Perhaps a Franchise is the answer, and perhaps its not. However, until you ask these tough questions, and answer them with conviction, you wont know whether you have the possibility of leaping out of that rut, and over the Chrysler building in a single bound.
 

Dennis Schooley, BBA, CA

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