Secrets to Staying Passionate About Your Franchise

Opening a franchise can be exciting and exhilarating all at once. A wealth of new experiences, challenges, and lessons await, and every day brings unexpected surprises. But what happens when the novelty has worn off? How do you keep the passion alive when the new turns into the mundane and the daily tasks become routine? We asked veteran franchisees how they have kept the passion burning through the years.

1. Learn Constantly: Whether it’s by taking classes that will help you run your business better, seeking assistance from a mentor, or learning from your mistakes, the process of learning can be motivational in and of itself. “I love being my own boss and I love being an expert in what I do,” says Mariana Huberman, a franchisee of The UPS Store since 2005. “Becoming both of those things took time and training, as well as some failures along the way. Continuing to learn and experience new things is a great way to stay in touch with the latest in your business but also to give you new ideas – maybe they are management ideas, new product ideas or customer service strategies. If you seek out learning, there is no telling how much your business can improve.”

2. Grow Continually: “Keeping my eye on changes in the market, tackling social media -- testing it to see what does and does not work -- and forming new beneficial relationships are all a part of continuing to grow my business,” says Leslie Kuban, a FranNet franchisee since 1999. “I'd feel stifled and bored if I [reached a] plateau in my growth.”

3. Make a Difference: “Ask yourself, ‘What can I do through my business to make a difference in the community where I live and work?’ advises Huberman, who participates in The Toys for Tots Literacy Program, The UPS Store network's charity initiative which collects money to help buy books for needy children around the country. “I have had the opportunity to present kids at a local elementary school with books to call their own as well as a newly rehabbed school library. I was able to make a difference in the kids' lives, and that really touched my heart.”

4. Use Other Franchisees’ Accomplishments as a Motivator to Achieve Your Own: “There is always someone I am chasing on the top 50 list,” says Huberman. “As soon as I pass a particular store, I set my sight on another one. Ask yourself, ‘Who do/should I benchmark myself against?’”

5. Set Short-Term Goals: “Set three goals that can be accomplished in 90 days,” advises Kuban. “These sprints can be a good way to get the adrenaline going again, [versus] marathon goals where the end result is months and months or years down the road.”

6. Stay Open to New Ideas and Opportunities: “You never know when or from where the next opportunity will come,” says Huberman. “Keep your eyes open, keep your ears to the ground, and make sure that all your contacts know that you are open to new possibilities. For example, I was able to grow my printing business at the store because I received a birthday party invitation that I liked and thought that my clients would like them too.”

7. Collaborate with Other Franchisees: “[My husband] Mark has made a great group of friends that run 1-800-GOT-JUNK franchisees in other territories,” says Claudine Rubin, who has owned two Washington, DC, area franchises -- 1-800-GOT-JUNK and DoodyCalls -- with her husband since 2003. “In addition to friendly competition, they meet up a few times a year to and take adventure trips and brainstorm ways to improve their individual franchises. They have gone on the Inca Trail, whitewater rafting, fly fishing, and, most recently, kite surfing in the Dominican Republic. They all talk on a regular basis for advice and support.”

8. Motivate Yourself by Keeping Your Staff Motivated: “A few things we do to keep everyone motivated are to run contests and give rewards to our staff,” says Claudine. “In the past, we have given away iPods for beating revenue goals.”

9. Take a Vacation ... or at Least a Break! “Getting away for one to two weeks and totally turning off can work wonders for coming back feeling rejuvenated,” says Kuban.

“I'm also a big fan of just taking a break to recharge the batteries, even if that is one day during the week or an entire weekend,” agrees Kristen Thompson, a LearningRx franchisee since 2007. “Put a reliable employee at the helm and take a step away to breathe and get your bearings again.”

10. Find Balance: “I stay passionate and energized by keeping a strong balance between work and home,” says Thompson. “You will find me at the center three days a week; the other four are at home, present with my family. Those three days at work I manage my time to be as efficient as possible and to make sure my time is spent doing only the items that will make the biggest impact on and in my business.”

11. Ask for Help: “I invested in a great business coach,” says Thompson. “He worked with me a couple different times over the past four years to work through ‘being stuck’ in my business. By working with him I was able to get some great ideas out of my head and into action and ease worries that kept me up at night and turned them into workable plans so I could sleep!”

12. Connect with Your Customers: “I know I'm reaching families and kids in a truly meaningful way,” says Thompson. “A mom told me with tears in her eyes how thankful she was that I had opened the center because of the enormous impact our program had not only on her son, but on her family as well. Sometimes just sitting in our front lobby for a little bit and talking to parents and students gives me that boost to get through a dip.”