Let 2022 be the year to take back of your career again
New Year resolutions and goals go hand in hand. Whether it’s getting fit, rekindling a relationship or starting a new business, the beginning of the year signifies a fresh start. Having the time to reflect and reconsider your work life may leave you pondering about what more you can do for yourself in order to achieve those goals.
Being your own boss is a liberating experience and gives you a profound sense of achievement, so if you are passionate about running your own business, this may be your ideal plan for 2022. There’s often a lot of talk about ‘hitting the ground running’ when you launch a new business but in reality, the first few weeks and months can feel a bit overwhelming.
Chris Wootton, Managing Director and longstanding franchise owner for domestic cleaning brand, Poppies, gives his top reasons why New Year is a great time to become your own boss and take back control of your life, finances and lifestyle.
• You have control over your future
As a business owner, you have ultimate control over success or failure. If you work harder, keep pushing and figure it out, you have the potential to have incredible success and feel on top of the world. There is nobody stopping you except yourself and it can be an incredibly motivating feeling.
• Time to create a robust business plan
All business owners should have a plan for the next six to 12 months, covering everything from marketing and sales activities to financial and staffing requirements. If you’ve chosen to buy a franchise rather than setting up from scratch, then creating a robust business plan will have been part of the process. Often, day-to-day operations take over and the management of this critical business tool get pushed to the bottom of the pile. Use any quiet time wisely and ensure your KPIs and goals for the year ahead are down on paper for you to work towards. You will thank yourself later!
• Get organised
Launching a new business is daunting. There’s a lot to do and if your launch coincides with a particularly busy period, things can easily get out of hand. A savvy professional will recognise these rare nuggets of time as an opportunity to really prepare for when you hit the ground running in the new year. Recap on your training, your processes and ensure your systems and technologies are running smoothly. Work the leads that you do have thoroughly and build your confidence so you can go full throttle in January.
• Responsible for your own schedule
As we all know, flexibility is extremely important. Being your own boss affords you the opportunity to work from home and balance the needs of the business with precious time spent with family and loved ones, particularly around festive periods. That’s not to say you won’t be incredibly busy – you will! But you can choose to put the hours in when it suits whether that’s after the kids have gone to bed or at the weekend.
When it comes to launching a new business, there is no ‘wrong time’ of year to get started and the new year can be the perfect time. Franchising is a path that gives you the option to control and improve your career, personal finances and live the life of your dream. Take this opportunity to lay the foundations of your business and begin to establish your name, brand and service in your local community. When you become your own boss, you have the chance to really benefit for the fruits of your own labour and relish in your successes.