If you’ve ever considered starting a franchise, chances are you’ve been drawn to the entrepreneurial lifestyle. That’s because franchise ownership is a form of entrepreneurship, allowing you to put your success into your own hands through decisions you make, how you apply your resources available, and the way you work with your team.
One of the most critical aspects of entrepreneurship is the mindset that goes along with it. Your mindset gets you started, keeps you going, and motivates you through the inevitable highs and lows of the journey. Here are five core elements of an entrepreneurial mindset that will help you as you become a franchisee.
Creativity Over Rigidity
One of the benefits of having a franchise is the ability to have plug-and-play systems that you can use in your business. However, even with those plug-and-play systems at your disposal, there will be times when you’ll want to get creative around how you support your local area and spark sales in your market.
Hot & Trending Franchise Opportunities in Canada
chargeFUZE
ChargeFUZE is the #1 largest network of portable charging stations and looking to expand its network by partnering with entrepreneurs who want to generate immediate revenue.
Embrace Professional and Personal Growth
Another benefit of franchise ownership is that it provides a continual network of professional and personal growth opportunities.
Professional growth opportunities start from the moment you sign the franchise agreement. Your new franchisor will invite you to onboarding training where you’ll learn the ropes of the franchise and discover ways to run your business. After that, many franchisors will offer further training in core areas to help keep your skillset relevant, current, and strong. In other words, you’re never in it alone.
Personal growth comes from everything you learn about yourself while setting up a new venture like a franchise. Let’s look at a few of those lessons now.
Fail Forward
Every successful entrepreneur has failed at some point in their business. Most have failed numerous times. Failure is part of the experience. It’s how you fail that matters.
When starting a franchise, it’s easy to expect everything to roll out perfectly as planned because you have the systems and procedures laid out for you. While those guardrails help, you will inevitably run up against roadblocks or hurdles. When you do, it’s important that you know how to overcome any failures resulting from unexpected scenarios effectively.
Take the fall, take the loss, learn from it, and grow. Adopting a mindset that embraces failure as part of the experience allows you to recover quickly when things inevitably don’t go as planned.
Operate with a Clear Vision
You’ve likely heard the famous Simon Sinek expression, start with why. Your why is your purpose for wanting to jump into franchise ownership. For some, it’s to leave a legacy for their family. For others, it’s to spark their creative and entrepreneurial side. Regardless of your reason, it’s important to remember that purpose as you navigate your franchise journey.
Anytime you hit a point in your franchise where you need to make a difficult decision, go back to your vision for getting started. Understand why you jumped into franchising in the first place. By solidifying your intentions upfront, you will have a mindset that can get you through any unforeseen situation, good or bad.
Cultivate a Growth Mindset
Carol Dweck is famous for explaining growth mindsets versus fixed mindsets. If you haven’t read her book on the subject yet, a good time to put it on your nightstand is right when you start your franchising journey.
In her book, she explains that fixed mindsets ruin companies. This mindset is limiting, causing you to avoid challenges, give up quickly, play the comparison game, and ignore feedback. In franchise ownership, it’s important to do the opposite and embrace a growth mindset.
Growth mindsets empower franchisees to succeed through perseverance, a desire to learn, and embracing new challenges. As you pursue your career as a franchisee, this type of entrepreneurial mindset will help you overcome the biggest hurdles and allow you to thrive in your new role.
~~
Kimberly Crossland is the founder of Roadpreneur and Cruisin' + Campfires, two companies designed to keep families together and living in freedom through travel and entrepreneurship. The goal of both businesses is to inspire meaningful change through the power of a strategic, thoughtful approach to life and business. In her free time, you can find her looking for a new adventure together with her two boys.