Many people that contact me are “romantically” attracted to our concept. They love the idea of a cute, fun and brightly colored place to take kids for a great haircut. Or I hear, “I love children, so I was really attracted to this." Now I am not saying that having an interest in our franchise concept because of your interest in working with kids is a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I would highly recommend that you invest your money, time and efforts into something that you feel passionate about. But our franchise, like most, is still a business, and will require a certain set of business skills to increase the probability of success. Whether you invest in a yogurt, burger, or salon business, it’s still going to come down to possessing certain business skills to succeed. Here is our list of the top 3 skills needed to own and run a business:
1. Communication Skills
Your ability to communicate with others and “get the message across” about what your business is about to both employees and customers is critical. Everything in life begins with communication, and the ability that someone has to communicate is a big plus. Because time management and organizational skills can’t be taught in an operating manual, someone's ability to effectively execute a business plan becomes crucial. If a potential franchisee is unable to do this, then they may not be able to handle all the moving parts of running a business. Also, it's important to be flexible and adaptable. Rigidity has never worked in business! Now, of course I'm not saying to up and dump a system in favor of your own ideas. You have to follow the system. What I am talking about is the ability to handle a crisis when it arises, to shift gears and go a different direction on a moment’s notice, and to know when to be tough or to know when compassion is needed. Time management and organizational skills allows you to set a goal and reach it.
2. Understanding the Need for Marketing
Another great business skill to work at possessing a mastery over is in the area of marketing. Unfortunately, many new businesses fail because of a lack or understanding of effective marketing. Getting your name out in the community, building a loyal customer base and differentiating yourself from the competition can take a new business on average 3 to 5 years. Therefore whatever you anticipate spending on marketing you can pretty much double that amount. The busier your location becomes, the less you can spend on marketing. But getting that initial foot traffic can be costly. If you understand that this is a need and are willing to do the "work" - you should be successful. A franchise system should provide lots of guidance in your marketing - they have seen it done numerous times and know what you get the most bang for your buck with.
In the initial stages of your business you must market to the masses. Once you have a client base you can save money by target marketing to your existing customers - or to new customers only. You will have gathered customer information (i.e. email addresses, etc.) that will allow your to touch your client base more economically.
3. Desire to Learn
Lastly, a desire to learn is also a really important mindset for a franchisee. Of course, everyone would like to learn about something - but great franchisees have the desire to learn. It’s not a chore; it’s something that brings satisfaction when the learned skill produces a favorable business outcome. Great business owners are made and not born, but having some of these basic skills are going to go a long way in determining your success or failure in a franchise!
Are you interested in learning how YOU can join the Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids family and run your own successful small business? We are one of the fastest growing kids hair salon franchise systems in the industry today! If you would like to learn more about small business marketing, great marketing strategies, resources for small businesses, how to grow your small business, or how to become a successful owner of your own kids hair salon franchise business, please click below or call 1-888-98 GONE MAD!
