This is something I think about a lot.
But before we talk about the qualities of a successful business owner, you need to know what success actually looks like for you. Is it a certain income per month? Is it a better work life balance? Is it the feeling of job satisfaction and positive impact you provide to your customers?
Knowing what you want is the first step towards deciding whether this is the right career step for you.
Let’s assume you know what you’re looking for. Now, lets discover if you share the qualities necessary to secure your success.
Our most successful franchisees are ambitious, self-motivated, driven and passionate.
Ambition allows you to think beyond where you are now, and decide where you’re going. If you don’t know what you want you’ll drift and muddle through, and that’s not something to aspire to.
Business owners, particularly children’s activity business owners generally work alone, especially in the beginning. That means you need to wear all the hats – class leader, administrator, marketer, cleaner etc. Self-motivation is crucial to keep you accountable.
Running any business takes time, energy and hard work to make it a success. I like to talk about it as a full-time position with flexible hours, it’s certainly not a side hustle.
Our most successful franchisees dedicate their work time to their business. They are not afraid of the hard work it takes to launch and grow their business. Of course you can set your hours to allow for things like school pick-ups, and time off when you want it, but you are going to need to work more than part time hours.
The long-term success of a children’s activity business can be boiled down to just two categories:
Without customers you have no business. By taking on a business, you automatically become a marketer.
This starts with working out who your customers are, what makes them tick, where they hang out. You need to make time for in person marketing – things like handing out leaflets and putting up posters, running taster sessions at local groups, having a presence at local family events. Then there’s the digital marketing – social media, email, class listing sites etc.
Keeping customers is all about creating outstanding experiences for customers, from the wow of entering the room, the knowledge they learn about their child, giving the children an amazing experience too, making everyone feel welcome and valued.
This is where your passion comes in. Passion for the activities you’re leading, but also passion for creating outstanding experiences for all of your customers – children, and their grown-ups. Every exchange with you or your business needs to be a positive experience, whether in class, your social media posts, email communications etc.
This passion makes everything so much easier. Your work becomes play, and your passion sells. Your customers will love you and your classes even more, and will return term after term. Those die-hard fans also start selling for you – troops of passionate customers recommending your classes to anyone and everyone.
You also need to be open to self-reflection and feedback, there’s always something we can do to improve our own knowledge and skills. Our most successful franchisees have a desire to learn and grow, welcoming any opportunity for feedback.
And my role in all of this is to support you in reaching your goals and creating the success you’re striving for.
If this has resonated with you and running your own business is something you’re exploring we should talk. You can book yourself a virtual coffee with me for a day and time that suits you. It’s a 30 minute chat about what your goals are and whether a WOW business can get you there.
