I used to ride the commuter train to and from work every day. I did that for 25+ years. Usually, you saw the same faces standing in the same places on the platform in the morning. Going home, it was pretty much the same thing.
One morning, there was a commotion at the other end of the car I was riding in. Someone was on the floor and there was a fair amount of yelling. He’d had a heart attack and, we found out later, passed away. The image of that morning sticks with me.
Everyone has had a bad day at work, and when those bad days begin to follow one another closely, one’s thoughts turn to quitting. I know mine sure did, or at least to make a job change. Frankly, those were hard thoughts to have. I had jobs that paid well and a family for which I had to provide. Quitting is hard and making a big change is unnerving, almost as unnerving as seeing someone you rode that train with each day passing away.
Why do I bring this up today? I speak with a lot of people who are facing precisely this conundrum. They’re not happy and they know they need to do something but are afraid of making the leap. Maybe it dawns on them that life is too short to waste being miserable. Maybe they’re just bored and want to do something else. Having been in the same place, I sure don’t blame them. What I try to explain to them is that there is a middle ground. You can run your own business while removing a good chunk of the risk generally associated with doing that by investing in a proven business and following the path that dozens or hundreds of others have blazed for you with the brand. Those are what franchises are.
I talk to a lot of folks who have a knack for entrepreneurship but don’t have the right concept figured out. I help them identify one or two that will let them use their skills. Some folks want to invest in a franchise but they don’t want to quit their job to do so. That’s possible, but even in that least disruptive case, fear kicks in.
Quitting makes you uncomfortable. Fear prevents you from addressing your discomfort by reminding you that the status quo is safe even if it’s an unhappy place. Looking back 40+ business years down the road, I’m sorry I didn’t get off that train earlier. You?
Consult Keith 