Running a franchised business can be extremely stressful. There are people asking you questions all day and on top of that, you’ve got to get all the paperwork, HR, marketing, etc finished before you go home. How can someone be productive, while still finishing everything? Easy…stay on task, but that’s easier said than done. Here are 3 sure fire ways to help you be more productive during business hours.

Don’t constantly check Emails or Social Networks

If you want to get things done during the day, don’t constantly check your email or Facebook. Set aside time each day to go through your emails, maybe once in the morning, lunch, and evening. This will keep you from getting off task every ten minutes to sift through emails. As far as social networks go, set up your tweets or status updates ahead of time with apps like TweetDeck or Hootsuite. These web apps allow you to organize your social networks ahead of time and also allow you to keep track of mentions.

Set Your Agenda Weekly and Daily

One of the most basic principles of becoming organized and productive in business, is to create a schedule. A great practice is set up an agenda for each week on Monday mornings. This agenda would include meetings and project deadlines.

Each day before doing any work, set aside 10 minutes to write down your daily agenda, based on importance. Set your schedule in 60-90 minute intervals. This allows time for breaks or snacks. Constantly working for hours on end can cause a burnout and make you feel tired.

Don’t Multi-task

Switching back and forth from one task to another can cause distractions. Focus your attention on one thing at a time. This goes allow with the fact that you should create a schedule. There should be an allotted time in your day for everything that has to be done, whether that’s budgeting or interview a new hire. So stop multi-tasking throughout the day and make room for everything one at a time.

Almost all franchisors will provide you with some form of marketing material and/or training. But if the franchisor does not provide this, there are easy and cheap ways to market your business.

Cleaning and Maintenance franchise opportunities can be extremely rewarding. If you open a franchise in this industry, you’ll almost always reap the benefits of repeat customers and great profits. There are many different opportunities available to choose from, including: Sears, Merry Maids, Sure Step and EcoMaids. Take for example, Von Schrader Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning (video below). Von Schrader offers theses things to their franchisees:  low-costs, no franchise fees, free marketing aids, and a risk-free money back guarantee.

Pros to owning a Cleaning/Maintenance franchise:

• Training and Support- Almost all franchises in this industry provide some type of support and training, whether its instructional DVDs and workbooks, or training you how to use the machines.
• Supplies- Cleaning franchises will usually have a list of vendors to use or vendors they use. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of what you should buy. This also allows to take advantage of group discounts that may be in place for certain distributors. But some companies may not allow you to use anyone

Although there are tons of questions that you should keep in your arsenal, here are 5 questions we think you should ask before investing money into a franchise.

Is it a fit for me?

Investing time and money into a franchise opportunity is a major decision. Taking the time to sit down and thoroughly research each business is very important. Find something that you could see yourself happy doing. Same issues could turn into big issues, so finding one that has little to no conflict with you and your life is of the utmost importance.

How recognizable is the brand name?

Considering the Brand name could be, but doesn’t always have to be, a question you should discuss. A recognizable brand name, such as NAPA Auto Parts, is easier to recognize than lesser known brands. Having a business with a recognizable trademark/brand name makes marketing and connecting to customers that much easier.

You should also stop to think about how the brand will be received in the territory you want to do business in. Take for example the protests you may hear about concerning Wal-Mart or McDonald’s in smaller towns. Although Wal-Mart isn’t a franchise, it helps demonstrate that even though you may think people will want/need a certain type of business in their city, that’s not always the case. People are very vocal when they disapprove of a business.

What’s the success rate of existing franchises?

Success rates are one of the easier ways to find out how healthy a business opportunity is.  How many businesses are continuing to thrive? How many had issues and had to close their doors? Another great way to look into success rates is to talk with existing franchisees. When you meet with an existing franchisee, try to get their opinions on how the business is run. What is relationship like with the Franchisor? What kind of issues did they run into during their first year?

Do they offer training and support?

Almost all franchisors offer some type of training and support.  It’s imperative to find a franchise that offers some kind of training program and support. You wouldn’t want to jump into a business opportunity without having the knowledge to make a profit would you?

What kinds of fees are involved?

There are many fees in business and knowing which ones you’ll be paying in important. Some of the fees involved are royalty fees and franchising fees.  You’ll need to find out if these are by month, quarter, or year. Theses extra fees should be included when making a budget estimate for your first year in business.