I had a buddy that was affectionately nicknamed by his father "Tomorrow." The reason was he said that whenever he asked my friend to do something, he would inevitably say he would get to it tomorrow. It got to the point where he would say, "Son, can you go out and – oh I know you’ll do it tomorrow – \u00a6never mind."<\/p>\n
As a franchise consultant and someone who has owned Upside Group Franchise Consulting for over 12-years, I have either directly spoken with or assisted clients in speaking with tens of thousands of interested franchise prospects in the United States, and many other countries around the world. Often times when the fall season approaches I will advise my clients and franchise sales people to wrap up any transactions they have pending because as the year starts to come to an end, many of those "tomorrows" start to show up. Like clockwork each year once prospects realize it is October you will begin to hear, "Why don’t you get back to me after the first of the year!" Really? That is 3-months of non-action; you could view it as 1\/4th of the year, 25% wasted – and why?<\/p>\n
While most people are busy during the holidays, in many cases they actually take a lot of vacation time and have more time off work available to them than throughout other months in the year. So why put it off? It seems often times it is just a pattern people have learned and they want to start the New Year fresh. The only problem is that really doesn’t happen. Most people don’t get back to their regular schedule until roughly the second week in January and at that point they are buried in work and trying to catch up – so much for the "fresh start."<\/p>\n
Having interacted with so many franchise entrepreneurs I have learned one thing, truly committed entrepreneurs don’t wait. They make a plan, do their research and start the business. Once you have decided you want to own your own business, each day you spend not doing it is a wasted day. Each day that you delay is one day added to the length of you reaching your ultimate goals.<\/p>\n
The first franchise I ever sold was to a great couple that was very well suited for the business they entered and, in turn, they were very successful. I kept in touch with them and often referred them business over the years. One night I was in the airport getting ready to take a flight and I ran into them. They were on the way to their franchise national convention where they were an annual selection for the top franchisee panel. They remarked to me that they are often asked what they would do differently if they had to do it again. The husband remarked that they tell people the only thing I would do differently is they would have done it much sooner. He said that for years they put it off trying to find just the perfect time to do it – of course only to realize there is no such thing. They wasted 10-years pondering and, in his own words, "If we had done it when we first thought about it, we would be retired by now!<\/p>\n
So if you’ve been searching these portals sites for years and haven’t pulled the trigger because you are looking for the "right" time, you might want to consider changing your name to "Tomorrow," or keep your name and realize there is no time like the present. Make a plan and get to it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"