21. May 2011 by Bob Griffin.

Every workday I am struck by the number of people who fight against the system (franchise) they bought.  It’s like balling up all the money you worked so hard to earn and rolling it down the street.  If you did roll it down the street, you’d at least be able to know you weren’t on the hook for thousands more because of all the contracts you sign when you buy a franchise.  On second thought, forget rolling your money down the street.  Tie it to fireworks and blow it up.  It’s more spectacular and your crummy neighbors won’t be bothering you for more money.

The ability to lose common sense when it comes to making money is amazingly fast.  From the time you sign the Franchise Agreement to the time when you want to change things breaks the sound barrier.  Why buy something you want to tear apart and not use correctly?  It’s like buying a car and then taking it apart to make a skateboard.  Just following the system that made you want to buy in the first place.

Here are is my top 10 myths of franchising that I have seen in my years as a consultant.  If the guy selling you a franchise mentions more than one of these, even in passing, he is probably an OK guy to buy from.  The best franchises try to discourage you a little from buying.

Top 10 Myths about Franchising

1. I can buy a franchise and let it make me money.
2. Hiring a manager will take care of most of the work.
3. I manage people in my day job.  I can handle a few hourly/contract workers.
4. I have a Masters/ PHD/ Doctorate in Accounting, Marketing, Management, etc. This will be easy.
5. I can teach the franchisor a thing or two with all my knowledge and skills.
6. I can buy a poorly run store and turn it around for a profit.
7. I can jump in and sell out fast.
8. I can buy a franchise for my wife, son, daughter, etc to give them a career.
9. No one can teach me anything I don’t already know about business.
10. I like the product so I will be the best marketing person for my franchise.

Do any of these myths sound familiar?  We all want to see the best in the things we do.  It is human nature.  It is also human nature not to want to fail, but we seem to set that fear aside in the “knuckle-headed view” that you can buy a franchise, open the doors, and make huge amounts of money without doing any heavy lifting.  You have to work at whatever business you buy.

Hard work, building on success, building a business for yourself first, and many more lessons are hard learned when you get in business the right way.  Why start out on the wrong path?

I ask the classes that I guest lecture what kind of businesses they want to buy.  Not one, so far, has said they want to buy into an existing franchise.  Some of them have mentioned wanting to start a franchise but none want to buy a business with a track record and a reputation.  Absolutely none of them have mentioned the work that goes into being a business owner. 

Ask anyone how much money they think they will earn in the first year in business and they will gush with profit margins that would make Bill Gates blush.  The misunderstanding about the cost of doing business - more than money - is where most people fail to be honest in business.

Take my list my happy franchise friends!  Pass it around to anyone interested and especially those who are blind with new business bliss.  Don’t follow the myths. 

Bob Griffin - CEO
BGriffin@BusinessBulldog.com
Twitter: @BusinessBulldog

Posted in Customer Service, Being the Boss, Training, Saving Money, Making Money | Print | 412 Comments »

27. March 2011 by Bob Griffin.

The simple answer is always the best one.  Brevity is the key to good communication.  Momma says, “Because I said so!”.  All are good statements and it seems everyone has found this to be the case for the short-attention-span world we live in.  So, why do you spend hours and days trying to communicate directions to your employees when a simple statement is the best direction?

For example, I love talking with technical people.  They are the most needed group in any organization because we all have gadgets at the heart of any of our tasks.  When things go wrong is when the IT Department is really valuable.  What is the first question that IT asks when they are helping you?  Answer: “Is it plugged in?”  Why do they start there when so many other things can be wrong with a computer?  It’s because that is the number one answer to computer problems.  A cord gets knocked loose and all you need to do is plug it back in.

The rational side of me would have a message that plays before you can talk with the Tech Team.  It would say, “Check to see that your computer is plugged in.  If you do not check and that is the problem, you owe the technician $100.”  That, of course, would handle most of the issues, but it would put half the IT Department out of work.  With everyone handling their own power problems what would a techie do?  Of course losing IT employees is risky when you may need them when the real problems hit.

I was in a store this past week talking with the owner.  He said he wanted to sell more products.  The manager walked up to us at that moment and I simply told her to sell 5% more products.  She gave me a frown and then smiled and said “OK”.  Just like that she was telling her team to sell more.  No explaining.  No motivational statements.  No incentives.  I told her what I wanted and she went back to her team and made it happen.  She was plugged in to what the owner wanted.

I was in a fast food restaurant not long ago and they were an organizational mess.  When I  finally got a chance to order, the girl behind the counter was rude to me.  Instead of being rude back to her, I asked a simple question.  What did your manager tell you your job was in this restaurant?  She was full of wonderful sentiment, so I asked to talk with her manager.  I asked him what he told his staff was their main job.  He wasted no time in telling me that it was to help customers.  I don’t think that is the message he told his crew, but I left with my money and more to talk about here on Business Bulldog.  He apparently wasted his breath on some half-baked meeting where he kind of gave the idea that the customers were the reason they had a job.  I had the idea that the place should be shut down before they hurt someone.

Why do we get frustrated with not getting the results we want when the message is the problem?  I think you know that answer.  You want to make sure everyone sees things your way.  They should understand your reasons behind doing everything you do and follow along because your way is the best way.  What you miss is that they just aren’t plugged in.  When you tell an employee what you want they will either do it or not.  The outcome is where you need to spend your time, not in the directions.  If they don’t follow your orders find out why and then direct again.

Keep things simple in your business.  We are amazing at complicating anything.  Plug yourself in and make the simple, effective leadership your way of doing business.

Bob Griffin - CEO
BGriffin@BusinessBulldog.com

Posted in Customer Service, Creating the Culture, Being the Boss, Training, Making Money | Print | 112 Comments »

10. March 2011 by Noel Guilford.

Let’s face it, if you are in business, it’s for the money plain and simple. While I’m sure that there are some people out there who feel like business is a good hobby they like to engage in, those people are few and far between. So, lets talk about you and your desire to increase your profits, or to have any profit at all. What I’m going to ask that you do is think of profit as something that already exists out there in the market. Guess what? Even at times like these, someone somewhere is making a profit, someone has always made a profit. Why? Because consumers have always consumed something that they wanted or needed. Let’s start with the assumption that you have something people want or need. All you have to do is create a business where the profit is going and collect it.

• Take Inventory of Your Resources

Pop Quiz! If one hundred of your customers were polled what would most of them say they like best about your business? Who are your strongest employees and why? Constantly reflect on the condition of your business as well as the level and condition of your resources. Reading  SWOT ‘Em and using the method is a good way to reveal many of your resources and their condition.

• What’s the Plan?

Where are you going? How are you growing your customer base, your employees, and your operations? If you only plan just to make it through the day then your business will reflect that. Planing your business’s future is one of those things that if you can’t do, or don’t have the time to do can affect the chance of your business being successful long term.

• Business is Your Business

Don’t be surprised by the statement that many business owners have very little training or experience in owning a business. With that, its difficult for them to know what it is that they need to know unless they have a very inquisitive nature. Want to know why your cost of business is going up? One of those reasons could be that the cost of business went up for one of the business’s you interact with. Well what made that happen? It could be the cost of a raw material, taxes, or other factors. Knowing more about how businesses relate to each other helps to anticipate some changes that can impact your business.

• Ride the wave

Choosing not to evolve is a gamble that many good businesses lose everything on. If you look around i’m sure you can see where the profit is going. We are in the Age of Communication where the ability to spread information quickly around the globe can transform a society. The next time you travel along a major highway take a look at the billboards and have a moment of critical thought. Yes, some can change the advertisement digitally! There is a big old tsunami of technology coming and you can get on the boat or drown.

• Make the waves

Sometimes the situation requires a “hail-mary” play. What can you do when riding the wave wont get you noticed? When the competition has had more time to refine their rendition? The only answer at that point is pure innovation. Tap into the pulse of your customer base and give them what they didn’t know they wanted yet. In business when you mix great innovation with outstanding marketing I call that “Profit Bait”.

• Talk to weirdo’s

You know when you go to purchase a game or movie, that one person you regret asking for help because now after the ten minute explanation you are even more confused. That person is a walking Wikipedia, or knows someone who is so talk to them. If you want to know what the new trend, fad, technology, or to brush up on your terminology trust me they know. Use that information to help you anticipate where the profits are going. When you get there just make sure you brought your product or service that is wanted or needed and “voila” like shooting fish in a barrel.

Posted in Creating the Culture, Being the Boss, Saving Money, Making Money | Print | 455 Comments »

19. December 2010 by Bob Griffin.

I spend a lot of time talking with owners of businesses in many varied industries and the question that trips them up most is, “What does the person cleaning the bathrooms think of your business?”  That seems kind of off topic sometimes and it is, but it also the barometer of an owner’s business culture.  Want to know how things are really going?  Ask the guy you pay the least.

Several reasons why you would not want to know the answer:

1. You don’t want to hear bad news.
2. You don’t trust that person.
3. There could be a rift between that person and the rest of your employees.
4. You don’t know that person’s name.
5. He/She may ask you to help clean the bathroom while you talk.

All are valid reasons if you are someone who is ready to go out of business and doesn’t care what the culture of the business is like.  Otherwise, get in there and start listening like your next paycheck depends on it.  Asking the lowest person on your hierarchy of power is the perfect way to find out what the temperature of your business is.  In fact, the person to hear the most news is the one everyone typically ignores.  If you need to get your hands dirty to find out what the real story of your business is then get dirty.  Want to earn trust with someone? Work side by side with them and put in some sweat equity.

If I made anyone uncomfortable, GOOD!  If you want to feel better, spin this around and ask yourself what the same person in your competitor’s business could tell you.  Again, it is this person, the one with full access to every area of your business that has the most knowledge of your business. By the way, DON’T ask your competitor’s guy.  You don’t even know what is happening at your own business for goodness sakes why would you look somewhere else?  Start where you can make the fastest changes…in your business.

The cleaning crew can tell you:

• If someone is ready to quit by looking at the amount of items that have been taken home from a desk.
• When there is a shake up about to happen, there are more late-night meetings and more closed doors.
• If there is an event in the office like a new baby, wedding, or graduation, there will be a cake and plates in the trash.

I like when companies ask everyone what they think is working and what can be improved on.  An open door policy should apply to every member of your team.  The best ideas in many businesses have come from the front-line person who finds a better, cheaper, more effective way to get the same job done.  Not that they get the credit often (although they should), but the best things happen when an entire organization is empowered.

Stop talking and start listening.  The person who you haven’t spend any time with this year is the person you need to take to lunch and give them free reign in answering a simple question, “What can we do better?”

Posted in Hiring Process, Creating the Culture, Being the Boss | Print | 573 Comments »

26. November 2010 by Bob Griffin.

The insanity of the season is in full swing as I write this article. After Thanksgiving sales in the US have been going since midnight and this ritual has to stop. I understand the “shoppers thrill” of losing sleep to get bargains. That kind of craziness is where therapists pay for their retirements. The point at which you have good, hard working employees pulling ridiculous shifts trying to help sleep deprived people buy an X-box is when we need to draw a line.

I understand that businesses in this world-wide economic meltdown are desperate for any customer but to turn a profit on the backs of good employees is wrong. Small business owners get a break at this point because most of them work side by side with their employees. The ones who have no soul are the big box chains that have a hidden Board of Directors and a CEO who couldn’t work a POS system to save his or her life. Every employee who has never seen an executive on the sales floor and has worked for years with the same company should mail a copy of the Bulldog Rules for Business to them. All business starts with the interaction with customers. Any thought by a Vice President or higher in an organization that what they do makes the company money is a fantasy. Don’t misquote me on this subject. The need for strength at the top is critical, but the money is earned on the front-line. Real leaders live, work, and breathe on the front-line.

Where is the CEO at midnight or even 4am when the store opens? I have not seen a news story that mentions an executive helping out in a store the day after Thanksgiving. Leaders lead and don’t ask for more than they are willing to give. Want loyal customers? Be a loyal boss.

I am not writing this to stir the pot and make employees angry. The point is that often we make plans and hand them to the lowest paid person on the team to implement. If you work beside that employee, you can see the holes in the plan and make better plans. You will show any staff between your position and the front-line that you are not above doing any job and they dang well better not be either. Leadership starts with you. Show them, tell them, and then reward them for their hard work.

Be loyal to gain loyalty. Be respectful to be respected. Grow your business by growing with it.

Bob Griffin - CEO and Co-Founder

Email: Questions@BusinessBulldog.com

Posted in Customer Service, Creating the Culture, Being the Boss, Making Money | Print | 1 Comment »