BY BILL BRADLEY | August 07, 2012
If you’re thinking about buying a franchise or you already own one, understand it’s the little things that can come back to haunt you. Tiny changes over time can most definitely make a big difference. A car that is going five miles an hour faster than another car might not seem like much until you try and walk that five miles! In many ways, this is what being an entrepreneur or a franchise owner is like. Once you’ve made the decision to buy a top franchise, you need to constantly be on the lookout for all the little things that could impact your bottom line.
It’s easy for any of us to forget during the day-to-day operation of a business that little factors can be anything but small. This is especially true when our finances are involved. By mishandling our finances, we can put our businesses and thus our livelihood in jeopardy. Sadly, many people do just that without ever realizing it and, sometimes this can happen in very subtle ways.
You Should Sweat the Small Stuff
Now, you have likely heard your entire life that you should not worry about the “small stuff.” More often than not, that’s a true statement. However, if the topic is about your business finances, this is not the case. Watching every penny isn’t silly, because its the small stuff that may be critical to the survival of your business. The only possible exception to this caveat is that you begin watching every penny to the point that you are missing great opportunities like deciding to own a franchise in the first place.
Become a Money Saving Machine
Once you have explored the world of franchises and made your selection, you need to be thinking of all the ways that you can save money and operate efficiently and effectively. Saving on your business expenses needs to be a lifestyle choice in more ways than one. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself.
Eight Important Questions All Franchise Owners Should Ask
1) Am I focused on saving money?
2) Do I constantly review the steps I am taking towards saving costs?
3) Have I asked my employees or partners how they think we could save yet more money?
4) Have I hired an outside consultant or talked to my accountant about how I could reduce costs?
5) Have I created a log of how my business spends?
6) How effective have I been at saving?
7) Is my personal spending interfering with the success of my franchise?
8) Are there other people who are acting as a drain on the business resources?
These eight questions are very important to the success of your business. At first, you might not think that some of these questions are relevant, but there is no doubt that they are indeed relevant. For example, if your lifestyle is such that you are constantly drawing money out of your business to pay for things that you don’t need, then you simply must reevaluate. Similarly, if your personal spending is jeopardizing the success of your business, then your priorities are out of alignment.
Of course, if you have an employee that is costing you business or causes disruptions; you will have to take steps such as termination. This holds true even if that person is a relative or friend. For if your business fails, then all of your research on franchises and all of your labor will be for nothing. Use these eight questions to help ensure that your business is on track.
