Get a Jump on Business Ownership Plans for the New Year
By Tracy Mallette
If your goals for 2012 include owning your own business, you should get started early. If you take care of preliminary plans now, your business could be running, or almost running, in time to capitalize on the hype of the new year.
Primed for Success
If you are serious about being your own boss, starting now will prevent you from losing the drive acquired at the dawn of New Year’s. The excitement of making a life change early in the new year can wane if you get bogged down in details and see no end to the set up. Don’t lose interest by slogging through the initial tasks of owning your own business when you should be pumped to get started.
According to cognitive scientist Art Markman, Ph.D., New Year’s resolutions fail because we don’t give ourselves enough time to prepare. In his Psychology Today blog post “Behavior Change in the New Year,” he talks about how much preparation we put into holidays like Christmas, then “we give ourselves a week or so to talk about New Year's resolutions-our yearly futile stab at behavior change.”
Markman says willpower is needed to change old habits, and it’s hard to maintain the necessary willpower when you’re stressed out or exhausted. Preparing early will relieve the pressure of starting your own business once the new year arrives.
Behavioral Shift
So now you know you have to start early, and making a life change requires willpower.
You can aid willpower by changing the environment that perpetuates the old behavior, according to Markman. People create patterns and systems in their lives that enable their current behavior – acting on memories built over time.
Markman says you should change aspects of your environment to make it more difficult to perform the old habit, or rearrange the environment in a way that makes you think before acting. This can be applied to any habit or old behavior that’s preventing you from starting your business.
If you’re having trouble motivating yourself to take the initial steps to business ownership, think about your current routine. What are you doing with your free time instead of preparing for the future? To use Markman’s example, if you go home and watch TV, try moving the couch to make it more difficult to see the screen.
This tactic can be used on any habit. It will take you off autopilot and give your willpower a chance to work.
What You Can Do Now
Now that you know how to break the behavior patterns that were preventing you from getting started, it’s time to take a look at what you can get done to be in good shape by New Year’s.
- Determine the right franchise for you. Some of the factors to consider are cost, experience required, your career goals and if the franchisor can accommodate them (such as location, absentee ownership, home office, etc.), the terms of the franchise agreement (such as termination, support, etc.), success of the business, etc. There are many other things to consider. For help choosing a franchise, check out Franchise.com’s extensive list of franchises by category.
- Consider your financing options. Ask the franchisor about their payment plans or, if you haven’t picked a franchise, shop around for a franchisor that offers an attractive plan. There are franchise funding specialists that offer financing strategies. Also, look for SBA approved franchises and business opportunities, the applicants of which are given expedited loan processing.
- Request information from the franchisor. The franchisor will send you more specific information about the partnership. You will also receive an application to fill out and return to the franchisor. It usually takes about two weeks for an application to be approved.
- Meet the franchisor. Once your application is approved, the next step is usually an interview so you can get to know each other better. At this point you will usually receive the Franchise Disclosure Document and other forms.
- Talk to a franchise attorney. This step is optional, of course, but, according to Erwin J. Keup’s Franchise Bible, it’s a good idea to have an attorney go over the contract with you before signing anything.
These are the steps you can take now to be in good shape for the new year. Once the documents are returned, the next steps vary depending on the franchisor. They will typically help you secure a site, provide training, help find and train staff, help set up your store, and more.
Start your New Year’s dream of business ownership now to keep up momentum beyond January, and by next New Year’s Eve you can toast to being the boss of a successful business.
