Summer is a Great Time to Start Your Own Business!
The sizzling hot days of summer offer a great chance to kick off a new business. That’s because while the heat slows some people down, it offers others a great chance to get ahead. The slower pace of summer means you have an atmosphere more conducive to trial runs and longer ramp-up periods, which in turn, allows you to get your feet under you before the crucial fourth sales quarter of the year.
Terri Sniegolski, Creative Colors International’s CEO (the nation’s leading franchise company for leather, vinyl, upholstery and fabric repair), says kicking off a franchise in the summer is ideal. “Buying a franchise in the summer means the Grand Opening will be towards the end of summer or early fall, a very busy time for most of the United States. Also, the weather is generally good during summer and fall months across the U.S.”
You may wonder if you are cut out to be a franchise owner, and if so, what type of franchise should you own? According to Sniegolski, almost anyone can be a good fit for a franchise. “Our top franchisees come from different industries, from blue collar workers to engineers. All of them had some sales background, or at least an upbeat, outgoing personality.”
The type of franchise you own will depend a lot on your skill set, your personality and likes, and dislikes. If you’d like to care for the elderly, there’s a franchise for you. If you’d like to mentor kids through early childhood education, there’s a franchise for you. And if you like working with your hands, get out and about in the community, then you should look into Creative Colors. It allows you to travel to your customers in a custom-wrapped van, using proprietary techniques to repair materials of all kinds.
Some of the rewards of owning a franchise? You are your own boss. You get to know other small business owners in your community. You can build new relationships within the community. Sniegolski says working for yourself gives you the ultimate reward.
“Freedom! Freedom to move around! To breathe fresher air! To see different people every day. And living with whatever nature decides to throw your way, sun, wind, rain, snow, storms, hot, cold, calm, etc.,” Sniegolski says about the rewards of business ownership. “You are in control of your own schedule, you build your own team. You can do what you think is right, strategically plan how you want to grow your business. You have flexibility.”
Then there are the financial rewards of owning a franchise. Sniegolski says it can be lucrative if you are willing to follow a proven model. “Owning our franchise, and probably any franchise comes down to the owner’s desire and motivation. The sky is the limit! Our franchises gross sales average about $109,000 per van and some vans average 3 and 4 times that amount. The potential is there!”
