What does owning a MOM franchise really look like? What does it feel like? We could lay out the outline for what owning a franchise is supposed to be like, but rather than rattle off a list and provide you with guidelines, we would rather SHOW you.
Recently, we met with Hadrian to get some insights on the rewards and challenges of running his own MOM franchise. Hadrian started with one small contract, and one year later, his business is growing strong. So how did he do it? What were his biggest hurdles? Well, we sat down with Hadrian for a one-on-one look into his franchise-owning life.
As a first-time business owner, and a MOM franchise owner, Hadrian admits that the path to a growing business was exhilarating, but challenging. With his go-getter attitude, Hadrian was ready from the get-go to launch into success, however, he certainly met some challenges along the way. The biggest of these challenges? Learning the business while simultaneously growing it. He explains, “The start is very hard, you are not making very much money, but you want to put as much time as possible into the business.” Balancing the desire for the business to grow and proper time management became another challenge for Hadrian to overcome. Time management, for one, he explains, was a big challenge in contrast to his previous 9 to 5 job. Being his own boss, Hadrian needed to learn that efficiency is necessary for success. Initially, he admits, “I was doing all the work myself. Working long nights taking on as many contracts as possible to grow the business. It was very hard and tiring. I didn’t expect it.” The immense pressure he put on himself alone could have cost him his new business. It was this realization that highlighted the importance of time management to Hadrian.
He became aware that proper time management enables efficiency and therefore success, and both of these elements depend on his ability to manage accordingly. With all of this pressure since his becoming a business owner, finding balance has been clutch for Hadrian. So, how does a new business owner balance personal life and professional life? He emphasizes the importance of good scheduling, “I always plan things way ahead of time. You never know what will pop up and you must have a good grasp on your schedule and time.” Scheduling became the key element for Hadrian, so that he could continue to grow the business without personally burning out.
Another element that helped Hadrian overcome the initial hurdles? MOM’s support. “The support that MOM gives is a great benefit. To know that they are there for questions or problems has really helped me with my business.” While the challenges were still there, testing Hadrian throughout the year, he knew that he could rely on MOM, not only for support needs and FAQs, but also to help him build a clientele.
While the challenges are sure to be faced, owning a business has it’s thrills as well. Hadrian admits that the first year was full of a cocktail of emotions: excitement, exhaustion, but most of all, pride. He says that one of the best parts of owning his own business is “to see the business grow based on how much hard work I have been putting in. Knowing that your efforts are making a difference in your business.” Being able to connect the success to the time, hard work, and effort he put in is worth giving up his 9 to 5 life. And with a year under his belt, he is now able to look toward the future with MOM. While his short-term goal is to continue gaining more contracts, his long-term goal is to transition his focus from working his contracts to growing a business that he can manage; and manage successfully. He says his long-term goal is to have employees at every contract: “I will remove myself from the front line and become a supervisor of my business to make sure all the work is done well, and the clients are happy.” So far, his approach is paying off.
What kind of advice does this new business owner have for others looking to take the plunge? “Don’t give up, it’s really hard at the beginning, but with the work you put in, eventually you will see the return.” While Hadrian admits that the beginning can be extremely challenging both emotionally and financially, he persevered. “Just believe that and keep working towards seeing that return of work. Finally, if you continuously work hard you will be rewarded you have to believe that as well.”
At MOM, we love to hear about hard work paying off. We are grateful to Hadrian for sitting down with us and providing us with a first-year snapshot. Feeling inspired? Maybe you could be the next Day-in-the-Life here at MOM!
For more information on franchising visit momcleaning.com