Fear of the unknown is a natural safeguard for survival and isn’t easy to admit. I’m concerned if a client researching how to start their entrepreneurial experience through franchising tells me they don’t have fear.
One of my key roles as a franchise consultant is helping a client:
- Identify your fears,
- Discover your questions to reduce the unknowns,
- Help you find the answers to your questions.
When Moses led Israel out of bondage in Egypt, many times in the journey, the people of Israel pleaded and protested to return to Egypt because they knew what dangers they faced and were more comfortable with their daily lives than being free and afraid of the next unknown obstacle.
The journey from Egypt to the promised land was filled with unanswered questions:
- Where would they get water and their next meal?
- Why suffer during the journey when they knew nothing about the new land? They followed a man who talked with God.
- What unknown dangers threatened them ahead?
- How could they defeat the armies against them?
- Did their leader, Moses, know what he was doing?
- How were his decisions good for them today?
- When would their journey and suffering end?
They projected the outcomes based on their experiences, and the projections were negative. A person averages 35,000 thoughts daily, and focusing on negative projections of unknown outcomes is easy.
In their role as incident commanders (IC) on an emergency scene, fire chiefs face similar issues. Dozens of decisions must be made quickly and with little factual information to bring an emergency under control safely. Every firefighter working on the scene must trust their leader to carry out complex and dangerous tasks to bring a structure fire to a safe conclusion.
Terrace Park firefighters were dispatched to a house struck by lightning with flames pouring out of the gable vent. The decisions made in the first 5 minutes by the incident commander are the difference between saving the structure safely or watching the structure burn to the ground and possibly involving nearby houses.
Or worse, firefighters are injured.
Some of the IC’s decisions include:
- Where do you tell the engines to set up to leave room for a ladder truck?
- How many firefighters do we need? How many firefighters and what additional departments are responding?
- What are the capabilities of the crews on the scene?
- What other dangers are present?
- What type of fire is this based on how the smoke bellows from the structure?
- Is the IC assigning specific tasks to meet the strategic plan to extinguish the fire quickly and safely?
Each decision is critical for success. If the IC runs each decision through their fearful lens of decision-making, no action is taken, and the house is lost.
Franchising entrepreneurs face similar “dangerous” decisions when starting their business:
- Is the franchisor’s team competent and trustworthy?
- Do I have what it takes (skills, knowledge, experience) to own a business?
- Can I build a team?
- And my favorite: I’m not good at sales; how can I be successful?
5 steps to reduce your fears in franchising:
- Know yourself, your skills, your business strengths and weaknesses, your habits in critical situations, and how to build a team. Journaling is vital for this step.
- Ask for support to find out how to improve your deficiencies, and shine a light on your fears to reveal the unknown questions. Your trusted advisor keeps you accountable and offers different perspectives.
- Work harder than you think possible, and know your numbers leading to success.
- Trust yourself to improve daily. Adopt a growth mindset. “I’m better today than I was yesterday, and I’ll be more effective tomorrow.” Take action before you are 100% ready.
- Completely immerse yourself in the present moment. Now is the only point on your timeline that you control. Create your strategic plan and follow your plan. Build in evaluations to adjust your plan to a changing environment.
Owning a franchise business is demanding and equally rewarding for a reason. From customers and your community to employees and their families, to suppliers to your family, you change the lives of everyone your business touches.
My mission is to ensure the best opportunity for entrepreneurial success through franchising for each client. Click the link for an entrepreneurial assessment, and take the first step today.
