Our goal has always been building our passive income, so when we had the idea about owning a business, I made sure the business model could allow us to be hands-off from the daily operations. We did our due diligence and research and had everything planned out when we signed the agreement with a franchise company. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit right before we opened. We were immediately in a different ball game. We had no choice but to open our business in the middle of the pandemic because of the agreement we signed. Because of the model of our business, there was no way we could get the business running right away without being involved in the daily operations. It was a very difficult time for hiring, let alone finding talented employees.
And, here is what I learned (and had to learn fast) from “accidentally” being in the game of running a brick-and-mortar business.
Thick Skin
Thick skin really means being numb to certain emotions. In business, I am referring to the emotions of rejections toward the services and products a business offers. Regardless of how great a service or product is, it is not for everyone. Just knowing that will allow you to control your emotions and brush off any negative reactions from your targeted audience. Initially, there were moments when I told myself, “This is not for me.” “I can’t do this.” But I was in business. There was no time to let these emotions get in the way. Most importantly, I could not afford to let them bother me.
The very moment I learned to build thick skin was when I decided to bring in leads for the business myself to save costs. We purchased flyers and that was all I had. What to do? Since we were promoting our business for pre-sales during pre-pandemic times, I had the opportunity to book events at local communities, looked for crowds and gatherings around the neighborhood, and walked into offices of educational institutes all just simply to get those flyers distributed, and hopefully, to the right people. In addition to feeling awkward, this was all very intimidating and very much out of my comfort zone. But because our business model is subscription based, having conversations with families and answering their questions were important parts of the marketing strategy. During these conversations, 1 out of every 10 families would stick around to listen. The rest? I just had to swallow those “no’s” and moved on. I could not think too much about folks who gave me the weird looks or those who made unwelcoming comments about the business. There were no time to ponder over those rejections like one would in personal relationships. Business is business. In the end, all I could remember was coming home one day saying to my husband, “Dear, I did it. I distributed out all 1000 flyers.” I realized I forgot about the “no’s” and negative reactions from people. I have built thick skin for my business.
Stress Management
It is true. Being a business owner is exciting but the stress that comes along with it is something that every business owner needs to be prepared for, mentally and emotionally. Things you can’t imagine could happen can happen. When the pandemic hit during our construction phase, we had to halt all work. The uncertainty of the timeline with delays after delays kept my stress level as high as I could ever remember in my life. There was nothing positive about the situation regardless of which angle I tried to view or tackle from. The most stressful factor was accruing costs while delays continued to stretch out. During many nights, I woke up and couldn’t stop thinking about the business. Did I make the wrong decision? Why was I in such bad luck? Then, I looked over at my husband who was fast asleep. Seeing him there made me feel sad and bad. I felt like I have let him down. One night, I accidentally woke him up, and I remembered saying to him, “Dear, I am stressed.” He mumbled something and quickly went back to sleep. One thing that struck me was, why wasn’t he stressed like me? After a bit of “analysis”, I realized what it really means when they say you cannot control what happens around you. However, you can control how you feel. I started to learn to digest that saying myself. I repeatedly had to tell myself, “There is no use just thinking about it.” The sense of inability to control the situation was what caused my stress, but in reality, there were a lot that I could do. What really needed to happen was action for how to make things better or find ways to resolve the problems. It took a bit of time, but I did learn. There are some people who can grasp this saying very easily because of perhaps their more relaxed nature, but for me, I learned from my husband. And for any business owner, in order to enjoy the rewards in good health, stress management needs to be mastered.
Financial Stability
When starting a business, what needs to be built up, which is what takes the most time, is financial stability. Without financial stability, having the rest of the other necessities will not allow you to stay in the game. This especially is true when starting a brick-and-mortar business. In a brick-and-mortar business, one of the running expenses is rent, and it will not give you a break regardless of the failure or success of your business. When we had no choice and opened our business during the pandemic, we were bleeding, as expected, but our other income streams were able to let us hang on to it until we came out of the red after the pandemic died down a bit. Most businesses don’t start profiting immediately. So, financial stability can allow a business to stick to the game long enough to start seeing the rewards of the hard work.
Resilience
Being able to bounce back is very important because in business, it’s about getting through obstacles and jumping over hurdles. At times, these obstacles and hurdles may even feel like failures, but if we let even just one bring us down, the game is over. Business is about persistence and finding the wins in every situation. While we got through the challenges in the construction phase, many more challenges awaited us as we were kicking off the business. Hiring, training, dealing with customers, finding the vision for the center, dealing with attrition and turnovers, dealing with customer complaints, dealing with customer retention, and finding ways to get our center marketed. These are just a small part of what owning and running a business is about. It’s okay to feel down because that’s natural, but bouncing back quickly is what every business owner needs to do. If you do not find yourself bouncing back quickly in very stressful times, then take some time to get used to overcoming stress and failures before jumping into a business.
People Management
Managing people of course is not something that many people can or know how to do on a regular basis. However, when starting a business, it’s all about bringing people together. A business needs customers and clients. A business needs employees. A business needs vendors and partners. Every part of making a business successful involves some type of people skills. If you don’t like working with people, I would suggest staying away from starting a business.
For our business model, it requires building relationships with our customers. It’s not a simple service that we provide but a long term product that lets users stay as members for as long as possible. So, establishing relationships with our customers is very important. Initially, without experience, I felt awkward being on phone calls chatting with strangers and telling them about how our services could benefit them. I was actually really nervous. But the more I did it, the easier it got. I can now start a conversation or answer any questions that anyone has about our services without a sense of awkwardness.
Aside from the customers, having a good team is as important. Building a team is making connections with each member and letting them know that they are a part of a purpose and team. Knowing how to spot talent and weaknesses is key to knowing how to staff appropriately. I constantly have individual chats with my team members and checking in with them to make sure they are okay. However, there are times when members of the team are not performing as expected. As a business owner and leader, finding ways to help them improve is a responsibility before deciding they just aren’t the best fit for the job.
In short, running a business is people management for the most part.
Enjoy the Work
Many people look at a business as simply a source of income. However, a business is not just a source. I look at a “source” of being something you can just move on easily if it doesn’t work out, like a job. A business is not a job and is something that you need to invest in. No one else will manage it for you if you don’t want to run it. It is your baby and you need to love your baby. So, whatever business you decide to go into, make sure it is something you love and enjoy doing. Running a restaurant is not as simple as bringing food to the customers. Running a gym is not as simple as having machines in a venue for customers to use. Running a daycare is not as simple as watching over babies and kids. If you don’t enjoy and are not passionate about the services and products your business provides, it is destined to fail. Your passion for the business needs to keep you fueled up to continue doing a good job. This is the most difficult to realize because people change over time. You think you love it today but it may change tomorrow. So, make sure you are committed and know this is what you truly enjoy doing before making your “at-the-moment” passion into a business.
Patience
Regardless of which necessity you are building up at this time, patience is, above all, key. Building a business takes time, a lot of time. Successful businesses don’t take a day, a month, or a year. Many took at least 5, 10, 20 years. While set backs will make you feel like you lost the time invested, as long as you learn from the mistakes and continue pushing forward, the rewards will be waiting for those who are patient enough to see the “fruit of the labor.”
That’s it. Before you decide to become a business owner, think about the necessities that I have learned and outlined here. Whatever you decide, the best of luck to you.
