A Day In The Life Of A Franchisor

I wake up to the muffled sounds of Chris Moyles on Radio 1 at 6.50. Rob, my husband, jumps out of bed and turns the alarm off whilst I fall back to sleep until 7.15. I check my emails on the Blackberry, deal with anything urgent, wash and get dressed. By 7.40 I'm downstairs drinking the mug of tea Rob has made me before rushing out the house at 7.45 to take Emily to school.

After many years I've perfected the school run - we know when to leave to enable us to be stuck in traffic for the least amount of time, a 5 minutes delay can add 30 minutes to the journey. There is a coach that goes to school but I've always taken the children myself. When there were 3 of them going it was much cheaper to drive them myself, now it's just Emily the coach is probably cheaper. However, the 30 minutes journey to school has proven to be good quality time with the children. It has given me time to focus on their day without being interrupted with phone calls and emails. After dropping Emily at school I'm back home again by 9 - usually after a stop at the Post Office to post the previous days parcels and letters.

After another cup of tea I spend the morning glued to the computer and phones. There are always a constant stream of emails to answer. A number of prospective franchisee enquiries come in overnight - I guess a number of Mums are up at night with their babies, so they surf the web and come across the Musical Minis franchise opportunity! The phone is never silent for long - calls come in from prospective franchisees after information and from people searching for their nearest classes around the UK. There are also calls and emails from people trying to get us to advertise with them. Also each morning I check my Twitter and  Musical Minis Facebook page as often people ask questions on these too.

The post has to be dealt with, at whatever time it arrives - this weeks it's been around 11ish which is reasonable.

Current franchisees also contact me throughout the day by phone and emails with queries about their classes, additions to their insurance and general advice. A large part of my time is spent analysing the franchisees income and expenditure figures together with their membership returns. We try to assist in maximising each franchisees profits but keeping within the goals they have set themselves. We don't have targets for the franchisees but help them to work as much as they want to fit in with their own lifestyle and families. I speak to the franchisees regularly whether its because they phone me for advice or I just phone them for a catch up and to say hello.

I usually have lunch late at around 1.30 and it is a quick sandwich in front of The News. Mixed in with the Musical Minis phone calls I usually speak to both Rob and my Mum at least once during the day.

The afternoon is spent back at the computer and on the phone. At 3.40 I'm back in the car to collect Emily. The car journey gives us a chance to chat about our days. Spending time with my children is really important to me and I've always fitted in Musical Minis around them.

Sometimes on the way to or from school I pop into the Bank or to the shops. Even though I'm organised with Musical Minis my home life is not so organised. I never really know what we are having for supper until I open the fridge or freezer - often there's nothing so a quick trip to the shops or a call to Rob to pick something up on his way home from work is necessary.

Once I'm back at home it's back to the computer and emails. At 6ish I usually start working out what we can have for supper and who is in for it. Matthew, my eldest, is now back at home after University - he's at Law School varying days and times throughout the week and is sometimes in but sometimes out in the evenings. Alex, my middle child, is at University but has decided to come home every Thursday for the weekend.

Rob usually comes in at about 7.30 and we have supper. We all sit down as a family to eat at the kitchen table. Family time is important to me and we have always made time to sit together and talk, without the television on. After supper Rob usually spends an hour with me on Musical Minis' matters. He is much better at the financial and legal sides of the business than I am so he sorts out the accounts etc. I often have calls from our current franchisees in the evening, as the majority of them are Mums with young children, so evenings, once their children are in bed, is a good time for them to call.

We then sit down to watch tv - often a programme the children have chosen with a quick break for the news headlines at 10pm. After a mug of herbal tea and some chocolate it's time for bed at around 10.30. I was asked recently by a beautician about my evening routine. I told her I have a quick bath, brush my teeth, check the emails on my Blackberry and get into bed! I don't think it was the answer she was looking for!

I love being the Musical Minis franchisor. No 2 days are ever the same as the calls and emails always differ and I never know what challenges will await me the following day. I have met so many interesting people - fellow professionals, prospective franchisees, carers at our classes and children at the classes. My favourite days are spent visiting franchisees to spend time with them and at their classes. There is a sense of pride and achievement that something I started locally 21 years ago has expanded and is nurtured by the current franchisees throughout the UK.

Comments

[Helen @Business Plus Baby]

I love reading about how business owners spend their day, so this has been a great post for me. Thanks for sharing it and also for entering the blog carnival.

[Amanda Perkins]

Ah that's nice. It's a great company to work for

Amanda Perkins - Bucks franchisee

[Lisa Cicco]

Ditto Amanda x

Lisa Cicco - Beds franchisee

[Karen Sherr]

Thank you for the lovely comments

[mulberry bags uk factory]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.