Phil dove into the franchise process on day one. When it was time for him to open shop, he hit the ground running. To say I am proud would be an understatement. Phil had everything inside of him to become a successful business owner, and he did just that. Read on to find out Phil’s goals and accomplishments in his first year in business.
1) You set big goals for yourself in the first year – what were these and how did you accomplish them?
Going into the first year of the business, you know I wanted (and needed) to see success quickly. Primarily, I wanted to learn, understand, and improve my skills in year one. I completed all of the Kitchen Tune Up training, took advantage of opportunities to speak with other owners and honestly, just learned through mistakes and wins. I also set a personal goal to sell $1 million in my first year. We closed out 2022 with $1.1 Million in 10 months! A lot of that was due to following our process and building relationships with our clients. My team of installers made it possible by being able to follow through on the commitments we made to our customers.
2) How challenging was your first year? What advice would you have for others?
My first year saw plenty of challenges. Starting with myself and one employee meant I was left to do a lot of different roles. We quickly grew our team to 5 installers, myself, and my wife to help with everything that needed to happen. The other big challenge was really just learning the ins and outs of the business with vendors, installation, lead times, price increases in product, and learning our busy and slower times of the year. My best advice is to learn who several of the successful franchisees are, get to know them, and don’t be afraid to reach out for help.
3-How did your skills/talents from your previous job help prepare you for business ownership?
I had run a franchise for an owner/mentor prior to joining, so I felt it was an easy transition for me. I had been involved in all levels of franchise businesses before and that really prepared me to see the big picture and identify small issues before they become large ones.
4-What are your key takeaways for the first year?
First, treat your employees and customers right. If you start with that, it’s hard to not be successful. Admitting you don’t know everything and need help is another big takeaway. You can’t do it all by yourself.
5-What’s next on the horizon?
Next on the horizon is to add a salesperson (done!), grow our business to $2 million in revenue in 2023, and start adding more territories and/or other franchise businesses!
