Having just written a book on how to know if franchising is right for you after your corporate career, I am a collector of the stories of people making good on the franchise dream. How are they doing it? I interview interesting franchisees all the time and was going to wrap it all up in one mega-blogpost, but I think you’ll gain more as a prospective franchisee if you can listen to these folks one at a time.

First up: Matt Slappey of Decatur, Ga., a franchisee of Murphy Business Brokers. Matt  was a sales executive at Pfizer for 12 years–a successful one who made his numbers. But the anxiety of being powerless in corporate America took its toll on him. “We had layoffs every 18 months. I was once laid off and rehired on the same day!” He was tired of having “meetings about having meetings.” Finally, he quit–no layoff, no severance, no stock options.

He took a few months to soul-search. He decided he wanted the “potential to make a ton of money without having a lot of employees to manage.”  He bought his business brokerage franchise about two years ago and says he has “never been happier.” He has an interesting spin on what he does: “I help people who own small and midsize companies understand the value of their business and help them sell it without competitors knowing it was ever for sale. And I help former corporate people like me buy their own business.”

So how hard was his transition to self-employment? Pay special attention here, potential franchisees: “My transition was pretty easy, other than having to get a real estate license. I have an accounting degree, which is helpful. I have good sales and presentation skills. And a great work ethic. Also, Murphy had great weekly training for a year.” What amazes me is how many people buy a business without these core skills: a working knowledge of accounting, the ability to sell, and to the desire to work like a madman for as long as it takes to be successful.

It can’t be that easy, Matt! There were, and are, many challenges. So Matt offers these suggestions to prospective franchise entrepreneurs:

1. When you buy a business you may have no initial income at all, so you have to have reserves.

2. Do due diligence–and that doesn’t mean calling the three franchisees that the franchisor recommends. “Call 40 people who own the same franchise.

3. If you’re buying an existing business, use a business broker to represent you. (Well, you’d expect Matt to say that!)

4. Ask yourself: “Can I see myself doing this every day?” Meaning, if you have a short attention span, as many people who start a business do, you better have very deep pockets.

5. Make sure you have family commitment before buying a business. “My wife is 110% supportive. It took her a couple of months at first. She wasn’t sure, so we waited. An opportunity might go off the market, but pass it up if you have to.”

So how’s it going for Matt? “I’m just more proud than I have ever been. Proud that I don’t rely on anybody else.” That’s a nice state to be in. It can be an easier transition than you might imagine, if you have all the right skills.

Tags: Franchising, Murphy Business

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My Google Reader is up to 1,000+ unread entries. I really want to go through them all. There is such good intelligence in there. I just read some great advice for coaches from Duct Tape Marketing. So much wisdom, so little time to follow it all.  Now, I coach for a living, working with entrepreneurs as well as job-seekers. I also am a featured blogger at Allbusiness.com. And I own a profitable, growing business. I am supposed to be the model of how to do things in an organized fashion. Most people think I’m amazingly productive. But while all the other entrepreneur bloggers and self-improvement gurus seem to have it all figured out, I don’t, and it makes me feel inadequate. Here are some of the things I’m struggling with today.

Why can’t I remember my password to get into my Salesforce.com account? And why doesn’t Windows remember it?

What should I do to pass the time when my wireless network takes a five-minute power nap?

Should I send a particular account to collection or offer to settle for half?

Can I get away without redesigning my website for a while longer?

Should I join that new networking group that costs $3,000 a year?

Should I buy that second business I’m mulling over?

Should I change my email marketing provider? What a hassle!

I power-washed the deck the other day. It took five hours. Should I have outsourced it and used the five hours to be more productive? ARRGGGGGH!

Yesterday, I participated in an event for homeless children  who live in shelters. We set up a tiki bar at the beach and made about 500 strawberry banana smoothies for these kids, who smiled the biggest smiles. I had some great volunteers who ran the operation once we were set up. So I got to take a long, peaceful walk on a deserted beach on a cloudy day.  Now I can’t believe I was complaining about not remembering my password and other small details and hassles of my business life. I live in a nice house with a healthy family and we have enough of what we need.

Advice to self: delete your Google reader. Spend more time thinking about other people who are struggling. Be grateful for the abudance you have and your ability to help others.

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