If your main stumbling block to starting your own business is you don't think you're good at sales, take heart. Not all businesses require their owners be sales pros.
For one thing, you can attract business with advertising and marketing, and plenty of businesses are designed to bring customers to them. If you offer a valuable commodity in the marketplace, you can help your customers find you.
Related: Ready For A Career Switch? Consider A Franchise
Just consider the types of businesses you typically seek out: the chain restaurant a mile down the road that all your friends are raving about or the store you've heard positive things about, thanks to an advertising campaign. Plenty of examples also exist in service businesses, from print shops to package mailing sites.
Many of these businesses are franchises — which have the added advantage of coming with a full toolkit on how to run the business. So not only do you NOT need to be a great salesperson, you also don't have to start your business from scratch.
A huge variety of very successful franchise businesses that don't require sales expertise are available — and they come with a whole cadre of experts to help you learn the business and support you along the way. You'll find more great options in the following categories:
Moving & storage
Sign products
Community activities
Healthcare
In addition, you'll find options in the B2B category, particularly well-suited for corporate managers looking for the next career stage.
The most important part of this process is to find a franchise that suits your background, preferences and skill set. Much of the first-line advice you should seek comes free of charge from franchise consultants, and then the quality of your research is limited only by your own work ethic and follow-through, both of which are essential for business owners.
So if you can successfully complete a layered research process — which should include interviewing current franchisees — and make a match with a franchise that comes with a proven history of success, your odds go way up that you will thrive in a business of your own.
One of the best things about having a franchise is you get your own business, but you're not alone. You have a whole team behind you to help you with the ins and outs of running the business. They are there to get you through the ramp-up phase of learning your new business, so you can quickly start making a profit.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a Work It Daily-approved expert.
The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
