Author Brian Tracy has a great, easy reading book called "Eat That Frog" modeled after the saying that if you eat a frog first thing everyday then nothing worse can happen the rest of the day. The idea is aimed at reducing procrastination by identifying the most difficult things on your to-do list and taking care of them first. What often happens instead though is that we confuse being busy with getting the right things done that actually make the most difference. This idea is also known as the 80/20 rule, or the Pareto Principle. In short, 80% of your results come from only 20% of what you actually do. Makes you wonder why we even do those other things that are 80% of our time doesn't it?
So how it this relevant to owning a franchise, or any business? If you want to be your own boss, well then you need to consider that you are going to be your own boss! Being able to identify and then act upon the the things that actually move your business forward is critical. Especially for those going from an employee environment where someone is likely assigning tasks for you to do, in this world that person doesn't exist. Well, outside of you anyway.
It doesn't matter how great a system is or how much potential a product has if the leader is focused more on what is perceived to be urgent versus what is actually important. Prior to making that leap into business ownership, it is well worth taking a look at how you do things now and considering if that needs to change. Like anything worth doing, you have to practice to get better at it. In whatever role you have now, what are the ten things you do most? Of those, how many actually move the needle on reaching your objectives? Are those the things you do first, or are those "frogs" just staring right back at you?
If interested, check out Brian Tracy's book here.
