The average person will spend more than 90,000 hours, or 13 years and two months, at work. If you’re one of the lucky few who is fulfilled at their job, that figure may not seem all that alarming. But, for the nearly three-fourths of people who are unhappy at work, that’s just more motivation to focus their pursuits elsewhere.
While there can be any number of reasons behind someone’s workplace discontent, more often than not, it stems from a feeling of lacking control of one’s own destiny. That’s why so many people turn to business ownership to find more fulfillment and empowerment at work.
And, for those new to a given industry or new to business ownership in general, franchising provides them with the perfect solution to be in business for themselves but not by themselves.
Far from the monotony and humdrum that accompany many 9-to-5 desk jobs, SpeedPro franchise partners enjoy the limitless benefits they reap from owning a business while working in a creative, collaborative studio every day.
Here’s a more in-depth look at a day in the life of a SpeedPro franchisee:
A Dynamic and Distinctive Day-to-Day
At SpeedPro, every day – and franchise location – are different, so pinning down a typical day for franchise owners is not an easy feat. Still, there are some best practices and general guidelines that our network of franchisees follows, in order to foster their business’ success.
Most SpeedPro owners start with two employees, including a production manager, who organizes projects, deadlines and deliveries to keep daily operations running smoothly. Over time, as a SpeedPro owner’s business scales, they can add more employees. The average studio has two to four employees per location, depending on how big of a team the franchisee wants.
“There really isn’t a typical day as an owner, but some of the basic things I do every day include obviously opening the studio and having a production meeting in the morning to get everyone focused,” said Dan Pickett, owner at SpeedPro – Mission Valley. “Other than that, my day-to-day can include anything from going to meetings with clients and prospective clients, performing quality control and doing site inspections, to entering invoices and doing some profit and losses analysis. Every day is different, but I really love everything I do.”
In addition to daily meetings with his team and production manager to coordinate projects, Dan also meets with his marketing coordinator each week. They set goals for the number of new clients to prospect, how many follow-up calls to make and how many meetings and proposals to facilitate. Marketing coordinators help franchisees develop ongoing relationships with repeat B2B clients, freeing up the franchisees’ time to focus on current projects and business development.
“I think the most rewarding aspect of the SpeedPro franchise is that I’m building a future for myself and my family,” said Dan. “I’ve been in business for four years, with no prior graphics or art-related experience, and I’m confident the business I’ve built up will continue to be successful and take me into retirement.”
Creating In-Studio and Taking to the Road
Many SpeedPro owners work in-studio with their production managers, going over which projects need to be accomplished in a given day. The franchise owner typically provides general direction and the ultimate goal of each project, and the production manager will see the project to fruition.
“Being part of SpeedPro means you’ve got a really great support system – both from the franchisor and the franchise partner managing the individual location,” said Rachel Lunney, production manager for SpeedPro – Denver.
“You’re not out in the deep water by yourself, and you have resources you can use,” Darren Schneider, owner at SpeedPro – Denver added. “We’ve got a good support system, and I know the corporate team genuinely cares about the franchisees’ businesses and helping to grow them.”
Graphics production takes place in-studio, where the production manager and other employees use the cutting-edge wide format printing technology provided by our corporate team to create custom graphics for each client.
Our executive-style studios are typically in tech/flex commercial locations and can operate with as little as 2,000 to 4,000 square feet of space. When our corporate office helps franchisees select a site, we target high-traffic locations with at least 5,000 businesses within the territory. Since many of the B2B nature of SpeedPro’s clients, however, our model is not very location-sensitive.
Franchisees get out of the office when they travel to client offices to drop off proposals or finished products. They also have the flexibility to come and go as they please, providing them with a healthy work-life balance.
“Owning your own business lets you be the master of your time,” Darren said. “Some things I have the freedom to do are picking up my kids at the bus stop, getting them to soccer practice or even something as little as taking them to get a haircut – you have that flexibility.”
By owning a business in a collaborative, profitable environment, SpeedPro franchisees are able to enjoy more fulfillment and control over their personal and professional lives – making for a much more pleasant 90,000 hours.
To learn more about what sets SpeedPro apart from other franchise opportunities, visit our website.