Franchising offers advantages that many desire as an alternative to the 9-to-5 grind.
The average full-time American worker puts in 8.5 hours a day. Additional time spent on work-related emails and texts—and other activities while “off the clock”—can be unsettling.
After all, in 2014, full-timers worked an average of just 7.8 hours a day. The 9 percent jump these past few years—and the pressure of always being connected to work and technology—has caused many folks to rethink their priorities.
Those who have made the leap from the corporate grind to franchising say they enjoy having control over their lives, their time and their overall health.
The frustration factor
Though many people who work for someone else are passionate about their jobs, research finds that one in five highly engaged employees will experience burnout.
“These engaged-exhausted workers were passionate about their work, but also had intensely mixed feelings about it — reporting high levels of interest, stress, and frustration,” according to a post on Harvard Business Review.
“I’d been working in the corporate world for 16 years,” says Rochelle Carrington, owner of a Sandler Sales Training franchise. She says franchising allowed her to “create a different lifestyle for my family and a new career experience for myself.”
Acknowledging frustration—along with being honest about professional and personal priorities—is a must, says Patrick Hyland. The vice president of development for the Grounds Guys adds: “Individuals must determine where they’re at from a dreams and goals standpoint.”
Hyland encourages potential franchisees to assess their current lives and any changes they anticipate in the next three to five years. Caring for children and aging relatives, maintaining a quality of life and having enough funds for retirement must be taken into consideration when thinking about the franchise model, he says.
The health factor
Self-employment is certainly not free of angst and worries. Still, many enjoy being in control of their destiny.
Ellen Huxtable, a career coach, suggests a “systemic look at your situation,” which she says can bring clarity: “Sometimes we have the luxury of calmly evaluating a career opportunity, but sometimes things reach crisis proportions. A career crisis can be the perfect opportunity to review your options.”
Make no mistake, a career crisis can take a toll physically and emotionally. Chronic stress is one of the most common health issues in the workplace, according to Forbes.com: “It can lead to physical consequences such as hypertension, digestive troubles, chronic aches and pains, and heart problems.”
Ongoing nervousness may also be at the root of mental distress, as it’s associated with a higher risk of depression, anxiety and insomnia, the post said.
When it comes to spending, few can put a price tag on the precious time we devote to family and friends. Stephen Sarafin, who owns a Window Genie shop, says he and his wife enjoy the franchise model, because they cherish time with their children.
They wanted to attend extracurricular activities, which isn’t always possible when working for someone else, Sarafin says. He encourages others who don’t mind hard work to look into franchising. “It’s a good career, but it’s what you make of it,” he says.
