Settling the Anxiety of Transitioning from Corporate America to Business Ownership

by Right at Home

After 20 years in Corporate America working for First Data Corporation, Diane Huffer was comfortable. She had a good job, a steady income, and a solid employer. But even with her corporate success, and perhaps even because of it, the idea of business ownership was intriguing to her.

But considering leaving the comforts of Corporate America meant stepping way outside her comfort zone. Running your own business, at least initially, doesn’t offer the stability and security in the short term that an employer with benefits and a steady paycheck offer. Plus, there was the issue of her family commitments, which included being a mom to her three kids.

With all of these responsibilities and her 20 year track record with First Data Corporation, some questioned her decision to leave that comfortable lifestyle. But over a 9 month period of research and soul searching, Diane overcame her fears, as well as the fears of others, and opened a Honey Baked Ham franchise in Omaha.

Diane had a 5 year plan initially. She wanted to establish the business and build it to a point where she could, at her discretion, sell the business for a profit within 5 years. With a lot of hard work, Diane successfully built the business into one of the best in the Honey Baked Ham system. And, after only 3 years, she was able to sell the business to a neighboring franchisee who had taken notice of her success.

Now, Diane has come full circle and joined the Right at Home franchise development team, where she qualifies and recruits new franchisee to join the successful 200+ unit in home care franchise. Diane says she’s a perfect match for this position because she understands the magnitude of this decision, and can easily relate to the considerations that people must make.

Diane says one of the many reasons people experience anxiety when making the transition from the corporate world into business ownership arises from fear. There’s the obvious fear of failure, but there’s also the fear of everything you have to do when you are the business owner, at least initially. In a corporate America career, there are separate departments created to handle all the different functions, but in your own business you are responsible for everything— including securing the financing, negotiating a lease, hiring, payroll, placing advertising and the list goes on. That’s enough to make anyone feel the pressure, but it doesn’t have to be left all on your shoulders.

For many people, striking out on their own is just too risky. That is why franchising offers such a reasonable alternative for those who want to own their business while also minimizing their risk. Many franchises offer a substantial amount of support and training to make sure you have everything you need to run your business, including operations manuals filled with checklists and procedures that already are proven to work. And in systems where franchisees readily share best practices with each other, you will likely benefit from their previous experiences as well. According to Huffer, being able to talk with existing franchisees and having a corporate support team focused on her success goes a long way toward easing the fear of the decision.

At Right at Home, the new owner’s training class is a full two weeks because, as Huffer says, that’s how long it takes us to teach this business to those who don’t have previous home or health care experience. During the first 12-18 months of operations, Right at Home supports its franchisees through a program called Right Start. This program, among other things, assigns a dedicated support person whose focus is mostly on getting the business to breakeven as quickly as possible.

According to Huffer, the biggest difference in owning your own business when compared with working in Corporate America is your role. Specifically, when you own your own franchise, “corporate” is working for you, instead of you working for “corporate.”

Right at Home

Learn more about Right at Home at topfranchises.franchisebusinessreview.com.

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