What I would have done differently
I just had the most energizing call with an aspiring founder who is hoping to eventually franchise her brand. It was WILD to be on the other side of the line as the one holding the experience and the wisdom. Every veteran was once a rookie.
I listened to her still-a-work-in-progress elevator pitch, reasoning of why "everyone" needs her concept, and I enjoyed her confidence as she assured me of the profitability potential (I just love a wide-eyed entrepreneur!) I saw my 9 year-ago self in her, when I still described DivaDance as "you know, like really fun dance classes that aren't stressful - and for everyone, but not kids - and we dance to pop and hip hop songs. It's so fun. And we don't have our own studios ... I mean we DO but like, not OUR OWN studio." I've since refined that to "dance choreography classes for adults." ✨ 🎯
Her main question was, what would you do differently now — knowing all that you know?
In that moment, the last 9 years of my life flashed by in my brain, and I thought about everything DivaDance is now and all the small and big decisions and moves we made to get us here. What's been hard (and why) —Oh, and a pandemic that happened along the way and where we would be now if that hadn't been a speed bump.
I also thought back to how I started our franchising company with only $10,000 in cash (no investors)— and how scrappy we had to be. And how I had to work essentially 2 full-time jobs to pull it all off. And that I moved back in with my parents at age 40. And how I didn't pay myself for 5 years. And how I still only pay myself less than half of what I used to make in the business business.
I would make all the sacrifices again.
I would put in all the hours again.
I would make all the same mistakes again.
I would TOTALLY move back in with my parents again. Dad, if you're reading this I would only do it if I could control the thermostat this time.
Hopefully, my 9-year-from-now-self will look back to THIS time in our business and feel the same way — because of the decisions we make now, the challenges we're overcoming, and the way we are navigating toward our fullest potential
And I hope this gal I talked to today is HUGELY SUCCESSFUL and is in a position to pass along wisdom as I did with her. 💖