How to Prepare for Job Loss & Transition to Business Ownership

A franchise business advisor's complete guide to preparing for job loss. In this full episode, learn how to assess your options, plan financially, start a business while employed, and take control of your future. 

DISCLAIMER: The information on this podcast is for general information purposes only. Franchising involves risk and careful consideration should be given before making any decisions.

Connect with Franchise Freedom on:
Website: https://ggthefranchiseguide.com/podcast/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giuseppe-grammatico/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GGTheFranchiseGuide

X: https://x.com/ggfranchguide

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ggthefranchiseguide/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ggthefranchiseguide

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/franchise-freedom/id1499864638

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13LTN5UzA57w2dTB4iV0fm

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ggthefranchiseguide

The Franchise Freedom: Discover Your New Path to Freedom Through Franchise Ownership, Book by Giuseppe Grammatico https://ggthefranchiseguide.com/book or purchase directly on ...

Transcript

Giuseppe Grammatico: 0:00

So, you know, really comparing a job versus a business, it's, it's night and day. I will say that a lot of people maybe should own a business. I always tell people with, with a business, you gotta have some thick skin. There's gonna be ups and downs, and that why, that reason you're doing it is really gonna get you through those. you're not gonna know everything. Part of it is saying, okay, everything is kind of lining up. I'm gonna take that leap of faith, which is the final stage, and I'm gonna do everything in my power. To make this work. That's the approach I used.

0:32

Welcome to the Franchise Freedom Podcast, where you can escape the corporate trap through franchise ownership. Here's your host, Giuseppe gr, the franchise guide.

Giuseppe Grammatico: 0:45

Welcome to the Franchise Freedom Podcast. I'm your host, Zepi Grammatic, your franchise guide, and we are continuing the conversation with part two, uh, of our series of how to prepare for job loss. So in part one, uh, we talked about, uh, when to prepare, and that's immediately and some of the steps you should be doing now, kind of that self, self-audit, figuring out the things you're good at and and, and maybe weaknesses and the things you enjoy doing. Uh, followed by letting the family know, getting your finances together and updated. Uh, followed by, you know, getting your, your LinkedIn account at bare minimum, one of your social platforms. Getting that updated and, um, ready to go. In the event, you know, you need to kind of reach out to other companies or individuals, uh, should you be looking for another job. So in part two we're gonna focus on kind of the next steps of figuring out what is. The next steps, because sometimes this is a, a pivotal point, right? We're we're figuring out, you know, this is kind of a career transition, a career pivot as I call it, as to kind of what's next. And the beauty here is that you really open it up to saying, okay, well I worked on Wall Street, I worked in finance and investments my entire career, but, uh, in the event of, uh, that I lose a job, you know, what are. Gonna be the next steps? What are my options? So we now have a better pi picture, right? So going back to part one, we have a LinkedIn presence, so if people were to contact us, makes it a lot easier. And uh, it's a great way to reach out to other professionals as opposed to email. And if you do have some thoughts or wanna put some ideas out there, it's great for feedback. And via those LinkedIn and, and social posts, we have a better understanding of our financials, so we know what that buffer is. Right now we know, okay, I have certain savings aside, we know what our expenses are, net worth, liquidity, you know, liabilities, assets. We do all that and kind of figure out, okay, in the event. I were to start a business, what capital to have access to. And that's taking into consideration equity in the home. It's taken into consideration retirement accounts. Not that they all qualify, but if you were to lose your job with your employer, o odds are, uh, you'd be able to qualify from a previous employer, traditional IRA. So in those next steps, we're looking at things like, okay, you know, keeping it open creating a. Kind of another Google doc. So next to that self analysis and self audit what does a job look like? Do I want to be in the same role, same industry, or do I wanna branch out? Do I have a transferable skillset? Just say that sales and networking and financial service in the investment industry. Um, well that applies to just about any industry. So do I wanna switch into a completely different industry? Maybe it's the health and wellness space. Maybe it's the franchise space, maybe it's the technology space, but writing down, figuring out other jobs and careers that may work. And what are those, you know, those salaries and that's, that's stuff that you can find on online. I believe there's a site, uh, Glassdoor, if I'm not mistaken. I believe that's the name of the site. And you could do a little bit of research, uh, even asking, I'm sure AI will be able to come back with certain salary ranges of Exactly, you know, what, what those ranges are, what's the career, what's the education and experience, uh, needed. So, you know, taking that into consideration, uh, knowing exactly, you know, that who the HR person is and you don't wanna. You know, star any red flags and, and, and start asking. But in, in the event you wanna know who those people are because sometimes it is a downsizing of the department, but there are other departments within that company, uh, that may be hiring and looking to expand. So, and then, you know, the other part is, on the business side, if you wanna go the business business route, and most people believe that. If you're gonna start a business, well that means you gotta leave the job or you need to be downsized. Uh, and the argument I make is that that's not the case. You can absolutely keep your job if you're still employed and have that business on the side, whether it's a. Startup business you've been working on, or a franchise as long as a franchise allows part-time or semi-absentee ownership. And obviously, you know, they have a conversation about what to expect and really needing a, a, a full-time general manager or someone in place to run the day to day of the business with your involvement, maybe being a little bit more virtual or, you know, one time a week in person, but kind of setting those expectations. But looking at. You know, what a business may look like. Is it something where you're just sick of the, the rat rate, the corporate rat race, um, that hamre wheel and you're looking to hire yourself and, and have much more control? Well, uh, obviously the, the business, uh, could be a great fit. Uh, some people wanna go that rat, but they're not. Comfortable with, uh, kind of throwing all their eggs in one basket and not having any income for not knowing how long of a period. And some people like to continue with the job as long as they're employed and, and have that business on the side. So, this is where I always say who not how figure out what you want and then figure out the people that can help you get there. So I can absolutely help you get there. I'm a franchise coach and consultant. Uh, there are others that, that, uh, are in the same role as myself. You know, I'm an independent, own my own company and business and and part of a great network that supports us and, uh, has some great partners and would love to help you out in figuring out if that made sense. And sometimes, uh, you know, we have a, an intro call and we're not certain, and we have, we have a follow up call. And, you know, one of the mo one of the really important things is the why. Why do you wanna own? A business which flows through to everything, right? Uh, for me it was time freedom so that, um, I didn't miss the kids', uh, events, soccer events, dance recitals, and any type of events, birthdays and special events. And some people, it's more financial freedom. Now, these are not freedoms that you're gain right away. It takes, uh, at least that builder year, the first year. To get the business up and running, get the right staff in place, get the training, get the infrastructure all set up, whether it's a franchise or not. But that first year is truly a, a builder year. But, uh, it can create some, some great outcomes. You know, time freedom to me and being able to control my schedule where I work and put all my personal. Blocks, boulders, whatever you want to call it on your calendar, is most important to me. So, you know, really comparing a job versus a business, it's, it's night and day. I will say that a lot of people maybe should own a business. You know, they're looking for just. You know, I, I want, I wanna work for an employer. They kind of tell me what to do and I kind of have this ladder, right? That I'm gonna move up this corporate ladder and that's okay. You know, a, a business is not meant for everyone. Um, I always tell people with, with a business, you gotta have some thick skin. There's gonna be ups and downs, and that why, that reason you're doing it is really gonna get you through those. Those ups and downs, but it could be extremely rewarding. If you can find the right business, uh, that matches what you're looking to accomplish. Keep in mind, so you got options here. We have, a job within the same organization, maybe a different department, maybe a different industry. We have on the table, a fra, a franchise, a startup business. These are different avenues. And then, you know, kind of deciding, okay, well, which do I prefer? If I prefer owning a business, do I have the funds to start up the business and have some reserves aside? Because if you do start a business and you do decide you do get downsize or, you know, decide to leave your job, you know who is paying the mortgage, the student loans, the utility bills, and things like that. That's that buffer we were talking about. It's a buffer for your personal expenses. It's also the buffer for the business if that business takes a little bit longer to get up and running. So. Uh, in our case, um, we were married, recently married, and, uh, my wife kept her job. So I knew that we had income and her, her salary, her income covered just about our personal expenses for the most part. And, uh, we had some reserves in the event it went over. So those are things to, to consider. Some people don't have the other spouse or partner or anyone involved in the household that that has a job. So you gotta take that into consideration. Again, there's no right or wrong here. I wish to say, you know, it's not black and white, it's this way or, or that way. It really depends on not just your situation, but what you're comfortable with. You know, I had someone, uh, gentleman that didn't have a lot in savings, but he had a million dollars in a retirement account and I said, well, you know, you, you know, you can utilize a previous employer's retirement in order to fund this. And although. That was an option. And the company we referred him to actually created that, that retirement, uh, rollover business startup. It was called R Rob's, ROBS, uh, from Benetrends. Uh, he just was not comfortable. It just had it in his head that you never touch retirement. So, so it's, but it's good to, to kind of have these options and speak with a funding company. Beauty is there, there's no fee for the consultation or intro call. Unless you were to move forward. Um, but, you know, getting everything in place, talking to individuals, and now on, on the business side, you wanna talk to people that own businesses. You wanna talk to people that either own the franchise. Uh, when we work together, we'll introduce you to brands and the franchise companies. We'll introduce you to franchisees, but talk to other business owners. Listen to their experience, but also for, for the sake of relevancy. You know, fi, you know, find out exactly how they started. Their business was a full-time. Was it part-time? Was this business handed down from a previous generation? Again, nothing wrong with that, but you wanna learn how they specifically got into, into business and what their life looks like. Uh, they may be successful in driving fancy cars, but. You know, are they in the business 20 years and working a hundred hours a week? That may not be what you're looking for. You wanna align and attract what you're looking to attract. And, uh, people in similar kind of situations, you know, doing the same thing. So, and that's when I, I always say, you put it all together. You, you gather the information. Now the trick here is. Getting right to the point, you know, talking with some professionals you know, whether that be a career transition individual, someone like myself on the franchise side, and, you know, you can spend, this is where the, the trap I see people, they kinda, you know, do research forever and I know people like this and just maybe not meant to be, they're more interested in the research and actual. Moving forward, but at some point you gotta pull the trigger to set the expectation. I don't think you'll ever be a hundred percent. You're gonna be, you know, you're gonna be super passionate maybe about the franchise or the business or that job. You know, you're not gonna know everything. Part of it is saying, okay, everything is kind of lining up. I'm gonna take that leap of faith, which is the final stage, and I'm gonna do everything in my power. To make this work. That's the approach I used. I left Wall Street, lost my licenses because when you're not keeping up, uh, with the employer license, your licenses expire, which is fine. I, I knew that I did that homework ahead of time. And I knew that within, I believe it was two years, I would lose all my licenses and that was okay. So, but I went all in. I said, I do not wanna go back to this long commute, this never ending corporate ladder that I just wasn't a good fit for me. So, you know, getting all that on the table, getting all that information and then, um, reviewing that, it could be your spouse, your partner, or your family at the dinner table, and looking at various options. Maybe there's opportunities. Your kids are older. They're in college and, uh, maybe they take a role in the business in the summer. Maybe they take a, a role in the business, they need additional income and they could be done remotely where maybe they're just doing customer service or sales calls in between classes. Something that's flexible. So you never know by having these conversations, ideas come up. Opportunities come up and, uh, everything starts to line up. And, and, and eventually it will you know, everything will start pointing at, you know, the, the, uh, the direction to go in. But the whole point of this 2.2 part series is really to, you know, get up to speed, get educated, um, get informed. Control what you can. You can't, you can't control the economy. You can't control losing your job or not. You can work a little bit harder, but if the, uh, higher ups need to cut back and, um, your department is on the chopping block, listen, it, it, it happens. Hopefully you get a great severance. If not, your, there's, you may get a little bit of unemployment, you may get a little bit of a severance, but ultimately it's like, okay, eventually that's gonna run out. So in the next 3, 6, 12 months, uh, there's no income. What are we doing here? And, uh, yeah, this is, you know, why I recommend people create a safety net and have some type of business, LLCS Corp. Something that they have while keeping their job is that they're not just waiting until losing the job, they're being proactive so they can decide if they wanna take the leap full time. And leave the employer. They're getting, um, a lot of the learning curve and, and finding the staff while keeping the job. So yes. Is it gonna be easy? No, I mean, it, it's, it's, um, it's definitely worth it, but it, it's definitely not gonna be easy balancing a job and running that business. But this is, this is temporary, put together a plan and with six to 12 months I'm gonna be full steam ahead. I'm gonna be in the business full time, and I, and I'm not worrying about my job or getting pulled in. Uh, to come into the office in New York City for, for meetings or travel across the country, across the world for a meeting. So you put together that plan. You jot it down, you put it on, I put it on my Google calendar. You look at it every day and then you're like, okay, what do I have to do daily in order to make this a reality? And uh, as I mentioned, this is preparing, this is education. The who, not how, talking to those individuals putting it all down on paper and then figuring out, okay, ultimately. You're gonna get advice from everyone. You may have someone that's a little bit more conservative, uh, you know, getting you a little bit scared. There's a risk in taking a business. Uh, and they're not doing that intentionally. They're, they're doing that to protect you, obviously. But they may have never owned the business before. So the fear of the unknown is what's kind of, uh, holding them back a little bit. But ultimately that decision is on you you're never, you're gonna be a hundred percent prepared and you're not gonna know everything. Day one, I, I invested in franchise and non-franchise businesses and I'm learning every single day. And you adapt, you know, the economy, the world is changing. AI is, is in effect. You know, we're hearing it more and more often, and we hear a lot of franchise companies embracing that. And investing millions, tens of millions of dollars back into AI to make the franchisees much more efficient, uh, helping with the sales cycle, helping to reduce costs, uh, and things like that. So, and just being as efficient as possible. So, you know, this is, this is the time to get ready. Uh, I can absolutely assist in these areas. Sometimes I work with people and they're like, you know, I'm in between a job and a business. I'm, I'm not really certain. Pick up the call, uh, pick up the phone. Or Betty book a call with me, wanna make sure we're available. And we have, we have some a time slot, but, uh, let's grab 20 minutes. Let's talk it through. In some cases where the franchise or business may not be a good fit, uh, we've made intros to other professionals that maybe are able to assist in, uh, spending a little bit more time in setting up that, uh, that resume or cover letter for you. So. Please guys, take me up on the offer. I've been in your shoes. I will say there's some amazing things that happen, um, when everything aligns and you get into business ownership for those that obviously that's the right path. But I encourage you, the o the offers there, my, my wife, to help as many people as possible figure out. If business ownership is the right fit, and then finding that perfect business. And that's where, you know, we talked on previous episodes, we, we start with the end in mind. Why are you doing this? And what does this ideal business look like from the industry? The investment to the role and skillset you bring to the table, to the staff and to the venue. You know, is it a brick and mortar or, or, or home base? And we spent a lot of time there. So I encourage everyone. That's even thought about it, that's thinking of, uh, that may be getting downsized. That's at coming outta the military and have no idea what direction to move into. I've been talking quite a bit of people from the military, uh, a lot of military veterans talking about funding options, um, you know, discounts that some franchise companies offer. On franchise fees for, uh, military veterans, first responders and things like that. So I encourage you we can definitely, uh, accelerate the process on a conversation. I can kind of break it down and I always send additional resources, but we can get up to speed relatively quickly as opposed to wasting lots of time looking at a brand that. Uh, you may not be able to afford or may not even be available in your market. So, uh, we help with all that. And then, uh, the goal is to find the perfect franchise. Look at two or three that check off all the boxes, and then take it from there and continue that due diligence process and, and research with each of the brands. So, uh, take me up on the offer. I'd love hearing from you. I love hearing your comments. This is, uh, why we created this, uh, short two part series. Um, but I wanted, I just want people to be. Ready for what's out there. Be in control of, of their, of their future, their financial destiny, and, uh, just as prepared as possible. So again, website is the best spot, Gigi the franchise guide.com book a call. If you're not ready to chat, go to the podcast Franchise Freedom. We have 250 plus episodes covering every topic. You can search the, the term and and find the relevant shows based on that search term franchise freedom. The book is also available for a free download for sale hard copy on Amazon. That is my exact blueprint that I personally used. Plus a lot of extra bonuses in helping you find your first franchise. And, um, if you wanna go real, just dive real deep. We have 25, uh, FAQs that I get on a daily basis that talk about what to expect timeframes, costs, and things like that all covered. Uh, we, we recorded for an entire day just talking about, you know, the, uh, the da the questions that we get on a daily basis. So guys, thanks again for your support. Uh, we have some great guests lined up. Uh, you know, in the, in the very near future here. Looking forward to sharing those. And, uh, again, reach out if you just have a general question. Uh, best way is the, is you can just contact me right through the website. There's a contact form. Uh, social media is fine as well, DM comments and things like that. Um, and looking forward to, anyway, your comments, your questions. If there's a topic we didn't cover, there's a topic you want us to talk about, let us know. I appreciate it. Thanks again for all your support and until we, uh, talk, uh, again. Take care. Bye-bye.

19:23

Thanks for tuning in if you want to learn how to make the transition from corporate to owning your franchise. Join Giuseppe on the next episode. You can also follow on all social media platforms and achieve financial and time freedom today.