Young people are the key to our future. We all know that. They are the ones who will be innovating, developing and discovering what will shape our world for years to come. While some young people have run with an idea and never looked back (Mark Zuckerburg, anyone?), others are slow to trust their instincts and take the plunge. College Pro Painters has been sparking an entrepreneurial spirit in students for over forty years by offering them the opportunity to own and operate their own painting business. Here, they offer some reminders to stay ahead of the game.
Be ready to handle the challenges of a business. It takes a great deal of time and hard work to run a business. It’s more than a full-time job. College Pro Painters makes sure every student understands this fact before they make their decision. Time-management will be crucial, and other areas of life may fall to the back burner. Make sure you consider social involvements, sports activities, school, and other activities that take up your time, and which takes priority. The time you put in, however, will pay off.
Make the most of all the resources available to you. College Pro Painters is there for a reason. They are there to train, coach and guide students in the stages before, during and after their entrepreneurial experience. Full-time staffers, the majority of whom are former franchisees, are there to serve you. Ask questions, get advice, and tap into what did and did not work for them. Though you will manage every aspect of your business, you will also have support and an entire team behind you.
Monitor progress and keep track of tasks. One challenge young people face is not being taken seriously. Customers may ask themselves how a person barely out of their teens can run a business. College Pro Painters has designed a program that equips young entrepreneurs with every tool they need to manage a painting franchise professionally. Training covers business planning and goal setting, financial planning, marketing and sales training and employee interviewing and hiring. It’s important to always monitor production schedules and track performance against your business plan to ensure you and your crews are reaching your goals.
Young people have more opportunities available to them than ever before; they should be encouraged to take full advantage of them. With the right mindset and support, young entrepreneurs have the chance to find success that can carry into future ventures. College Pro Painters anticipates supporting young people and their dreams for years to come, pushing them to reach their career potentials.
This blog is about College Pro Painters in Minneapolis. College Pro Vancouver will include news, painting tips, and regional information about College Pro.
Adam
October 4th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Nice tip. Thanks
Dylan Downie
October 4th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
If you want to run your own business make sure your willing to put your heart into it. It’s only going to be as successful as your willing to make it.
Work harder, play harder.
Jason Campana
October 4th, 2011 at 8:00 pm
One of the best things that I learned as a College Pro manager was how to be accountible. This is the key to any successful start up business. Once you learn how to set a goal, create a plan, and deliver it all on your own you will create a pattern of success. The great part of College Pro is that you have a ton of repetition and have a chance to set and hit weekly goals for 7 months of the year. This is great practice and a great timeframe to develop habits that will carry into a successful business career.
Dave
October 8th, 2011 at 4:17 am
One of the most common traits I have seen in successful business owners (and business people in general) is PASSION. Owners who succeed are the first to rise each day because they care about their success and the success of the business. They work hard to please their customers and to create rewarding experiences for their employees. I have seen passionate College Pro franchisees do some pretty amazing things both during their time with the company, and beyond.
Josh
October 8th, 2011 at 8:29 am
College Pro had taught me a tremendous amount on so many things. They teach and coach you on all aspects of a small business and the best part is after they teach you what you need to know you actually go get to use it and apply it and that’s how you learn it. By far best experience and best company I have ever had the privilege to be a part of.
Nobu Aoki
October 8th, 2011 at 10:10 am
As a 4th year manager with College Pro, the number one thing I have learned is to really take pride in running my business. What that means to anyone wanting an opportunity with College Pro, is that you should not treat the position like a 9-5 job, but have fun with it, be creative, and make it your own! This will allow you to get the best experience and the most success out of running your business.
Kathy
October 11th, 2011 at 9:58 am
Great tips. I agree with the comments about “pride” and “passion”. Running a business is not easy, and you need to really care and feel pride and passion to want to put in the effort.
Scott
October 13th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
It was a few years after my GM career with college pro painters when I sat down next to a pretty cool guy on a plane. He was an entrepreneur and made his living repairing braking units for vehicles people need to tow heavy loads. He said it took him years just to break even, but he believed in his service that set him apart. This guy made a whole business out of what I thought wouldn’t even be marketable to start with and now services dealerships and repair centers all over the nation that ship things to him and his repair team at various locations. He then asked me about my background and I described College Pro. He asked me a ton of questions and was pretty into it. I’ll never forget what he ended with though. “Thank you” was all he said, “Thank you for doing that. If I’d heard of college pro in college and done the program I bet I’d have gotten traction a lot earlier in my business. I was in my 30′s when I started it and didn’t have a clue about business, that part took me years. They won’t all get it right away, I didn’t. But they will….” Damn did that make me feel good about my time back with college pro. What an awesome culture!
Evan
October 16th, 2011 at 10:33 am
Having run a College Pro franchise for 3 years, my greatest lesson was accountability towards goal setting. The idea of creating a plan and setting goals is totally irrelevant if there is no follow through. Yet, through the relentless act of setting and hitting both short and long-term goals, I was able to create results that I never would have even dreamed possible before I started College Pro.
Daniel Delp
December 14th, 2011 at 11:13 am
Similarly to what others have said. I feel one of the biggest keys to running a successful business is passion and having fun with it! It is all about getting bought into your business and taking complete ownership of your business. The more you get bought into your business and treat like an everyday challenge with each step you take–making progress towards your ultimate goal. So in other words if your passion is sports for example, and you worked incredibly hard in practice, treat each day of your business like another practice day, and you will want to work hard because you are having fun with the challenge!
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