3 Skills That Differentiate Successful Entrepreneurs from the Pack

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Differentiate Entrepreneurs from the Pack

As a franchisor, I’m in a privileged position to learn. On one hand, my business partner and I started College Hunks Hauling Junk and College Hunks Moving, so we know what it took for us to become successful. With over 45 franchises nationwide, on the other hand, we’ve also learned an enormous amount about what it takes for others to be successful.

I’ve been able to witness dozens of experiences from different franchise owners executing within the same system as a part of the College Hunks brand. We’ve taken a scientific approach to uncovering the traits that allow some entrepreneurs to be successful and traits that inhibit the success of others.

After many years of this variable analysis, I’ve come to a few conclusions about what the best College Hunks franchise owners have in common that allow them to achieve success.

1. Attention to detail. Every entrepreneur who has joined our franchise network and been successful has paid close attention to the details and made decisions based on that knowledge and the shared knowledge of our other franchise owners. Whether a franchise owner has been with us for two months or two years, the best among them tend to know, down to the penny, where their money is going to and where there revenues are coming from. They pay attention to their return on investment and make subtle changes as needed.

2. Team Cohesion. I was tempted to call this one “leadership,” but it’s deeper than that. It’s hard to lead if you don’t have a cohesive team that will follow. The argument could be made that cohesion is part of leadership, but I think it’s more personal than that. Our best franchise owners take the time to create strategic alignment with their team. When an owner knows his or her team’s strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, goals and interests, the owner then knows the team’s motives. This is important for everything from incentivizing your team to creating an environment of selflessness. Creating alignment with your team boils down to actually caring about their personal and professional goals as much (if not more than) you care about profit.

3. Willingness to adapt. As I mentioned above in number one, the best entrepreneurs, from what I’ve seen, are the ones who are willing to consider everything and change anything if it makes sense. It’s called adapting and overcoming. Some entrepreneurs and franchise owners are stuck believing that it is not even within the realm of possibility that they’ve made mistakes. Those types of business owners don’t last long. The ones who are destined for success are those who can say “Well, I’ve tried this and it didn’t work… maybe I should tweak it, change it or look to others for feedback and advice”.

These aren’t the only three skills that the most successful of College Hunks Franchisees bring to the table. Some are creative marketers and others are skilled networkers. Some know how to recruit the best talent around and others are amazing at logistics. The fact of the matter is, though, that the three main skill sets referenced above — attention to detail, team cohesion and willingness to adapt — are at the foundation of every great franchisee in our system. Since it’s a shared system, I can draw the scientific conclusion that, all things being equal, these are the skills that differentiate successful entrepreneurs from the rest.