Linda Stevenson, who owns a Business for Breakfast (BforB) franchise in North Yorkshire, reveals what her typical working day is like…

5.00am: My typical day starts at 5am. I think I am used to that now! There may be a very unladylike curse at the alarm clock but once I arrive at my venue, I am raring to go!

6.30am: Again if I have a group meeting I like to get to the venue at the same time as the Executive Team to ensure that they are happy and everything is going to go smoothly.

7.00am: I listen to the various group members and their guests telling one another about their businesses and the referrals they need and it never ceases to amaze me how many unusual professions there actually are, all with surprisingly similar needs. I never fail to be quite upbeat and motivated by the end of each meeting as I have some lovely people in my groups, who make starting the day a real pleasure.

8.30am: Following a meeting I will try and arrange a one-to-one with a guest or with a new member and I will get feedback from the Executive Team about how they feel the meeting went, to make sure they are happy with their progress. If I’m at home this is the time I switch on the computer to start my working day.

8.30am-5.30pm: Generating awareness of the groups is key – without members and guest we wouldn’t be here and it is also my job to ensure we get the right calibre of guest from the right sector to the group. I send out marketing emails on behalf of the groups meeting the following week and respond to members’ queries. I surf the internet for potential new contacts and add them to my database and make follow up phone calls to anyone who has expressed an interest in coming to a meeting, or to chivvy someone along who hasn’t responded to an invitation to a group meeting.

I also attend networking lunches and evening events in an attempt to promote the BforB brand locally. I also have an administrator to help me one day a week with my admin and marketing, so that less of my time is spent filling envelopes with invitations to group meetings and I can concentrate on building relationships with members and getting under the skin of their business and their ideal referrals – that’s where the fun starts for me as I always take pleasure in helping to build strategic alliances for the members of my group.

5.30pm: If I have managed to get everything done and it looks like the groups have a reasonable amount of guests then I finish at 5.30pm. If not, I can still be stuffing envelopes, sending emails, doing admin and generally fretting until at least 10pm, although this is happening less and less often now as the members and groups are also working extremely hard to build on the success.

I doubt my day is much different from other franchise directors although I suspect the similarities depend on what stage your business is at. So, what else can I say – busy, busy, busy and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Published: 11 October 2011

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