Frances Johnson Ep. 19 - Frances Johnson has been kicked down and arisen back like a Phoenix through the ashes. Against the odds, she has survived business, divorce and death challenges. Do a lot of research to collect all the needed information and find mentors to guide you before starting a new business. This is the advice of Frances Johnson, a woman who took on the purchase of a franchise 30 years ago and now reflects on how much she didn't know about it. With 30 years of franchise ownership, Frances now looks in her rearview mirror to reflect on how much she didn't know when she took on the purchase of a franchise business with its deep trove of do's & dont's.
Top Takeaways:
- The benefits that come with operating a nationally recognized franchise
- How to keep up with the industry by adopting emerging changes and implementing them in your business
- How to differentiate between an opportunity and a great opportunity
- The importance of surrounding yourself with likeminded people in goals and challenges
Learn the importance of having mentors and surrounding yourself with people with the same goals and challenges as you.
"Always have mentors so you can have a different perspective because there are people who don't mind sharing and want to see you succeed." -Frances Johnson
Best Black Female Podcast for Overcoming Personal Challenges
Meet Frances Johnson, the owner of a State Farm franchise for 30 years, and a graduate of Indiana University. She worked as an executive in the public sector for five years prior to business ownership. Like so many others now in their 60s and 7Os, Frances is the sole provider and caretaker for her 88-year-old mother.
She credits her father, who owned and operated a half dozen businesses having achieved only an 8th grade education in the Mississippi of the 1930s, but determined to provide his family the best quality of life he could along with access to higher education. Later in life, her dad, and then her four siblings faced life threatening illnesses and disabilities. Without the flexibility she was allowed as her "own boss" she shares "we would have all gone down; me included".
Business was not her only challenge. Learn how she dealt with divorce and death.
Listen in to learn about a franchise business and its differences from an independently-owned business.
Key Moments:
Frances Johnson explains the entrepreneurial lessons she learned from her father who was a multiple business owner [0:59]
Understanding what it means to operate a franchise for your benefit and that of the company [2:17]
The challenges of running a business that's under an umbrella as opposed to an independent business [4:55]
Why it is important to understand cultural practices and differences in your community as a business to better serve them [6:59]
How Frances turned her business from just selling insurance to offering financial services to keep up with industry changes [10:16]
How she helps people understand and look for great opportunities that yield results faster [15:46]
She advises young women to look for mentors to guide them when looking to start a successful franchise business [20:29]
Frances shares some of her major personal challenges and how having a flexible job came in handy [22:21]
How she allows herself to be around women with the same goals and challenges as hers [28:15]
How she would go find mentors plus gather all the information needed on the business she wanted to start if she could be younger again [32:20]
The retirement plan and vision of act three that Frances has [35:20]
Resources:
Podcasts Like This:
Janise Graham