PEOPLE
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DAY ONE: PLANNING MAKES PERFECT I arrive in the office just before 8 am. Having already reviewed incoming emails before leaving for the office, I spend half an hour looking at my agenda for the day, and week, ahead and getting my ‘to do’ list up to date. I plan most of my meetings at the beginning of the week, as I’m usually on the road by the end of the week. With the great advance in technology, meetings now can be structured so I don’t have to physically leave the office, which is great. Working in the franchise sector, a lot of my time is devoted to talking with people about their needs, aspirations, and ambitions, and Mondays tend to be set aside for just that. Each meeting usually takes anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes, it’s something which can’t be rushed, and so I tend not to schedule in too many. I find helping people with their career or their selfemployment plans very rewarding. More and more people are transitioning from employment into entrepreneurship - most of them with little or no structured plan. I have three meetings this morning, and two in the afternoon, using any time in between to deal with the unstoppable email stream.
with up-to-the-minute information and developments within the company. It’s another ‘no lunch’ day as the afternoon is devoted to some leftover calls from Monday, and towards the end of the afternoon I start calls in New Zealand, as we have some common business hours.
DAY THREE: DOING THINGS THE WRITE WAY As a regular contributor to publications in four countries, I set aside a morning each week to write. This morning is spent drafting a range of advice and opinion pieces for business and trade magazines - messaging through these publications is an important part of how we promote ourselves and get the message out to our clients about what we do, and how we can help. I have a Skype meeting over lunch with the PR team to discuss other planned features and upcoming deadlines. This afternoon I have a planning meeting (via Skype again) with the senior management team, where we look at the current position of the overseas development projects that I am heading. One of my goals is to increase our international footprint, so I’m working on entering new countries with our brand. The usual work-in time before DAY TWO: we launch in a new country is about two FOOD IS FOR THE WEAK years, and so early planning is essential. I have two webinar presentations backI leave the office early at 6pm and head to-back this morning, with the first at 10am, which accommodates some early home for a quick bite before attending birds on the west coast. The first webinar a Board meeting. In addition to the ‘day job’, I also serve on the Board of walks prospective franchisees through our model. The presentation takes a little a 120-unit complex for East Markham Non-Profits Homes. We built the facility over an hour, followed by a lively ‘Q&A’ five years ago, which houses 400 people. session for a further half an hour. We meet as a Board once a month, and It’s a quick change of script and manage the facility on a day-to-day basis approach as the second webinar kicks through emails and phone calls. off. This is an educational webinar designed specifically for franchisees. DAY FOUR: These much more knowledgeable individuals form part of my broker group TIME TRAVEL Running a small, but multi-national that feeds leads to us. I provide them
company means I essentially work in nine different countries and numerous time zones, so there’s no ‘nine- to-five’ element with this business. Early mornings and evenings are the best time to catch the team in other countries. This morning I have Skype calls to teams in UK, Ireland, and South Africa, as this is the best time for everyone. We spend time reviewing what’s in the current pipeline, and any local concerns that have surfaced. We also go through a regular planning session to map out the goals for the upcoming period. Afterwards, I meet with agents to start the search for office premises within the area. Due to growth, we need a bigger office which can accommodate our needs. This afternoon, it’s more Skype calls, this time to teams based in Australia and Singapore. While these calls follow a similar pattern to the UK and South Africa, they tend to be more in depth, as our business is highly regulated in Australia and we need to be constantly aware of Government requirements covering how we work with prospects. I would welcome a universal system that covers all countries, however I suspect it’s just a wish! DAY FIVE: MAKING ADJUSTMENTS I spend this morning preparing for two trade shows - one in Birmingham, UK, and the other in Orlando, Florida. I spend an hour on a call to each location to set up the timetable for all of the additional meetings I want to structure before, during, and after the shows. I fly out this evening so that I don’t lose any of the work day, arriving into London on Saturday morning, and taking Sunday to re-adjust and get up to Birmingham. Contact: www.interfacefinancial.co.uk
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