Social media is a fantastic marketing tool, but it’s not without its downsides. Many business owners struggle to find a balance between maintaining their presence online and managing their time. Could the decision to outsource social media be the right one for you?

Let’s take a closer look.

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We are very proud of the flexible opportunity we offer our franchisees. Everyone works better after they’ve taken a break, whether it’s a fortnight’s holiday abroad or lunch with a good friend.

When you join the Get Ahead family, you are free to work in the way that suits you. However, if you’re used to nine-to-five, managing your own hours and your own holidays can seem daunting. Fortunately, our franchise model works means you can take holiday without your business grinding to a halt.

Here are five ways to manage holidays when you’re a Get Ahead franchisee:

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IT breaches are nearly always serious. No business can afford to compromise data security or risk losing trade because of a computer virus.

In this blog, we look at some of the ways businesses of all sizes can protect their computer systems from hacking, data breaches and other problems. Some of these responsibilities are for management; others are good habits that everyone should get into.

IT responsibilities for management

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You know you’re about to make your next career move and you know you want to be your own boss. Perhaps it’s time for more freedom, or perhaps you’d like more flexibility and balance in your life. If this sounds like you, you might be trying to work out whether you’d rather set up on your own, or you’d rather buy a franchise of an established business. 

Let’s take a closer look.

Should I run my own business?

Running your own business is exciting, challenging and rewarding. Successful entrepreneurs have a great business idea and the drive to make it succeed.

When you run your own business, there are many benefits:

  1. You are answerable to no one (except your clients!).
  2. It’s as much freedom as you can have and still be at work.
  3. You can choose how to spend any profits.
  4. You can shape your business as you see fit, and take it in whichever direction you feel it will succeed.
  5. You can create your own business ethos – if you want to see something done differently, you have the freedom to implement it.

But there are downsides as well:

  1. Starting a business from scratch is hard work with a lot of demands on your time.
  2. You need at least basic knowledge of finance, admin, client care, data management, marketing and more.
  3. You might not see any profits for a few years.
  4. The buck stops with you and there is a lot of responsibility.
  5. It can get lonely – you might miss having a colleague who can provide some objectivity.

Should I buy a franchise?

If you’re not sure whether or not starting your own business is the right step for you, you might consider buying a franchise instead. A franchise can provide a lot of the freedom of running your own business, but without the pressure of working alone to deliver your own ideas.

There are many benefits to buying a franchise:

  1. Enjoy the freedom to work for yourself
  2. Take advantage of existing brand and reputation
  3. Join a family of supportive franchisees
  4. Continue on your career path, managing your team and making many of your own business decisions.
  5. Benefit from centralised resources like marketing material, training courses and software.

However, buying a franchise isn’t for everyone.

  1. The business model and ethos are driven by the franchise owner. Fortunately, ours is tried and tested!
  2. The role of a franchisee is to lead, not to do – if you like rolling your sleeves up, you might prefer your own business where you can deliver your core work yourself.
  3. You’ll make regular payments to the franchise owner, in addition to the upfront purchase – this covers the cost of centralised resources.
  4. Some franchises (not Get Ahead!) set compulsory targets for franchisees.
  5. Some other franchises (again, not Get Ahead!) impose limits on how and where you work, preventing you from scaling your franchise.  

When we decided to franchise Get Ahead, we identified some of the problems of franchising and set out to address them. That’s why our franchisees aren’t under pressure from performance targets, do receive regular training and, above all, benefit from our scalable business model so they can push themselves and their franchise as far as they like.

Buy a Get Ahead franchise

Whatever you decide your next step should be, it’s got to be right for you. And if do decide to buy a franchise, we hope you’ll choose Get Ahead! Our site is full of resources to help you make your decision. You could also follow our social channels and find out more about our ethos. You can even book in a call with franchisor Rebecca Newenham – why not have a chat and get your questions answered before you take the plunge?

Online safety is an issue for everyone. Sometimes, very sadly, it makes the headlines, with vulnerable teenagers unable to escape social media’s darker side, or celebrities falling prey to trolls or cancel culture.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably not a vulnerable teenager or a celebrity. But social media safety is important for business owners too. In addition to protecting your identity and mental health, business owners are in a strong position to set a good example with relevant content, moderate views and helpful advice.

Let’s take a closer look at online safety for business owners.

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Every business carries an element of risk. If your small business is seeing opportunities to scale up and break into new markets, you might feel cautious about committing to a new product or department. Above all, you’ll need a cost-effective method to minimise the gamble you take. However, we believe outsourcing could the solution you’re looking for!

In this blog, we explore how flexible outsourcing can help you seize opportunities to take your business in new directions.

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If you’ve decided to buy a franchise instead of running your own business, this might be because you’d like to be part of a team. One of Get Ahead’s great strengths is our team of regional directors, who in turn are supported by a UK-wide team of virtual experts.

In this blog, we take a look at what teamwork means at Get Ahead and how it benefits our franchisees.

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Since our foundation in 2010, Get Ahead have been champions of flexible working. We’ve seen it can not only yield great results for businesses but also allow skilled workers to further their careers. But for this to work, we need to understand that there’s more to workplace flexibility than job shares and part-time hours.

In this blog, we look at what workplace flexibility really means and why it’s an essential feature of a modern workplace.

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Regular clients and followers of our blog will know that Get Ahead are business outsourcing experts, providing support to organisations of all sizes. But did you know we can also help you deliver your client work? Our web agency clients find white labelling a particular advantage, with Get Ahead’s virtual experts stepping in to deliver work like:

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If you’re reading this, you might well be doing your research before buying a franchise. Something that we feel sets us apart from other franchised businesses is that we offer a “business in a box” with many of the elements ready-made so you can hit the ground running.

In this blog, we look more closely at what our franchise package includes, so you can make an informed choice about your next career move.

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