Life is what you make it

My big realisation from the past few years owning and operating the Football Fun Factory franchise is that ‘Life is what you make it!’.

I feel incredibly fortunate to now lead a life where I get to spend time with the people I love and that mean the most to me. I feel blessed that I live life on my terms and don’t live under the shadow of a boss telling me what to do. It’s great being in control of your own destiny and excitedly looking forwards to the next day, month or year… but I made all of this happen. That’s no boast, just a clear message that life is what you make it. I know this now because in the past I made some mistakes. I wasn’t making the best of my life a few years ago…

I used to work at Cambridge United Football Club and I will be ever-thankful for the opportunities afforded to me and experiences they gave me. My decade at the club opened so many doors and taught me so much. However, I stayed way too long. I became trapped in the ‘pro Football Club bubble’ and my passion for the game and loyalty to my boss and employer left me hanging on for several more years than I should have done. This led to a deterioration in my mental health and held back my career and personal development.

It’s easy to look back and realise mistakes you’ve made in the past and if I could re-live my career I would have moved on sooner. However, the experience taught me that you have to go and get it, if you want it, and that life is what you make it. It also taught me that you have to make mistakes to learn from them.

Stepping into the world of franchising has been an interesting experience. I was a franchising novice and I am now learning my trade. I have learnt lots about the franchise industry and that industry-standard doesn’t mean ‘The way you have to do things’. There’s certainly a stigma around franchising and word itself turns some people off straight away and I totally get that. I have seen first-hand how some organisations get it wrong and we are so keen to get franchising bang-on. I believe that if we continue to keep the title of this article ‘Life is what you make it’ at the forefront of our minds, then all at the Football Fun Factory can achieve incredible things.

For those that don’t already know, franchising is a ‘business-in-a-box’, it’s a tried and tested formula that has been proven to work and each of our Head Coaches are franchisees. That means that they are business owners and operate their very own Football Fun Factory business. For our Head Coaches (franchisees), the phrase ‘Life is what you make it’ couldn’t ring more true! They have all of the training, support and advice that they need to really fly. Some are earning double the salary they used to in their previous job roles and others have replaced their employed salary and now live a much healthier and happier life, on their own terms.

Whether you own a franchise, have developed your own business, are employed or self-employed, I believe that you are the master of your own destiny. If you’re employed, you can choose to work for a promotion or leave your job. If you are self-employed or a business owner you can drive your career success yourself. But in our world, the franchising world, the phrase ‘Life is what you make it’ is so right and it is my pleasure to see our Head Coaches making a real success of their lives.