This week, our featured Shop Consultant is successful UnFranchise® Owner April Ritchotte! Last Thursday we asked our Facebook audience what questions they would like to ask her about building a successful business. Interested in seeing if she answered your question? Read on!
Market America: Tell us about your “ah-ha” moment that changed everything for you.
April Ritchotte: One very specific day, I was sitting at a Regional Convention with my small team and coach Gary Rogers; I was watching the recognition portion of the event and said “I am so tired of being an executive coordinator.” Gary looked at me and said, “Well, I guess you’re not that tired of it.” The ah-ha for me was that I needed to take responsibility directly for my growth by my actions – not by the time I was a business owner, but by the strength of my WHY and the amount of the results-producing activities you do consistently.
MA: What is your favorite SHOP.COM feature you always share with your customers?
AR: ShopBuddy is a game-changer in my opinion. UnFranchise® owners will always be loyal to their websites for shopping, but our customers may veer off to other things. This technology is so important because it will help you capture more of the general internet shopping of your customers, even if they forget to go to your site first.
MA: How do you add a personal touch to your business?
AR: Personal touch to me is consistent contact with my customers and making sure they know I am here to be a resource. I never expect that someone will remember something after I say it one time, so following up with email, short notes, interesting articles that support the products they are taking, and in general, letting them know they are important is how I add personal touch in my business.
MA: What tips would you give someone who is shy and afraid of public speaking to help them overcome their fears?
AR: Like anything, doing the thing you are most afraid is what will make you the most money. You cannot get better at something by dreaming about it – you have to practice and fail – so just get in the ring and do it! You will feel amazing for having done it. The first time I showed this business at a home business presentation, I made my coach Gary Rogers hide behind the wall so I couldn’t see him! And the first time I showed the business at a UBP, I forgot to talk about what BV is and how it works. Who cares! I got through it and in the end it was because of those mistakes that I improved and feel confident speaking in a forum.
MA: How influential have events like World Conference and International Convention been on your continued success?
AR: I almost missed this opportunity because I saw it years before I decided to build it. When I did decide to become an UnFranchise® owner, I took my last few hundred dollars, before registering my business, and went to a major event that changed my vision and perspective forever. I could never pretend to provide all the information or convey all the excitement that you get from a major event to a partner, so for me, the events are the best form of leverage I have. If you ask 50 people after an event what they got out of it, each will tell you something different. How could you ever be all of that to everyone? Getting your teams to events is vital to the growth of your business.
MA: What is one thing that the majority of UFOs don’t do every day but should?
AR: Contact more people!!! It should be like brushing your teeth!
MA: What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started the business?
AR: I wish I utilized a more “normal” approach with my closest contacts when I started my business. If you opened a new restaurant, you would have no trouble excitedly telling your friends of your plans and definitely would have no trouble asking them all to come and eat there! Why do we get so weird when we want to introduce this concept to people in the beginning? I wish I knew what I had my hands on then and it would’ve come through in the way I contacted people. Unscripted and real.
We would like to thank April Ritchotte for taking the time to speak with us and revealing some of her best business-building tips! To submit a question, keep a close eye on the Market America Facebook page. This Thursday at 12 pm we’ll give you an opportunity to submit questions for next week’s Shop Consultant. Then, read the ma® Blog on Wednesday to see if your question has been answered!
Now it’s your turn: which one of April’s tips do you think will be the most helpful to your UnFranchise® Business and why? Comment your answer below!