Millennials are entitled, unmotivated and allergic to hard work. At least, that’s what I used to think.
But now, over 75 percent of my high-performance team consists of millennials, and they run our ever-growing empire. Sure, there are plenty of millennials who are lazy, entitled and emotionally fragile — but you could say the same about any age group.
You can either focus on what’s wrong with their generation or you can build your empire by becoming the leader millennials have been waiting for and leveraging their skills and unique abilities.
1. They can help you disrupt.
As an entrepreneur, you know the power of a disruptive idea, either because you’ve benefited from one yourself or you’ve had to pivot to adapt to someone else’s.
Of course, it’s always more enjoyable and more lucrative to be the disruptor instead of the disrupted, so you need a team ready to help you disrupt.
Here’s the gift millennials have: They’re natural disrupters. They’re always looking for ways to disrupt the status quo by making things better, by changing how business is done or by attaching a bigger cause, meaning or significance to their work. For you, that’s the golden ticket.
For example, I had a millennial team member suggest we go fully transparent with how our franchisees open and operate their locations, including what they pay for rent, membership prices, buildout costs and rate of growth. So, to implement the idea, we created a website full of case study videos where we have owners pull back the curtain on their businesses and share those critical numbers in full transparency.
We now regularly share these case studies over social media as a form of dramatic demonstration of proof, and they have substantially increased our franchise sales, reduced buyer objections and shortened the sales cycle.
The millennials on your team might have similar big money ideas brewing. All you need to do is share your desired outcome and invite them to speak up, and then give them the structure and guidance to turn those ideas into action.
2. They focus on experience.
The wealth gap is getting wider every day. Unless you plan to become the absolute cheapest option in your industry, this means you need to start catering to more affluent clients and customers.
Affluent clients and customers don’t want stuff, even if it is finely crafted, luxury stuff. They want experiences. So do millennials.
All those trendy apps, pricey music festivals and slices of avocado toast point to one crucial strength among millennials: They obsessively hone their taste in experiences and apply that taste to everything they create.
That’s why two of my millennial team members have taken it upon themselves to completely revamp and update the branding for our franchise. They believe so strongly in our business model and the purpose behind it that they’ve created a full TED talk-style presentation for our franchisees as well as a training course for newly hired team members that explains the brand experience and culture…
