In 2015 Facebook was still very much the jewel in the social media crown. 127 million of us every month were logging on and joyfully poking each other, and the hours of doom scrolling (three hours and 21 minutes per person on average believe or not) that we all seem to be obsessed with these days was a faraway dream/nightmare.
If you were around in those heady pre covid hell/post Olympics success days, then you may remember ‘The Dress’.
‘The Dress’ was a 2015 viral phenomenon, revolving around a picture of a stripy dress taken in a branch of UK retailer Romans Originals. About a week before the wedding of Grace and Keir Johnston, the bride’s mother, Cecilia Bleasdale, took a photograph of a dress she liked the look of. The dress was coloured blue with black lace – not particularly unusual in itself. However, Grace told her mother she that the photograph clearly showed a white dress with gold lace.
The picture very quickly spread across Buzzfeed, Tumblr and of course, Facebook. Eventually internet fame was secured with its very own hashtag – #TheDress. At its peak, this hashtag was receiving over 11,000 individual tweets per minute, ultimately generating over 4.4 million tweets in 24 hours. What was even weirder than the amazing amount of difference of opinion was that once you pointed out to someone you could see blue/black or white/gold sometimes now they could too!
Now, without wishing to ruin the end of the story, I can confirm the dress was in fact black and blue, not gold and white – confirmed by the manufacturers shortly before selling out of the item worldwide and subsequently crashing their website. You’ll be forgiven for thinking then that this article is about the power of the internet, or social media, or viral marketing, or even perhaps clothing lines. But it’s not.
What I want to talk about is perception.
The truth of the colour of the ‘The Dress’ is not that interesting; its black and blue. What is interesting is the perception of its colour lead to a worldwide debate, millions of social interactions, and the involvement of one Taylor Swift (yes, even the mighty Taylor weighed in on this one). Truth is objective reality – it exists independent of anyone’s opinion (although can sometimes in can evolve). Perception is unique to everyone; it is entirely subjective. Perception is your very own personal filter with which to view the world. It may be shaped by your background, culture, emotional state or past experiences. It can even be shaped by your physical attributes (eyesight is a great if obvious example). In the case of ‘The Dress’, the truth is the unchanging wavelength of light (the objective fact), while perception is whether you see that wavelength as blue/black or white/gold (your subjective experience).
What does this all have to do with business and/or franchising I hear you shout? I’m getting there.
As we reach the end of 2025 and head into a brand-new year, we are all faced with another blue/gold choice that I thought it was worth discussing – Blue Monday. Blue Monday is often referred to as the most depressing day of the year and falls on the third Monday in January. The reason this is considered to be the most depressing day of the year is due to six factors: weather conditions, debt level, time since Christmas, time since New Years resolutions have been broken, low motivational levels and finally the need to take action. It can even be expressed as an equation to make you more miserable.
Now I’m a talented guy, but there is nothing I can do about the weather, nor the length of time since the last Christmas. What I am interested in though are the last point – the need to act. Herein I believe lies the answer to all the other problems that have led to concept of Blue Monday. If we accept the fact we need to take action to affect positive change, then the only problem to overcome is the perception of the other factors leading to Blue Monday. Let me give you a few examples:
Weather Conditions – yes, it is cold, wet, and dark outside. GREAT NEWS. The perfect excuse to deep dive into learning about self-employment, and the wonderful world of franchise ownership. No guilt for spending hours on the sofa under a blanket with a hot chocolate – you are conducting vital business research.
Debt Level – yes, you are skint after Christmas. FANTASTIC. No distractions from shopping, nights out or takeaways. Finally, you can focus your time and effort on your self-employed future. Your waistline will thank you too.
Low Motivation – feeling unmotivated? EVEN BETTER. You are in a hyper critical state – this means you are unlikely to rush into a decision you may regret. You will approach everything with healthy concern, ensuring you only make good decisions.
NY Resolutions failed? EXCELLENT. You have accepted you are human and fallible, and that an arbitrary date in the year ultimately has no meaning. Now that’s out the way you can focus on real and meaningful change by not counting food macros but pouring over franchise prospectuses.
You get the idea. The truth hasn’t changed, but your perception has. Blue Monday? Gold Monday more like. This is your chance to use the cold and dark months to research, analyse and investigate as many franchise opportunities as you like. Best of all, by the time you have concluded your investigations, the days will be warmer, the nights shorter and you will be well on your way to achieving the dream of becoming a business owner.
January is an ideal time to research franchising. The days might be short, but it’s the perfect season to analyse, plan and ask the right questions. By the time spring arrives, you could be well on your way to becoming a business owner.
With continued economic headwinds and global uncertainty ahead, self-employment through franchising should be near the top of everyone’s New Year’s resolution list.
The truth hasn’t changed — but how you see it can.
Blue or gold? I know which I’m choosing.
This article is proudly brought to you by Agency Express, the UK’s largest and multi award-winning provider of estate agency board services, delivered nationwide by owner-operated, van-based franchisees.
