Elite Franchise March 2019

elitefranchisemagazine.co.uk

MARCH 2019 £4.50

$250m Is it enough to save Papa John’s?

Exits

Leaving a franchise is harder than it looks

“I went through hell” Fierce Grace founder unveils her struggles

Feminism in franchising

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ISSN 2054-9741

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The importance of breaking the glass ceiling in the sector

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Home Instead Senior Care UK Will Martin Jones be able to change the face of ageing?

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In business for yourself, but not by yourself...

As a McDonald’s Franchisee you’ll have the opportunity to build your own business, with the support of a global company currently celebrating 50 continuous quarters of growth in the UK. You’ll have access to a wide range of resources including the support of an experienced Franchisee Consultant to advise you as your business develops.

There’s no telling what the future will hold, but you’ll have the training and the support to make sure you make the most of our award winning system.

Reema, operates 1 restaurant in North London template.indd 1 AW-050023-297x420-Insight DaysAd-Rema.indd All Pages

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Come and talk to us at one of our Insight Days in 2019 8th March, Edinburgh 22nd March, York 5th April, London 26th April, Cranfield Management Centre 17th May, Dublin 7th June, London 21st June, Manchester 12th July, London 6th September, Bristol 20th September, Glasgow 4th October, Birmingham 25th October, Leeds 8th November, Leicester 22nd November, Belfast 6th December, London Register your interest at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/franchising

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COVER STAR

No place like it Martin Jones is on a mission to change the face of ageing in the UK. And as Home Instead Senior Care UK’s managing director, he’s particularly well placed to actually succeed

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contents 03.19

REGULARS 9 Welcome & contributors 11 News & events 129 Franchise diaries

COLUMNS 12 Pip Wilkins 15 Jurgen Ketel 28 Frank Milner 33 Nigel Toplis 37 Tony Bowman 61 Chris Roberts

FEATURES 41 X-Press yourself

Why Lynne and Dave Lister founded X-Press Legal Services

73 Reaching for the stars

Katie Verner’s Little Music Stars is serenading success

82 Sweat the small stuff Small adjustments could yield huge wins

86 Feminism in franchising

Is there room for feminisim in franchising?

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Yoga the moves Fierce Grace's founder Michele Pernetta is making yoga hot and steamy

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96 Partnerships in innovation Teaming up with your franchisees can bring a new shine to your business

102 The new and the bold Check out the fresh faces in franchising

108 Forming a smooth franchise exit strategy

What’s the best way to leave your business?

MARCH 2019 | elitefranchise

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The mark of excellent care

“…it’s an opportunity to run a successful operation whilst to a high standard.”

You can become the next Caremark homecare franchise success story. for more information speak to our recruitment team on 01903 266392

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welcome

Volume 08 Issue 03 / 2019 EDITORIAL editorial@cemedia.co.uk Zen Terrelonge Editor Eric Johansson Acting Web Editor Varsha Saraogi Feature Writer Angus Shaw Acting Commercial Writer Louisa Cook Editorial Intern Anne Struijcken Editorial Intern

Play to your strengths

DESIGN/PRODUCTION production@cemedia.co.uk Darren Marriott Head Designer Vrinda Sejpal Designer Lizzie Thurgood Designer Dan Lecount Web Development Manager dan@cemedia.co.uk

W

hat makes you tick? For Dave and Lynne Lister, family is everything. So having launched X-Press Legal Services to work together, it led them into franchising – although Lynne was hesitant to re-enter the sector, having already conquered it once, but her experience paid off big time.

Emphasising that franchising is almost magnetic, fashionista Michele Pernetta had no intention of leaving her clothing career. But, although admitting she “went through hell” at times, her yoga franchise Fierce Grace now boasts hundreds of thousands of clients globally.

Of course, it’s not always easy as a woman in franchising and that’s why feminism has found its place in the market. Sounds Right founder Charlie Day has been grilled as to why she’s busy working rather than being a mother, to which she replies: “Nobody asks my husband if he feels dad guilt. Feminism is about women having equal chances and equal rights within business and franchising.” Sounds right, indeed.

Finally, after his father was taken ill, cover star Martin Jones reevaluated his life to care for him, which gave him a new perspective.

This led him to become the managing director of Home Instead Senior Care UK, which is on the road to having 200 franchisees in its network.

SALES & MARKETING Jemma Tonge Acting Sales Manager jemma.tonge@cemedia.co.uk Loretta Smith Sales Account Manager loretta.smith@cemedia.co.uk Sam Deane Sales Account Manager sam.deane@cemedia.co.uk Katie Reynolds Sales Account Manager katie.reynolds@cemedia.co.uk Zane Zvirbule Marketing Administrator zane@cemedia.co.uk Ellie Savva Marketing Assistant ellie.savva@cemedia.co.uk ACCOUNTS Sally Stoker Finance Manager sally.stoker@cemedia.co.uk DIRECTOR Scott English Director scott.english@cemedia.co.uk Circulation enquiries: Channel Edge Media Call: 0124 567 3700 Elite Franchise is published by Channel Edge Media, 1st Floor, Regency House, 16 Victoria Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1NZ Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.

No part of Elite Franchise may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the editor. Elite Franchise will make every effort to return picture material, but this is at the owner’s risk. Due to the nature of the printing process, images can be subject to a variation of up to 15%, therefore Channel Edge Media Limited cannot be held responsible for such variation. cemedia.co.uk

■ ZEN TERRELONGE - EDitor

Contributors

1 Louisa Cook Our new editorial intern has already proven her chops as a proofreader this issue.

We can’t wait to show off some of her writing in the upcoming issues

2

3

4

Jurgen Ketel

Varsha Saraogi

Paul Stafford

While Saraogi’s yoga experience made her question her fitness level, her Fierce Grace piece proves there’s no doubt about her skill as a writer

Taking inspiration from the F1, marketing guru Stafford reflects on a presentation he had from a former McLaren pit crew mechanic, which made him realise how much the little things count

Givex’s EMEA managing director offers his insight this month on why food franchises must modernise in order to future-proof their offerings for years to come

MArch 2019 | elitefranchise

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OWNING YOUR OWN RESTAURANT NEEDN’T BE PIE IN THE SKY!

FINEST HOMEMADE BRITISH FOOD With the help and support of Harper’s, you could soon be running your own quick-service restaurant specialising in British classics!

Whether your ambition is to own one restaurant, develop multiple outlets or if you are an existing franchisee within the food sector looking to add to your current portfolio of brands, we’d welcome the opportunity to talk to you.

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FRESHLY STEAMED VEG WANT TO HEAR MORE?

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news

Franchisor finalists for the Franchise Awards unveiled Kicking off the award season, the bfa has announced the finalists for the bfa HSBC Franchise Awards.

The Leadership & Culture category will focus on a business’s passion, vision and values. And competition in this sector couldn’t be more fierce with McDonald’s going head to head with Home Instead Senior Care and Right at Home.

The Social Enterprise award will highlight the franchisors who are helping not just themselves but the wider community. Swimtime UK, Creation Station Events and Wiltshire Farm Foods Restaurant Franchising & compete in Innovation Summit this category.

March 11-13 Omni Louisville Hotel 400 South 2nd St. Louisville KY 40202 USA

bfa London/SouthEast Forum March 12 Crowne Plaza, Kensington, 100 Cromwell Road, London, SW7 4ER

Franchise Asia Philippines March 27-28

SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Seashell Ln, Pasay, 1300 Metro Manila, Philippines

The AFA National Conference March 28 Jurys Inn Oxford, Godstow Rd, Oxford, OX2 8AL.

The International Franchise Show April 2-6 Excel Exhibition Centre Sandstone Lane London E16 1XL.

NatWest EWIF Awards 2019 May 1

RBS Building, 250 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4AA

Elsewhere, Oscar Pet Foods, The Christmas Decorators, énergie Fitness and O2 will all clash over the Brand Awareness & Innovation category.

The judges have their jobs cut out for them to name the Franchisor of the Year award. They have to pick between Minster Cleaning Services, Window to the Womb, Oscar Pet Foods, Speedy Freight, InXpress and Driver Hire.

Similarly the Emerging Franchisor category will see a face off between Award Leisure, Access4Lofts and Radfield Home Care.

While the winners won’t be named until Thursday June 27 at the Vox in Birmingham, getting nominated is clearly an award in itself.

BY ERIC JOHANSSON AND ZEN TERRELONGE

Neighborly makes Dream Doors part of the family Discussing new brands worthy of joining Neigborly, Jeff Meyers, VP of international at the multi-brand franchisor for home services, previously told Elite Franchise: “We are always looking.”

Seemingly Dream Doors, the kitchen makeover franchise, caught its eye, having been acquired by Neighborly. The takeover brings in 91 Dream Doors showrooms – a mixture of company-owned and franchised sites – and takes Neighborly’s total of its UK brand ownership to six.

Dream Doors founder and chairman Troy Tappenden will leave as part of the deal but managing director Philip Carr will remain. “By joining the world’s largest franchisor of home services, Dream Doors will gain new vendor relationships, a powerful peer group of other Neighborly service brands and more,” said Carr.

With the dark cloud of Brexit hanging overhead, it’s refreshing to see that big UK deals like this are still an attractive proposition.

Papa John’s has a new chairman Seriously, 2018 wasn’t Papa John’s year. Not only was the founder and former chairman John Schnatter forced to leave the company after using a racist slur but the pizza company also suffered from a period of falling sales. However, things may be about to change.

In February it was announced that hedge fund Starboard Value would invest $250m into the struggling enterprise, CNN reported. At the same time, Starboard Value’s CEO Jeffrey Smith was announced as the new chairman of Papa John’s.

Even though the franchise still has a long way to go, this slice of good luck could be what’s needed to help turn the business around. march 2019 | elitefranchise

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01/03/2019 18:00

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FIND OUT MORE...

Pip Wilkins chief executive bfa

The rise of small multi-unit operations Pip Wilkins considers why people are seeing their futures through franchising and dissects the new wave of multi-unit owners

P

eople owning two or three units rather than a single unit is becoming increasingly common.

This is primarily due to a growing confidence amongst franchisees in their business and that the franchising industry is booming in general. But what does an increase in multi-unit ownership show?

On a fundamental level, although the number of franchise units has risen by 10% since 2015 – now sitting at 48,600 – the number of franchisees has remained consistent at around 20,000. This is in essence due to the jump of multi-unit franchisees, from 29% in 2015 to 36% in 2018, as reported in the 2018 bfa NatWest Franchise Survey.

To me, there is no better signifier of an industry succeeding than individuals looking to not only remain in franchising but upscale operations.

Once people become franchisees, they stay a franchisee, eventually looking to establish multi-unit operations, either with the same company or a different franchise system.

good leadership, level headedness and positivity, as well as an element of drive and hunger. If you’re able to emulate these qualities when running your own franchise and find that owning a second or third unit will be beneficial to you and the opportunity becomes available, then go for it.

Reputation, referrals and requests When growing a business over a long period of time, even just as a franchisee and without the wider brand awareness, this can consolidate, nurture and increase the reputation of the brand. In turn, this can lead to out-of-territory enquiries if there isn’t a franchise already in that region. It can be difficult for franchisees to turn down sure clients for future business. This is a major reason for single unit franchisees to upscale as it allows for franchisees to see where the business is coming from and take advantage of a whole new customer base while not biting off more than they can chew. It’s fantastic

to see smaller franchisees reach this level of stability and reputation that they can take the opportunity to gradually grow their business and develop themselves as multi-unit owners.

Legacy While I praise the budding entrepreneurs who are spearheading the franchise industry, I’m also happy to see the single unit franchisees who are the backbone of this industry start to grow their businesses and take on more units at a rate that suits them, securing themselves a lasting legacy, the chance for higher financial stability, an optimal work-life balance and the opportunity to experience running multiple operations.

I’m adamant when the next survey comes out multi-unit will continue to rise, with more people seeing the acquisition of another unit as a natural progression, abetted by the fact people are younger, as well as those with a real drive to own more and more systems over time.

A nurtured business In many cases I believe the reason franchisees are running two units, opposed to multitudes, are in part because the franchisee hasn’t necessarily bought it with the intention of growing the business exponentially but nurturing it. It’s then the natural next step for them to upscale, due to the time and hard work they have put into investing in the customers, staff and business, and seeing the stability that comes with this.

Becoming a multi-unit owner doesn’t always mean the franchisee has relentless ambition and is driven by future goals.

Qualities I believe are essential to being able to scale up and do so successfully are

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Would you like to make a real difference to families & Would you like to make a real difference to families & Would you like to make a real difference to families & benefit from significant financial rewards? benefit from significant financial rewards? benefit from significant financial rewards?

Do Do both both with with a a Promedica24 Promedica24 live-in live-in care care franchise franchise Do both with a Promedica24 live-in care franchise

What What we we look look for for in in you you What we look for in you

Our Our Franchise Franchise Partners Partners come come from from all all walks walks of of life life but but perhaps perhaps surprisingly, surprisingly, you you don’t don’t need need to to have have a background in live-in care.

You will work with Promedica’s operations and other key personnel as Our Franchise Partners come from all walks of life but perhaps surprisingly, you don’t need to have a background in live-in care. You will work with Promedica’s operations and other key personnel as one one team to grow your business together. a background in live-in care.

You will work with Promedica’s operations and other key personnel as one team to grow your business together. team to grow your business together.

You You will will be: be: • Passionate You will be: about • Passionate about changing changing the the face face and and future future of of care care A natural networker • Passionate about changing the face and future of care • A natural networker • driven A natural networker • Sales Sales driven • Sales driven Sounds Sounds like like you? you? If If so, so, then then we we want want to to hear hear from from you you Sounds like you?

If so, then we want to hear from you on: 01923 381 074 CALL us to talk to our National Franchise Acquistion Manager CALL us to talk to our National Franchise Acquistion Manager on: 01923 381 074 VISIT for more CALL us toWEBSITE talk to our Franchisewww.franchise.promedica24.co.uk Acquistion Manager on: 01923 381 074 VISIT OUR OUR WEBSITE for National more information: information: www.franchise.promedica24.co.uk EMAIL us to get in touch: franchise@promedica24.co.uk VISIT OUR WEBSITE for more information: www.franchise.promedica24.co.uk EMAIL us to get in touch: franchise@promedica24.co.uk EMAIL us to get in touch: franchise@promedica24.co.uk template.indd 3

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JURGEN KETEL managing director EMEA, Givex

Future-proofing food franchises While a restaurant business is deemed as profitable, why is it that more food franchises are surrendering to closure and what should franchisors do to prevent an early death of their establishment?

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unning a successful restaurant business in the UK is both highly rewarding and extremely demanding. Financial concerns are constantly the main focus for decision makers. According to data from Price Bailey, insolvencies increased by 40% in 2018 over the previous year, the equivalent of four establishments closing every day.

So, why is it so challenging to maintain a profitable restaurant business?

but not enough to set up a physical restaurant. Of course, all needn’t shut down completely.

Using technology, restaurants can automate processes that might otherwise require significant human effort. Self-service kiosks and tableside ordering tablets which can take customer orders can be a good solution whilst also increasing the spend per head.

Self-service and EPOS systems can also help reduce wastage because Operating costs orders are more likely to be processed Business rates and property rental correctly. Furthermore, inventory prices have increased steadily over management tools are often built into the last few years, so having a physical these systems, allowing managers to restaurant can be a prohibitive cost. stay on top of stock and reduce the Furthermore, Brexit is expected to force risk of running out of menu items that food and ingredient costs upwards could cost them customers. in the event of a bad deal along with Crucially, by focusing on creating limiting access to labour from the EU. more efficiencies through upgrading Since restaurants naturally don’t have their tech, restaurants will naturally a huge influence on tax or property have more time and money to focus on prices, the best approach to combat delivering a superior experience. this is to look for ways to achieve cost efficiencies. Some chains have resorted Consumer confidence to opening so-called dark kitchens in When consumer confidence is low, areas where there’s enough demand they wouldn’t want to spend more to set up a delivery outpost allowing than they strictly have to. Providing customers to order using a delivery app better value for money should

therefore be a priority. Customers expect more than just good food, especially since delivery apps have made it easier for delicious treats to be delivered to their doorsteps. They want a great experience, one where the restaurant is fully attentive to their needs. Which is why we’re seeing a growing trend for experiential dining using technology of all kinds to create a more enticing environment.

Adapting to change More than anything, modern restaurants must pay attention to what their customers want and expect.

Adoption of veganism, for example, has been steadily rising, so if you can’t serve vegan-friendly food, you’ll inevitably miss out on many customers.

Collecting and analysing customer data, tracking what’s selling well, what isn’t and what works well in specific seasons is essential for every restaurant.

Restaurant failure is not inevitable.

However, those that seek to compete in a tightly packed and fast moving market must take the necessary steps to reduce their overheads, adapt to change and, above all, give the customer a reason to walk through their doors.

MARCH 2019 | elitefranchise

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The

golden age

BY Eric johansson photography by emilie sandy

As Home Instead Senior Care UK sets out to break the coveted 200 franchise mark, managing director Martin Jones talks about zero-hour contracts, adjusting to US ownership and the death of his father

M

artin Jones plans to transform the face of ageing in the UK. As the country is facing the prospect of dealing with an ageing population, the Home Instead Senior Care UK managing director believes the times of people’s parents dying in anonymous care homes, hospices and hospital rooms should be over with. Done.

Dusted. Instead, he and the homecare franchise is on a mission to ensure elderly people can stay in their own homes for as long as possible. “The home is where the hospital ward of the future is going to be,” Jones proclaims. With the company poised to reach its 200th franchise in the first six months of 2019, it sure feels like he’s on his way to achieving that goal.

It might be just in time as the ageing UK population will make demand shoot through the roof in the next few decades. In 2017, 18.2% of the UK population was over the age of 65, according to the Office for National Statistics. This number is set to jump to 20.7% by 2027. As bigger chunks of Britain reaches seniority, this will cause huge pressure on the country’s healthcare services. “We haven’t got enough bricks and mortar to be able to cope with the demand of older people if you fastforward 30, 40 years,” Jones argues. “More people are going to have to be looked after in their own

home.” And he’s more than enthusiastic about Home Instead Senior Care UK's ability to tackle this challenge head on.

Jones is making no secret about where his passion for the company’s mission comes from. “I was a family carer because my father had prostate cancer,” he reveals. “So I looked after my dad for some time.” To be able to do this, Jones had to make a clean break from his previous career in which he’d held several executive retail roles.

While he’d enjoyed working in the industry, the hectic hours would’ve left him unable to care for his father. “I set up my own business which meant more flexibility of what I could do and it allowed me to be a family carer,” he says.

MCJ Associates, the company he launched in 2010 to offer strategic commercial advice to support development of new businesses, helped Jones take care of his dad for as long as he could. For some time, this meant Jones’ father could stay at home and have a decent quality of life. Unfortunately, his pa was eventually told his condition had become so critical he had to move into a hospice and couldn’t go home anymore. “He passed away 24 hours later,” Jones remembers. “If I’d known then what I know now it would’ve been a very different story. He could’ve passed away at home because there was

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no reason for him to be in the hospice.

[They were fantastic and] wonderful people but he really wanted to pass [away at home] and that really made a difference to how I felt about end-oflife care.”

Having lost his mum seven years earlier and now his father, Jones began to contemplate what he wanted to do next. “When somebody loses both parents, it makes you think about things very differently,” he explains. “It makes you think about the immediate future in a very different way. [It] makes you think about what you want to do for the rest of your life rather than chasing profit.” Looking for opportunities to use the skills he’d honed whilst crafting his already impressive resume, one of his friends suggested that he should speak with Trevor and Sam Brocklebank, the husband and wife team behind Home Instead Senior Care UK. “And I had an initial chat with Trevor and that initial chat lasted four and a half hours because it went so well,” Jones recalls. “It was just a meeting of the minds.”

It’s hardly unexpected they’d hit it off given how Brocklebank had had an experience very similar to Jones’.

After his grandfather had suffered from poor healthcare, Brocklebank was motivated to ensure no one ever had to go through that again.

Then he heard about Home Instead Senior Care, a franchise founded in the States by Paul and Lori Hogan in 1994. They’d launched the company because they’d successfully cared for their grandmother in her own home.

The venture soon caught people’s attention. Within the next four years it was reportedly hailed by Entrepreneur Magazine for being one of the fastest growing franchises in the US. Having heard about the work the franchisor did, Brocklebank and his wife bought the UK rights in 2005.

Hearing about their journey, Jones couldn’t help but feel this was the opportunity to spearhead positive change he’d been looking for. “I could see that I could make a difference in this business,” he says. So, in August 2011, Jones signed up to become

Home Instead Senior Care UK’s chief operating officer. At the time the British network had roughly 50 franchisees and a lot of growth potential. “It was still in the embryonic stage, it was new to the UK but it was a mission-driven business and there aren’t that many businesses that are mission-driven,” he says, Moreover, this goal is what he believes sets Home Instead Senior Care UK apart from the country’s other homecare providers. “There are a lot of people who copy what we do,” he argues. “[But] they never understand the why.” The way Jones sees it, none of the company’s competitors can compare to the high quality service the franchisor provides because they don’t share the same ethos – to change the face of ageing – and he claims that others may be more driven by profits than by making an effort. “I hate to use the analogy of The Great British Bakeoff,” Jones says. “You’ve got those ten cooks in the marquee with the same recipe, they’ve got the same

You cannot change the face of ageing without our franchise network

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MARTIN JONES

ingredients and are doing it in the same time. One cake you wouldn’t feed the dog and one cake you could put in a five-star restaurant and that’s because that person has got the culture and values, they haven’t just taken the black and white.”

Moreover, this ethos is a key driver behind why the franchisor has always prioritised finding the right franchisees. “[It’s] why we spend a lot of time with them, you know, in terms of making sure they’ve got it in their heart to change those old people’s lives,” he says. “If they’re going to talk about profit, if [they’re talking] about that this is an expanding sector, that’s fine – but the most important thing is that they’ve got to have it in their heart [to care]. If they haven’t, they won’t become a Home Instead Senior Care UK franchisee.”

Similarly, Jones also recognised that key to maintaining the company’s growth was to connect with the franchise network. Luckily, his own story helped him with that. “It’s very similar to the journey our franchisees go [through],” he says. Equally important to ensure empathy and a high level of commitment from the network was to adopt a collaborative spirit. This meant taking time to listen to franchisees and hear their thoughts and ideas. While this isn’t always easy, Jones is adamant that it’s vital for the franchise’s mission. “You cannot change the face of ageing without our franchise network,” he explains.

With this attitude, he was able to assist the Brocklebanks in growing the network. “It was exciting,” he says.

“But it was also that we had to grow whilst keeping the entrepreneurial sprit.” Constantly looking for ways to improve the experience for the people in their care clearly paid off.

Not only did the network grow but its dedication to provide exemplary care and bridge the gap left behind by the NHS saw the company pick up awards at the bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Award ceremonies in both 2015 and 2016. And that’s not all – the franchise received the Queen's Award for Enterprise 2016. In the years since, the company has been ranked as the

I think that people sometimes get wound up about zero-hour contracts and don’t actually fully understand that a lot of people and a lot of caregivers think that it’s a great thing number one UK franchise twice in the Elite Franchise 100 and has picked up a slew of other accolades. “It’s a testament to the hard work that our network puts into changing the face of ageing,” he says.

But winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise wasn’t the only other big change to happen in 2016 – the same year the American franchisor reacquired the UK branch. “The Americans buying the UK business back was a strategic purchase for them in the sense of we had common cultures and values,” he says. Having already worked closely with their US cousins, Jones felt the transition went smoothly without any huge disruption to the network’s operations and believes it has strengthened the business. “It means that now we can play a larger role – we can contend from a global perspective and it brings us closer to the mother ship,” he suggests.

The deal also meant that the UK leadership changed as Brocklebank began to serve Home Instead Senior Care UK as CEO emeritus while his wife left the company to care for their family. This didn’t mean he left the world of franchising. In fact, just a few months later Brocklebank became the chairman of the bfa.

For Jones, the acquisition saw him stepping into the role of managing director. Having de facto helped run

the business for some time as the founding couple had increasingly stepped back over the years, Jones says the transition wasn’t difficult.

Still, he admits that there were things he did differently from the CEO emeritus. “Trevor is a typical entrepreneur and typical entrepreneurs are great at starting up businesses but they aren’t necessarily growing or taking businesses to the next level,” he says. “And that’s where I, and not just myself but the team, need to take it – to the next level.” As a matter of fact, he can’t stop praising his team. “They’re all focused on changing the face of ageing [too],” Jones says. “And when you’ve got that common core value, it makes it very easy to lead the business.”

Together, they’ve worked insistently to keep pushing the franchise forwards. Over the years, these efforts have resulted in the company adopting several innovative pieces of technology.

“You know, we very much use the phrase ‘high tech, high touch’ and our strapline is ‘To us it’s personal,’” he says. This ethos has seen Home Instead Senior Care UK introduce several solutions – like sensors around the house tracking the elderly person – to make it easier to offer care and for their relatives to check up on clients.

“You’ll never 100% replace a caregiver going in to look after a client,” Jones continues. “But what you can do, when we aren’t looking after the client [the] other ten hours a day you want to [ensure] that mum’s okay. And that’s where technology can play a big part and act as that safety net [to the] client, to make sure that mum’s okay for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

And it’s not stopping. Having introduced virtual reality training to boost carers’ empathy, Home Instead Senior Care UK signed a partnership with GrandPad, the company developing a tablet for elderly users, in February 2019. This partnership aims to improve the connectivity with the people in the franchise’s care.

Moreover, it will enable the franchisor to eventually offer new services such as interactive remote care in hard-toreach areas. And the franchisor also

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just hired a new head of innovation to spearhead these efforts further.

Given these initiatives' success rely on the caregivers in the franchisor’s employment, the company is unsurprisingly taking steps to ensure employees feel noticed. “Our office has always believed in investing in our people and that’s what we do,” he says.

Jones adds that all employees believe in the company’s mission. “We survey all of our clients and all of our caregivers every year,” the managing director explains. “90% of clients recommend Home Instead and 92% of caregivers would recommend it as a place to work with. Actually, asking our caregivers every year what it is like to work with Home Instead – [both] from a national perspective and from a local perspective – that dictates our strategy for the following year.”

Nevertheless, looking at what workers say at places like employment review site

Glassdoor, it seems like some former workers are critical about the zerohour contracts the company offers.

Responding to the criticism, Jones says he believes the form of employment gets unwarranted bad press. “I think that people sometimes get wound up about zero-hour contracts and don’t actually fully understand that a lot of people and a lot of caregivers think that it’s a great thing,” he says.

The managing director also points to Home Instead Senior Care UK’s internal surveys, claiming no carer has raised the issue over the past four years with many workers enjoying the flexibility these contracts offer.

Additionally, he says it’s not the only way the franchisor employs carers.

“What we do now is that we offer zerohour contracts, we offer a permanent contract [and] we offer a blended contract,” Jones continues. “So there’s a lot of options out there in terms of

what the key players or caregivers can embark on.”

Looking towards the future, Home Instead Senior Care UK is on target to open its 200th franchised territory by May 2019. “There aren’t many brands of any sector that pass the 150 mark, let alone the 200 mark,” he says. The expansion is even more impressive given most franchisees only own one territory. “We’re not like your Domino’s Pizza [or] your McDonald’s where your franchisees will own multiple sites,” Jones says. “We’ve got over 160 franchisees now. [We’re] one of the biggest [franchises] in the UK in terms of the number of franchisees.”

Ideally, Home Instead Senior Care UK then hopes to keep growing at about 12 franchises annually. “But it’s more important to find the right person who wants to join the Home Instead family,” Jones says. However, this may be increasingly difficult to do as the areas still on offer are in more remote areas like Scotland, Wales, the north east and the south west. “The locations are quite landlocked in some areas,” he says.

But that expansion is hardly the only big thing to happen in the foreseeable future. “We’re going to be the first homecare provider to start advertising on television,” Jones says.

In the years since his father passed, Jones has helped change the homecare industry. With the initiatives already in place and as the company keeps growing, he and Home Instead Senior Care UK are set to keep changing the face of ageing for years to come.

22 elitefranchise | MARCH 2019

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01/03/2019 14:30

BE PART OF THE WORKSPACE REVOLUTION AN EXCITING NEW MULTI-SITE FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY IN A FAST-GROWING INDUSTRY With a network of 3,300 locations in 120 countries, Regus, the global leader of the flexible workspace, is now looking for franchise partners.

If you have the drive, resources and commitment to be part of a global growth story, visit regus.co.uk/franchise today, call our franchise team on +44 (0)113 280 6989 or email us at franchise.UK@regus.com

As a franchisee, you will benefit from excellent returns, using a proven operating model based on 30 years’ experience, established systems and a support infrastructure like no others.

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21/12/2018 11:27

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Time to take action

After enduring nothing short of a shocking work-life balance, Simon Ellson decided enough was enough and joined ActionCOACH for the good of his family

S

imon Ellson’s work took him from startups all the way to large corporations. In total, he’s started five businesses and worked so many hours he would even take his laptop on family holidays. “My businesses were successful but the pay-off was a shocking work-life balance – my wife, Viv, had the patience of a saint,” he says.Fortunately, ActionCOACH provided a remedy.

“My friend Rob Pickering introduced me to ActionCOACH about nine years ago when he was looking to join the franchise,” Simon continues. “He had disappeared off to Las Vegas for initial training and when he came back was raving about this business coaching franchise, telling me I needed to join too. But I was busy managing IT equipment sales for Symantec in Northern Europe.

“In 2013 I did give ActionCOACH a call to find out more but I was too distracted with a new business, Nexus, to take it any further. Nexus did really well, the digital pop-up spaces gave us the reputation of being consumer engagement experts and I was asked to advise other companies on retail engagement. That’s when I started my consultancy, Intrapreneur.”

Finally making the move

Simon continued to work with the same drive and commitment for these five years and then decided to take action for the sake of his family and lifestyle.

“I had a very challenging start to 2018, with personal loss and a close family member being ill,” he recalls. “So I

Simon Ellson coaching clients to success decided to do something different, just for me, that would benefit my family and community. I contacted ActionCOACH again.

“I went to ActionCOACH University in May and launched the business in June. That initial training week is followed immediately by Step-Up Week, where you learn hands-on how to start up the business, find prospective clients and convert them into paying ones.

“The training was excellent. We were lucky to have an experienced franchise partner, Andrew Kureishy, leading it with his pragmatic, down-to-earth style. I walked out of there on Friday evening and by Monday night had my first seminar booked with 14 attendees in a local rugby club. The bar was open, as you would expect in a venue like that, and I signed my first one-toone weekly coaching client.”

Born to coach

“Almost immediately I felt like I was born to coach and I can honestly say it’s the best thing work-wise I’ve ever done in in my life,” Simon says. “It brought out a philanthropic streak in me – it’s the most rewarding work you can do. Even though it’s handsomely paid, for me it’s about helping clients get rid of those problems I regularly saw as a manager and business owner.”

Simon quickly employed a marketing assistant, Tiffany, after setting a target to gain ten clients

by Christmas, which gave them just six months to reach. “Tiffany was instrumental in growing the business,” Simon says. ”Her efforts got bums on seats in seminars. I’m out coaching three days a week and I can rely on her to get on with online advertising and other activities. Her

24 elitefranchise | March 2019

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“If you told me ten years ago I would buy a franchise, I would have told you to stop being ridiculous But the ongoing support, advice and resources are categorically the best of any business I’ve come across” role is a crucial investment in my opinion – it’s someone to take the strain at the start of the pipeline of new clients while you’re trying to get them over the line to become paying clients.

“If you told me ten years ago I would buy a franchise, I would have told you to stop being ridiculous. But the ongoing support, advice and resources are categorically the best support of any business I’ve come across. Plus, all the franchisees and employee coaches are great – they embody ActionCOACH’s culture of abundance.”

Taking a step up

“Before I reached my six month deadline I’d got twelve one-to-one clients and six group coaching clients,” Simon remembers. “So when I was introduced to ActionCOACH’s new exclusive territory Firm Builder licence, it seemed like a logical step. This licence gives me a dedicated area of operation with a minimum of 10,000 businesses to work with. My original business plan, which included just Tiffany and I, has changed dramatically. I’ve committed to a new vision to support over 500 local businesses to grow over the next five years. We had our first employee coach, Tina, in training just before Christmas. She now runs our group coaching, ActionCLUB, so I can focus on one-to-one coaching.

“By the end of 2019 I plan to recruit an extra five employee coaches, three business development managers, three marketeers and three administrators, bringing the team to 14. Every coach will have 20 clients with a mixture of oneto-one and group coaching clients, so we’ll directly help 100 business owners per year. That will create a client income of at least £500,000 but my ultimate goal is to have three territories and 15 employee coaches.

“What is fantastic is that I’m achieving all this but working less hours than ever before. I’m earning a respectable income and spending more time with my family. I don’t work on the weekends, don’t look at emails in the evenings and don’t need to get my laptop out on holidays. My sons are in their twenties and Viv and I have a one-year-old granddaughter who we can spoil. I even cook Sunday lunches which I haven’t done since before we got married nearly 30 years ago.

“I also have more time to give back. I offer local business owners a free walk-in surgery for three hours every Friday morning and I’m working towards a regular business advice show on a local radio station. It’s important to me that people have a community business coach they can rely on.”

If you’re also looking for a more fulfilling career, a better work-life balance and you’re the kind of person who loves learning and developing yourself, has enjoyed success in your career and is willing to invest if they see substantial returns can be made, then find out more by watching the six minute overview video at actioncoach.co.uk/overview

March 2019 | elitefranchise

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28/02/2019 12:27

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04/03/2019 10:51

COULD YOU OWN A FIRST CLASS LEARNING FRANCHISE? Joining the UK’s fastest growing after school tuition franchise includes: • • • • • •

Comprehensive Training and ongoing support Low start - up costs Your own protected online space Proven automated marketing A proven and profitable business model Quality, tried and tested learning materials

We are the fastest growing UK-based tuition franchise with over 270 centres nationwide.

At First Class Learning, we believe that no child should be left behind.

hello@firstclasslearning.co.uk www.firstclasslearning.co.uk

0800 458 3797

We aim to develop a child’s knowledge and understanding, providing them with a solid foundation in maths and English, relevant to their current studies and future goals.

Whatever a child’s ability - whether they’re aiming high or need a little bit of extra help we want to make sure that THEY COUNT. We know that in today’s increasingly competitive world, a winning mindset can make all the difference.

Unlike many other after-school tuition centres, our courses have been designed to align with the current National Curriculum.

With an increasing number of schools using our materials, you can be confident your student’s work is relevant to their studies and their learning needs.

Frank Milner CEO Tutor Doctor

Why international brands in the UK keep succeeding As foreign brands make Britain their home, the president of Tutor Doctor digs into why they’re poised to keep doing so despite Brexit

O

ver the past few years, the number of international brands breaking into the UK market has sky-rocketed. You can’t turn a page in a magazine or scroll through social media anymore without spotting a new and emerging brand from another country. But instead of viewing newcomers as a threat, perhaps existing UK franchisors should greet them with open arms and an earnest handshake. I said it ten years ago when Tutor Doctor first came to the UK and I’ll say it now: the market is very attractive.

You might wonder why brands would choose to invest in the UK during these uncertain times. With the end result of the Brexit vote still being unclear and a market that appears unstable as a result, it could seem to be almost counter-intuitive to launch now. But Brexit really is only half of the story. The UK is the second biggest economy in Europe and the fifth in the world, according to IMF figures from April 2018. It’s actually more viable and robust than ever before. More franchisors, franchisees, employees and consumers join the growing industry every year.

International brands that come to the UK can often offer something luxurious

native well-established brands cannot – choice. Often, prospects have almost complete freedom over their choice of geographical location and could even negotiate with the franchisor to adjust the shape and size of planned territories to clinch the exact area they want. The first few franchisees to join any new franchise will be trailblazers for the brand. And, for the right individuals, when faced with the opportunity to play a key part in the development of a business, the appeal factor goes through the roof.

Probably most notable among international expansions is the number of US brands making their way across the pond. It’s unsurprising really, we already consume a lot of products and services – like TV shows and beverages – from the US. American brands will often do better than others from outside the UK because British buyers, both franchise and consumer, feel more comfortable with the similarities between the two nations. The language barrier is the most difficult to overcome for consumers which is another reason why brands from the US and Australia get into the UK market a little easier than others.

It can be daunting whenever a new brand enters your market, whether

they’re a startup or a successfully established international business. But instead of focusing negatively on the newcomer, franchisors must view it as a positive driver that can actually prevent your business from becoming stagnant.

Savvy franchisors will learn about their competitors, investigating the way they do business and improve their services and products accordingly.

From a prospective franchisee’s perspective, an influx of new brands in any particular sector should be seen as proof that there is demand for the product or service. Franchisors should repeat this to their network to reassure them and to demonstrate the continued potential for growth. Franchising now contributes over £17bn to the UK economy. We continue to pride ourselves on being a truly collaborative industry, with the backing and support of our peers and competitors.

For franchise prospects and consumers alike, origin of brand is becoming less and less important in their decisionmaking and ultimate buying process.

What remains a top priority is brand engagement, exceptional service, transparency, ethics and great value.

International brands demonstrating that they do all of these things, and do them well, are likely to enjoy success in the UK.

28 elitefranchise | march 2019

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Join Home Instead, the UK’s No. 1 homecare franchise company, offering healthy operating profits, award-winning support, and a rewarding opportunity to change the way older people are cared for in the UK.

Try a different type of franchise instead.

Contact Imogen on 01925 730 273, email franchise@homeinstead.co.uk or visit www.homeinstead.co.uk/franchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

There’s much more coming this spring than Brexit Spring will arrive with many things and, this year, the Brexit leaving date’s one of them – but Ovenu has many more interesting things in store than that

T

empting as it was to splutter a few words and opinions on the pending Brexit, we figured it would be poorly received given everybody and their dog have already done so. The reality is nobody has a clue what’s going to ensue beyond March 30, so why muddy the waters further?

On that basis, we’ve jotted down some significantly more interesting seasonal observations and ideas based on the know-how we’ve harvested over our 25 year trading history.

For example, we know that as we head towards spring and the longer, brighter and warmer days, many home owners and tenants start seeing grubby marks and greasy streaks on and around their cooking appliances. These have been less obvious during the dour winter months as they lurk invisibly in the gloomy season. But in some parts of the UK the age-old tradition of a deep, annual spring clean is still undertaken as snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils emerge, so it might be reasonable to assume there are many peaks and troughs in demand for our services during the year.

It’s a reasonable assumption to make but, thanks to us having a diverse sales and marketing strategy in place, along with some seasonally adjusted advice for our franchisees, we are able to work together to balance enquiry levels and keep things more constant more often.

We also have a very solid structure in place that allows

franchisees to monitor all of their lead sources and sales conversion rates at any given time and/or in a given period. This helps weed out anything that’s not growing in a profitable way or things that can be pruned to produce enhanced results.

The same software ensures a truly corporate uniformity throughout our UK and overseas territories, from the humble quotation process right through to job completion.

It’s easy to forget that running an Ovenu franchise isn’t just about cleaning cooking appliances back to their sparkling best – there’s also the business to run. And with our aid and ongoing support, our franchisees soon get to reap what we’ve helped them sow.

Why not get the ball rolling today? Give us a call on 01189 743911 or register your interest at ovenufranchise.co.uk

30 elitefranchise | march 2019

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CK !

BA TV N O

Ovenu - a business where every property is a prospect

The UK's favourite network of oven valeting Franchisees.

Why should you consider becoming one of them?

In depth oven valeting and business operation training no experience necessary Exclusive territory Large support network Over 25 years experience Your choice of white van Bespoke cleaning products no one else can deliver our results Complete control of your own work schedule Get involved from £4,995 + VAT Benefit from 20,000+ client reviews & testimonials for our specialist service

Find out more 01189 743 911 or via ovenufranchise.co.uk

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28/02/2019 11:29

Nigel Toplis managing director The Bardon Group

Make

customer service your differentiator

Customer satisfaction is the cornerstone of every successful business. But it’s especially important for franchises who lack the size, budget and market dominance enjoyed by corporates

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or most of us, getting customer service right is fundamental. And there are three key factors to consider if you want to improve performance in this area – total service experience, providing service with passion and dealing with challenging customers. In an increasingly competitive business world, good service is a prerequisite, not just a nice thing to have. But you can still achieve brand differentiation via a total service experience.

Competitors might supply the same products at similar prices or even copy your marketing and promotional offers – thus providing the same baseline service. However, they can’t emulate the personal touches your business stands for. If you can find ways to consistently go beyond customers’ expectations, you’re on to a winner.

To do this, you first need to establish the highest level of expectation and make that the benchmark. Put yourself in the position of the customer and ask yourself what they want and need to make their life easier or improve business performance. Make sure you know what customers want, take responsibility in finding a solution to the problem, remember all the details and don’t forget clients spend their hard-earned money for your service.

Providing total service experience is about taking an interest, listening to the customer and going the extra mile.

But you do need more than that. You must also provide service with a passion. Customers respond to body language, tone of voice and attitude. If you proffer negativity to the customer, you will get it back in spades.

A cup half-full attitude is so much more productive. When developing relationships with people we’re looking to create a positive attitude and embed it in all interactions.

Customers are only human after all. We all like to feel wanted, important, valued, loved and understood. The easiest way to start showing this is to simply listen to the

customer's perspective. If you’re meeting them face to face then use positive body language. If you’re on the phone, then regularly interject. Don’t allow the customer a monologue – ask questions and show interest. Reiterate what the customer tells you. It shows you’ve been listening and that you’re engaged.

Of course, with most customers, providing really good service becomes second nature. Their expectations are generally lower than you’d expect, so the net result is customer positive.

The real test though comes when you have challenging customers. They might be emotional, frustrated, incapable to see reason and rarely respond to logic.

However, they need to be handled professionally and the way you deal with them can have a major effect on your business. If it goes badly, then you could be exposed to bad publicity, through online reviews and negative social media comments.

My advice is to have a process for these types of customers. You will gain little by becoming as emotive, protective and closed to reason as they are. Instead, I recommend you stay calm and remember confrontation is a loser, allow the customer to vent and listen without interruption, be supportive, be positive in communication to the customer, be firm but fair and don’t allow them to be abusive. And, finally, buy time and respect by showing the customer that you are taking the problem seriously.

Delivering exceptional service requires a total service ethos, to be delivered with passion and with a structure or process to handle challenging customers. If you keep these three factors front of mind, you’ll find that good customers become repeat customers and you might even convert challenging customers to valued customers.

March 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Why First Class Learning?

If a race is worth running, it’s worth running well. This is the kind of attitude it takes to bloom as an after-school tuition franchisee

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icture yourself preparing for the ultra-marathon team race. You fasten your laces and doublecheck your pack. In the distance, some of your team mates are already disappearing into the mist. You know the road you’re all on won’t be easy – filled with highs and potential lows. But you are impatient to join them because you know ahead lies great adventures and the kind of rewards that only this journey can bring: the fulfilment of both achieving and helping others achieve their goals. If this is your mindset, then this is your franchise.

You can make a difference First Class Learning is the UK’s fastest growing after-school tuition franchise

with 270 centres and counting. We are looking for people like you to join us. People who are passionate about enabling others to achieve success, who are driven to succeed and who are ready to pick up the baton and run with it.

A growing number of schools are already using First Class Learning yearon-year as part of their daily routine.

This is a tremendous endorsement of the quality and effectiveness of the First Class Learning materials.

Pupils improve their maths skills, develop good study habits and gain in confidence and a love to learn.

Currently, the market for after-school education in the UK is worth in excess of £6bn and rapidly growing. Working

as one of our franchisees you can meet this demand with a professional product providing a good income and attractive long-term prospects.

The next step If you think you have what it takes to carry the baton of our commitment to education and bring something special to our network of franchisees, please contact us by completing the form on our website. Once done, we’ll get in touch with you to continue the conversation about your journey.

Visit https://www.firstclasslearning. co.uk/own-a-franchise or call us on 0800 458 3739

March 2019 | elitefranchise

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01/03/2019 18:33

Secured success!

Secured success!

With Europe’s leading

With Europe’s leading EMS fitness studio concept!

EMS fitness studio concept!

EMS is the buzzword in the fitness scene - being one of the most dynamic segments of the industry across Europe. Take this opportunity, as a franchisee of the system that has been the clear market EMS is the buzzword in the fitness scene - being one of the most dynamic segments of the industry leader across the continent for over 10 years. No other EMS franchise system can offer you so much across Europe. Take this opportunity, as a franchisee of the system that has been the clear market experience and support from the outset: location search, leasing and financing, employee training, leader across the continent for over 10 years. No other EMS franchise system can offer you so much business administration and marketing - plus loads more. experience and support from the outset: location search, leasing and financing, employee training, administration and marketing - plus loads more. members and delivering over business With Bodystreet having nearly 300 studios, some 37,000 150,000 training sessions per month; it is easy to see what is coming our way.

With Bodystreet having nearly 300 studios, some 37,000 members and delivering over 150,000 sessions per month; it isis easy tohave see what is coming our way.

Be at the training start — with the business that set to the fitness industry in the UK buzzing.

Be at the information start — withvisit the our business that is set to have the fitness or industry the UK buzzing.

For more website: www.bodystreetuk.co.uk email in franchise@bodystreet.co.uk For more information visit our website: www.bodystreetuk.co.uk or email franchise@bodystreet.co.uk

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24/09/2018 18:06

Tony Bowman managing director etyres

Why franchises must adapt to survive in a changing world

From the Singer Corporation kick-starting franchising as a business form to McDonald’s vegan deals, franchisors always have to change with the times

A

key advantage of franchising is that the franchisor develops the business model, leaving the franchisees free to deliver exemplary service at the local level.

When the Singer Corporation, the sewing machine maker, kickstarted the modern business format of franchising in the mid 1800s, life was very simple. All it had to do was appoint franchises to sell and service its machines and sit back and churn out the devices. Everyone was happy.

This is a far cry from the situation now.

The same basic principle of the franchisees carrying out the local service is just as strong as ever.

However, the role of the franchisor has changed massively, with heavy emphasis being placed on keeping abreast of changing technology.

Customers are now far more demanding than they were before the advent of online retail and social media. This frequently produces unrealistic expectations of how a product should perform or how immediate a service should be. A large section of the buying public now expect immediate delivery of a top quality product at a knock-down price.

If they don’t get it, some retaliate by shouting from as many social media

platforms as possible in an attempt to intimidate the supplier into complying with their demands.

This phenomenon presents a huge reputational risk for every brand. The magnitude of this is too large to leave in the hands of the hard-pressed local franchisee. For this reason every good quality franchisor will protect the brand by taking ownership of the most serious customer complaints.

Similarly, a well-run franchised business will have a central point at which social media is controlled and monitored. The risks are massive but the opportunities and benefits of getting this right are also substantial. It’s inevitable that if each franchisee engages in social media without it being properly coordinated, the company message will be fragmented. If it’s handled correctly and there is direction from the franchisor, the results from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so on can be highly beneficial.

Keeping abreast of changing buying behaviour is also a never-ending challenge. But if tackled correctly it can be seen as a source of business opportunities. The swift-footed in the catering and food retail industries have responded effectively to the

rapid rise of veganism. McDonald’s now offers a wide range of salads and wraps causing some other businesses to lose out. Similarly Budgens, which has seen the rising popularity of farm shops, has formed a partnership with Nottinghamshire-based Gonalston Farm Shop. We have yet to see how successful this will be but I suspect this is a very astute move which will increase business for its franchisees.

In each of these examples the franchisor has taken advantage of changing customer buying patterns and slightly repositioned the business.

Meanwhile, the franchisees can avoid wasting time worrying about how they’ll continue to be successful in a fast-changing business world. This is what franchising is all about.

So if you’re considering becoming a franchisor, ask yourself how recently you adapted to changing behaviour.

Equally, if you’re considering buying a franchise, ask the franchisor how recently they successfully implemented a change or added a new product or service.

All this is a far cry from the Singer Corporation’s sewing machines. But just as fashions come and go, so do business trends and we all need to adapt our style to stay current.

MARCH 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

The importance of finding the right franchisee As the blood of your brand, franchisor’s must be picky when scoping out prospective franchisees

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s a franchisor, granting a license to the right person is crucial to your success. After all, each franchisee ultimately represents the values and philosophy you have cultivated over a period of time before coming to market.

For a franchisor starting out, the right franchisees are especially vital to developing the network you’re striving for. A poor fit whilst you are still in your infancy can cause costly damage and is often the reason franchisors are cautious about who they entrust with their brand’s name.

It’s therefore important your screening process is thorough and has been developed to match the needs of your franchise. Ask lots of questions of those showing an interest, investigate their background and be stringent on the type of person you know will be successful running your franchise. By choosing like-minded individuals who share your values and principles and being thorough in your process, you can reduce your overall risk of failure and increase your profitability.

Andrew Rayes, international sales and marketing director at HITIO, the

gym franchise, shares the notion that finding the right franchisee is critical and they must believe in the brand’s approach. “A HITIO gym creates a community brought together by physical activity,” he says. “We are looking for franchisees who can be a pillar in that community and are passionate about helping people of all ages, including children who come to the gym to be more active.

“From the success of our sister brand, Mudo, we know this approach has helped it open over 30 successful sites and become one of Norway’s

largest fitness chains. It is this profile that has led us to confirming our first three sites in London, Portugal and Spain and we will continue to use this philosophy as we grow.”

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#1939 Elite Franchise Full page ad.qxp_Layout 1 28/11/2018 16:55 Page 1

YOUR ROUTE TO SUCCESS

Diane Maxwell Driver Hire Belfast

Run your own £1m+ recruitment business • Across our network: - Average net profit is over £130,000 pa - Average full year franchise turnover (single unit) of £1,180,450 in 2017/18

• Thrive on a challenge?

• Passionate about people and customer service?

• Dynamic team leader?

• Entry-level investment from £35,000

Nic Chaviaris Driver Hire Gatwick

Call now to discover more about this fantastic business opportunity

01274 361073

franchise@driverhire.co.uk

@driverhirefranchise

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@DHFranchising

www.driverhirefranchise.co.uk 30/11/2018 13:44

Are you interested in becoming part of a proven established business concept within a fun industry? Then everyman barbers is the franchise for you.

We offer franchisees the opportunity to profit from our experience, industry knowledge, and business expertise. Unlike many barbershop franchises, we offer a comprehensive support package to deliver a turnkey operation that allows you to concentrate on the sole aim: to grow your business into a long term profitable venture.

www.everymanbarbers.co.uk

noel@everymanbarbers.co.uk 07968 625943

THE NUMBERS ARE ADDING UP FOR MATHNASIUM FRANCHISEES

With over 30 franchises awarded in the ďŹ rst 12 months since Mathnasium's UK launch, territories are going fast.

FIND OUT WHY THIS EXCITING AND REWARDING GLOBAL FRANCHISE IS TAKING THE UK BY STORM CONTACT US NOW FOR MORE INFORMATION AND WE GUARANTEE YOU WONT JUST BE TREATED LIKE A NUMBER Email: ukfranchise@mathnasium.com Call: 0161 791 0686

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X-PRESS LEGAL SERVICES

X-Press

BY ZEN TERRELONGE

yourself

Tired with corporate life, married couple Lynne and Dave Lister joined forces with their son Christian to launch family business X-Press Legal Services, which exceeded their wildest dreams as they now approach full franchise capacity

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ot every business owner who turns their company into a franchise has extensive knowledge of the industry.

In fact, many are only happy to admit they fell into franchising accidentally but this wasn’t the case for Lynne Lister, who 20 years ago worked in franchise journalism for a decade. “In ten years I’d met some great people and made lifelong friendships but as a career I really wanted to do my own thing,” she says. However, the thought of launching a franchise wasn’t on her agenda at all – she simply sought a better work-life balance to be around husband Dave and their three children.

With Lynne an editor, Dave had an extensive financial background in the motoring industry. “I finally ended up working as a trainer and consultant for a warranty division of Ford Motor Company,” he details. “Then I got to 44 and decided if we were ever going to do anything for ourselves, that was the time to do it.” With the same desire as his wife, Dave was keen to work with his family. “I didn’t want to build a big business, I didn’t want to dominate the world, I didn’t want to dominate the sector – I just wanted to have a nice life and work in a small local business with Lynne and my kids.”

The final piece of the puzzle to get the ball rolling came in the form of their son Christian, who was working away in logistics.

When he returned to the family home in Warrington, it became apparent he too wanted to break free of the shackles of a nineto-five to become his own boss alongside his parents. “With Christian back at home it gave us a sounding board,” says Lynne. “And we basically started on the dining room table.”

Sharing their dreams with a friend, who happened to be a solicitor, the concept for X-Press Legal Services was forged.

But what exactly is X-Press Legal Services? “Bloody wonderful,” laughs Lynne, offering a succinct explanation.

Effectively, it’s the middleman between consumers and MARCH 2019 | ELITEFRANCHISE

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X-PRESS LEGAL SERVICES

I didn’t want to build a big business, I didn’t want to dominate the world, I didn’t want to dominate the sector – I just wanted to have a nice life and work in a small local business with Lynne and my kids

- Dave Lister

solicitors during the property-buying process. The service X-Press provides is to examine the necessary historical checks on homes being purchased to ensure everything is up to scratch.

“We’re in an extremely niche sector,” details Dave. “We tilt ourselves towards conveyancing practices [and] we’re in a market that’s absolutely rock solid. No matter what the political arena is, people need to move house.”

Like the Men in Black, Lynne adds most people aren’t even aware of services like X-Press. “Even the housebuying public that have bought and sold houses for quite a long time wouldn’t know companies like us exist because they assume the solicitor does it all,” she says, emphasising Dave’s point about being niche. “We’re a service to the conveyancer and solicitor but the ultimate end goal is to support the house-buying public.”

After launching in 2000, X-Press Legal Services was in more demand than the family knew what to do with, which saw them racing up and down the country and Lynne admits that was somewhat down to “naivety.” “When you’re a search agent, it sounds simplistic that I’ll deal with a solicitor and my local council,” she opines. “So I may on any given day need to get out to Liverpool or Manchester [and] pretty much the northwest. But actually that’s not the way people buy 42 ELITEFRANCHISE | MARCH 2019

houses and certainly not over the past 20 years.” Indeed, many of the people X-Press was working with also lived in London, which meant properties could be purchased in the capital or indeed areas further out like Brighton or Oxford.

“We were being pulled from pillar to post,” says Lynne. “It was a case of Dave getting in his car at silly o’clock in the morning to do a search.”

By the fourth business year, the two other Lister children had joined X-Press but it didn’t stop the logistical nightmare they faced. “It got to a point of [us saying] ‘If we’re really going to be serious about this, we need to be able to provide a service that the clients can rely on,’” Lynne reasons. That’s where the franchising discussion came into the mix but Lynne was hesitant as she’d recently left the sector. “I think my reluctance [to] go back into franchising was because I knew, having spoken with many franchisors over the years, it’s not an easy job,” she reasons. “It’s a lot of responsibility. You’re dealing with people’s life savings and inheritances and you’ve got to be absolutely sure that what you’re offering will give them a return.”

While Dave notes most franchises divide up locations based on postcodes, X-Press issues territories based on the local authorities nationwide as they’re where property search data is obtained.

“There are 368 local authorities in England and Wales and that’s how we build our franchise areas,” he says.

“Before we franchised, the five family members plus two admin people were covering 368 local authorities and we were totally freaked out. We knew we couldn’t sustain it and that’s why we needed to do something pretty quickly.”

Having considered all their options, Lynne eventually agreed franchising would be the best choice and the family began building their model. “It’s a bit like McDonald’s – it doesn’t matter if you buy in Bournemouth or in Burton, it’s 30 chips, not 29 or 31, that’s the formula,” she says. “And that’s where we were coming from, we thought we have to have a quality standard no matter where in the country the search is being done.” Seeking the very best franchise consultant, lawyer and bfa support in 2004, the franchise offering was launched 18 months later in October 2005 and the first intake in February 2006 saw X-Press bring in five franchisees.

The family had experienced a solid start as franchisors and were already well on track for their goal of eight franchisees within two years.

“We went in quite cautious really,” Lynne says. “Then we ended up with about 20 [franchisees] in two years.”

Showcasing the range of people

X-PRESS LEGAL SERVICES

that the network has attracted, it includes an optician, ex-undertaker, structural engineer, ex-police inspector and an astrophysicist – all of whom are process-driven and possess attention to detail. “I’m happy to say all our originals are still with us, so we did something right,” adds Lynne, laughing.

With the head office business set up by the Listers still running alongside the 24 franchisees X-Press has today, this structure has been key to the way the franchise operates.

“You can’t come to my table and tell me how tough the market is because I know,” says Lynne. “I’ve got my team here and we’re doing it every single day, just the same as you. We understand the market, we know what’s going on.

I’ve spoke to a few franchisors recently and that seems to have changed. The general mood of franchising seems to have changed. But that’s our model and will continue to be.” With the head office branch covering the M62 corridor, ticking off the likes of Liverpool and Manchester, she notes that its activity keeps the franchisor relevant.

On top of a determination to continue operating under its own steam, X-Press also encourages collaboration across the network through an inter-trading system that allows franchises to share search requests. “We could have one of our own solicitors here in the northwest easily

You can’t come to my table and tell me how tough the market is because I know - Lynne Lister

on any given day instruct us for a property in Brighton, Cornwall or Northumberland,” says Dave. “And what we did is invest heavily into a case management system that connects all of our branches in real-time so if we receive an instruction for a property in Cornwall, the system automatically sends that to our Cornwall office and they do the work, send it back to us fully completed and we send it on to our client. He defines that process as “the glue that holds us together”. To that end, each branch has their own local work as well as jobs received via the intertrading system, while training complements the stream of jobs as it’s “open ended,” according to Dave. “Even the guys who came on right at the beginning still interact with us virtually on a daily basis because we’re updating each other in real-time,” he says. “There is no cut-off point for any of that. It’s constant support 24/7.”

While X-Press hasn’t gone on the hunt for new franchisees for a few years, the time is right to open its doors for newcomers once more. The key reason for postponing the search was to ensure the technological side of the business was ready. “Our technology going back about four years was okay but we knew it wasn’t going to satisfy the market going forward so we’ve invested £750,000 into cloud-based systems now. And it helps us to pick up new clients all the time.” Clearly excited about the next stage of the growth, the Listers are looking for eight more franchisees and that will be the network at full maturity. “We know that it’s eight [franchisees we want] and we’re not into squeezing another one into another small pocket – we’re not interested in that type of business model,” Dave insists. Absolutely determined never to lose sight of why they started, he concludes: “We don’t ever want to let go of the family feel – we’re not corporate people. We’ve done corporate life and we’ve left that behind.”

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

How to thrive as a gym franchise owner With the UK health and fitness industry continuing to grow at unprecedented levels, it’s no wonder business owners face fierce competition. So what does it take to stand out from the crowd?

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t énergie, we know the strength of a network relies on the sum of its individuals, which is why we have a rigorous franchisee selection process to get to know you and help you understand whether franchising is right for you. This is something often underplayed by other franchisors, who are keen to seduce prospects with the allure of being part of their brand and an easy route into business. But what are the key determining factors of running a successful franchise business?

Doing your due diligence Before getting into business, it’s down to the franchisee(s) to ensure their research covers all grounds. If you don’t understand the fitness industry, or

you’re missing the vital business skills required for this type of industry, you’re likely to fall at the first hurdle.

Of course, not everyone will already have the skill set that enables them to act as every department of a business, or understand everything about current markets as well as the predicted future of the industry. This is why choosing an experienced franchise operator that offers a comprehensive level of business support and training is so important.

Discipline to follow systems and processes A good franchise business will offer you the opportunity to buy into a set of systems and processes that are proven to work, which is why strong and established franchisors will have robust audit procedures in place to ensure brand and operational compliance to protect the network’s success.

On top of this, they will have ongoing training and regular educational communications about how to deliver the brand experience.

However, this doesn’t mean you can’t have an influence on how to run your business. Many franchisors will have a franchisee-led forum to help shape future developments across the network. If you aspire to have this kind of influence as a franchisee in the future, then following the existing systems and processes from the outset will help you understand exactly how to adapt in the future.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew It’s only natural to be ambitious but you need to ensure your business plan is realistic and achievable. By all means, set challenging goals and targets but if you’re working to budgets and resources that are far out of reach or set yourself unrealistic timelines, you might find you’ll struggle to get things off the ground.

A good franchisor should be able to help you flesh out your business plan properly, as well as help you put the right team in place to achieve your goals. Being a franchisee can

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be an incredibly rewarding role, provided you stay true to your means and work with the tools at hand.

A strong focus on local marketing To compete on a local level you need to market your franchise in a way that differentiates yourself from competitors and brings new business to the table. Your franchisor will already be managing national brand activities but you need to amplify that locally to ensure you make the best of the opportunities available to you.

Find out what marketing support your franchisor offers centrally and consider what you can also be doing on a local level. Working alongside marketing professionals to boost your business locally could be a game changer for your franchise.

Stay ahead of the competition What’s a challenge without a little healthy competition? At énergie, we know the competition in today’s fitness industry is like no other and with the sector growing and expanding by the day, it means business owners need to step up their game and bring new strategies and ideas to the table.

The key is to look for the missing ingredients in the current market. For example, the latest Mintel survey reported a lack of contact from gym staff is the number one hassle for gym members. In response to this, we reviewed our business model in order to implement our brand new Take the Stage training programme, alongside the employment of club hosts for that more personal approach.

from their franchisor, how is a franchisee meant to succeed?

At énergie, our award-winning franchise support package includes full business training and a host of networking opportunities, while our 35-strong franchise support team are always on hand to help franchisees work through any issues, however big or small. Nobody is left behind when working with énergie and it’s perhaps one of the reasons we now have so many multi-site franchise owners.

Why franchise with énergie Fitness?

When you franchise a gym with énergie Fitness you’re partnering with a brand that has been empowering people to transform their lives since 2003. From business planning and property acquisition to ongoing marketing and operational support, we pride ourselves on offering a comprehensive gym franchise package that gives our franchisees all the tools they need for success. Best of all, you don’t need a previous interest in health and fitness to be a success with énergie.

To find out more about joining a forward-thinking franchise at the cutting-edge of the industry, visit www. energiefranchise.com or call 0845 363 1020

Seek support from the franchisor Many franchisors are really engaged during the sales process but once the sale is complete, the support seems to tail off.

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The Quality Franchise Association (QFA) is the first ever digital franchise association Founded by Joel Bissitt – who has over 20 years franchising experience, as well as being a franchising consultant and digital marketing expert – the QFA is both fully digital and run on a voluntary basis by a team of franchisors, franchise consultants and franchise solicitors. Together, they provide access to free advice, information and resources for franchisees and franchisors alike.

Because the QFA’s fully digital and run by volunteers it boasts extremely low overheads, investing 100% of its membership fees back into promoting franchising and providing tangible benefits to its members. Such benefits include:

• • • • • • • •

Free platinum advertising on https://uk-franchiseopportunities.org, the official franchise directory of the QFA. Blog posting and social media marketing to over 25,000 followers 50% discount for three months on Xero accounting software Listing in the QFA members directory, including a link to members’ websites A high-resolution accreditation badge image to use on your website and marketing materials Access to the QFA online members forum and social media groups to easily and conveniently share best practice 24/7 A HR and health and safety helpline, plus other business support and guides via our partner the Forum of Private Business Two gold memberships from our partner Perkbox

The current tangible benefits package alone – excluding all the free networking and support QFA members receive – is valued at over £3,000.

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So what is the membership fee for franchisors?

Just £350 a year.

“The benefits of joining a franchise association and having access to fellow franchisors and franchising professionals are huge, especially for new franchisors,” says Joel Bissitt.

“Unfortunately, because franchising isn’t regulated in the UK and therefore the same as joining any trade association, many franchisors don’t join. The reasons I’ve heard over the years include they couldn’t afford or justify spending thousands to join a franchise association.”

“I therefore wanted to create a truly not-for-profit association and deliver tangible benefits to put membership within the reach of all franchisors. By being fully digital and run on a voluntary basis, we can invest 100% back into promoting franchising, our members and building tangible benefits. I believe the QFA provides unrivalled value for money and is a must for any franchisor.”

https://www.franchise-association.org.uk/

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IBGN

Infinity Business Growth Network Ltd ( IBGN ) is a leading franchise consulting business. IBGN also owns some of the most successful franchise portals ( including this one! ) & these portals generated over 18,000 franchise recruitment leads in 2018. IBGN has a unique & simple way to assist businesses to grow through franchising. We use the latest technology & learning software to mentor our clients through the franchising process, lowering their costs. We also provide an unrivalled lead generation package through our websites free for consultancy clients, ensuring lead flow, vital for the successful launch of any franchise.

Danbro

AT DANBRO, YOU’RE PART OF THE FAMILY Are your franchisees pulling in different directions, following different advice from different accountants?

A divided franchise is an unproductive franchise, and a lack of consistency can damage profits and hinder your business’s opportunity for growth.

Your franchisees need to be working towards a common goal, with a service provider who can handle the demands of a national network.

So, partner with Danbro today to better support your franchisees and fast-track your franchise with us.

Call us now on 01253 600 150, or visit danbro.co.uk/ accountancy/franchises to find out more.

We’ll Understand. We’ll Deliver. We’ll Grow Together.

MaxWax We are a well-established mobile valeting and detailing franchise covering the South East, operating from Shoreham Airport.. A Van Based Franchise With Unlimited Earning Potential Low Start Up Investment £4500 (Deposit) Total Investment £7500+vat.

Three weeks training.

No FIXED Geographic territory.

Eye catching Mercedes Citan kitted out with everything you need to carry out Valeting and Detailing works.

Facebook Page, Flyers, Tablet, Uniform, Geographic number and everything you need to get you off to a flying start. £85,000 worth of contracts provided annually.

Everything you need to get yourself off to a flying Start.

Pink Connect

Pink Connect supply an innovative set of Business Communication, IT, Cybersecurity and Commercial Power products that are essential to every Business in the UK. Every School, Hotel, Retail Shop, Estate Agent, Solicitor, Accountant… in fact everyBusiness, needs Power, Internet, Telephones, IT and Security.

Pink Connect have 16 years’ experience, partnering with Best of Breed Suppliers like Cisco, Gamma and Microsoft, to provide everything Businesses need to function cost effectively and efficiently and 2019 sees us set to grow rapidly across the UK, providing environmentally sustainable Power and Business Communications to the next 2000 customers.

Autocut

Tech4t

Tech4T are an international analytics company. We work with franchises to answer one fundamental question. Are you making the most of your sales opportunities?

In service of this, we have three key strands to our business.

The first is Franchise Territory Design – providing territories of the right size and identifying the right type of people for your franchisees to invest time and money in.

Second is Territory Mapping. Our proprietary mapping and data visualisation software lets you easily demonstrate your territories and their value.

And thirdly Site Location Planning for stores, restaurants and takeaways to ensure outlets are positioned in the areas best suited to your business.

Autocut is a revolutionary and exciting automated robotic lawn cutting service poised to disrupt the UK lawn care market. We are proud to be partnered with world leaders in robotic mowers “Husqvarna”.

Autocut is set to rapidly grow across the UK, providing environmentally sustainable state-of-theart robotic mowing, giving our customers at least part of their weekend back yet maintaining a wellgroomed lawn to enjoy.

For more info on these franchises please visit:

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Yoga the

moves

By Varsha Saraogi

Michele Pernetta shares the story of her tryst with yoga after it cured her knee and how the serendipitous decision to leave her fashion career resulted in the launch of hot yoga franchise Fierce Grace

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rudging up the stairs of Fierce Grace, a hot yoga studio in Primrose Hill, London, I wonder if there’s really room for yet another chain offering workout classes. In a city ubiquitous with workout spaces – from bootcamps and boutique gyms to power yoga and CrossFit boxes – how different can this yoga studio be?

Very, if the interiors are any indication. There’s not a single whiff of the expected suffocating smell of incense.

Tired yoga tropes like Buddhas and some odd mixture of capitalism and faux spiritualism are nowhere to be seen.

Instead, I’m welcomed by a mannequin wearing a leather jacket. And as the doors open to the fitness space, a flaming 40 degree blast washes over me as I enter the room where 45 or so fitness enthusiasts are ready to sweat it out. As enthralled as I am by its edginess, little do I know my body

will turn into a pretzel in a few minutes. I’ve never been flexible but the following 90-minute session has me going from trying to balance on one foot to giving up entirely.

While the others are doing gravity-defying poses, holding a perfect downward dog and transitioning into the eagle position, I stand, sweat dripping out of every pore of my skin, looking at their entangled limbs unable to even attempt to follow their example. My self-image of being a somewhat fit person is further crumbled by the woman in front who seamlessly stretches herself into ballon animallike contortions. Her name is Michele Pernetta, the founder of Fierce Grace, the hot yoga franchise, and she’s the person I’m here to meet.

What I expected before attending the class was some deep breathing and stretching and definitely not a workout

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Fierce Grace

equivalent to a HIIT session. But that’s the misconception Pernetta is aiming to dissolve from people’s minds and make yoga more conducive to millennials. “It shouldn’t just be stretching, it’s about flexibility and strength – you have to do the two together,” she explains. And she ensures her classes welcome people of all levels. “The way I teach is from the ground up which means whether you’re a beginner or an advanced practitioner or you may not have even done yoga in your life, you can still come to this class,” she adds. “I won’t go ‘everyone into a handstand now.’”

For Pernetta, the aim is to make yoga synonymous with fun, hence the posters on the walls and the ambiance of the hot room. “I’ve been in yoga a long time and I would go to some of these yoga studios that play that game of lighting incense, you go in [and] you have to be serious, you can’t laugh – why?” she argues.

Her yoga teacher in fact forbade these practices. “He said ‘None of that shit. You westerners have made all of that up, we don’t do that in yoga.’ It’s ridiculous. So I designed mine in a way that people felt at home.” It’s indeed what the market required and the proof is that today Fierce Grace has more than hundreds of thousands of clients worldwide with

franchisees in more than 15 countries and 25 locations. And that’s despite having never advertised for franchisees or attended a franchise show.

However, Pernetta wasn’t planning on flying the flag for hot yoga in Britain.

Having moved from the UK to California, she was content with her career as a fashion designer. She chanced upon yoga when she suffered from a knee injury.

After getting trained by her yoga teacher Bikram Choudhury, founder of Bikram yoga and originator of hot yoga, she could avoid a knee surgery and was cured completely. “It was then that I really wanted people to know about it and I started teaching it just for friends and people I know,” she recalls. “Suddenly there were so many people that my

living room was too small so I rented a room.”

But even then Pernetta didn’t expect her passion for yoga to become a full-time venture. A fashionista at heart, she wasn’t ready to let go of her career in fashion. After moving back to the UK in 1994 and being one of the few official trainers of Bikram yoga, she was shuffling between the two. “[Choudhury] trained me personally for five years and said to me that I should become a trainer and I said ‘No thank you, I have spent 17 years getting good at my job,’” Pernetta remembers.

While she wasn’t convinced to do so at the time, yoga slowly became her priority. “I accidentally opened a studio [in 1999] and my partner said ‘I’ll run

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Fierce Grace

Michelle Pernetta, founder, Fierce Grace

it’ to which I thought ‘I’ll still have my fashion career and can always teach yoga a couple of times a week,’” she says. However, it soon became clear to Pernetta that her partner was no good at running the business and having borrowed £20,000 from her friends and family, it was time for her to step in. “I tried to do both for a while and eventually had to give up what I did with fashion,” Pernetta recalls. And thus began her journey of spreading hot yoga.

To be an expert requires tremendous amounts of research and Pernetta ensured she studied what the industry lacked. “Back in 1994 there was nothing great here in terms of yoga as everything was a bit boring and I wanted it to be more powerful and transformative in a way,” she says. And even though the entrepreneur had a unique concept, it was no less than a mountain to scale.

“I started by teaching Bikram yoga and what was good about that was it was so different from anything here and made me learn how to promote something brand new that no one had heard of, had a difficult name and was a difficult thing,” she says. But as people kept walking through the doors, they started noticing the benefits and this gave her the opportunity to build a loyal following of yogis.

While Pernetta credits Bikram yoga for kickstarting her journey, she soon realised its flaws. “As a thing in itself it’s fine but just not enough as it doesn’t take into account all body types,” she says.

Pernetta then had her eureka moment of birthing Fierce Grace and she was aware it would be far from easy. “I had three studios and a business partner that I wasn’t going to take with me in my new venture so somehow I had to extricate myself or close the studios or buy him out to be on my own again,” she recalls.

This process took five years during

I went through hell which not only did Pernetta create more sequences to launch her brand but also was in the midst of a lawsuit. “It was a terrible time – I had no money left as the lawyers had taken it all, I had to buy my partner out, I was building my brand – it was tough,” she adds. “Some people get an investor in, they get loads of money and start a business but I went through the hard route, I went through hell.”

Despite these challenges, Fierce Grace was launched in 2013.

However, ensuring the business‘ success was hard. Pernetta also had the pressure of retaining her clients after the rebrand. “If you’ve paid me £400 for six months of yoga and I was to tell you ‘I am keeping your money but I will give you a different kind of yoga,’ you’re going to go ‘No, I paid for this’ so I didn’t know how I was going to do it,” Pernetta says. She

was even fearful of becoming bankrupt, losing her house and her reputation. “In this industry if you have a couple bad months and you can’t pay your rent, you’re out,” she says, adding that she expected that day to come. “I thought the teachers and the students would leave. I don’t have a team of other owners, I am at the spearhead all the time so you just gotta be prepared to take the hit.”

To her surprise, reality was better than she expected. In fact, she still remembers the first few days of Fierce Grace. “I was in the studio, the music was playing and I could feel this magic happen and I thought to myself ‘It’s actually going to be okay, people are enjoying themselves,’” she adds.

Her main goal was to change the way people think about yoga and she tailored her marketing accordingly.

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Fierce Grace

“I wanted to throw away all the yoga cliches because they’re not useful,” she says. “The skinny girl, the white stuff, the namaste, the rest of it, it puts people off. Maybe not the namaste – I like that but not in your marketing.”

Indeed, instead of having photoshoots of perfect looking people doing yoga poses, she got people who reflected her clientele – whether overweight or old – on posters and the website. That’s what attracted more clients.

Unsurprisingly, given her success, she started getting offers for franchising when the business was still in its infancy – albeit that wasn’t her initial plan.

“When I converted to Fierce Grace from Bikram, I never intended to franchise,” she says. “Before I even launched Fierce Grace in November 2013, someone had already asked me if they could franchise.

And I said ‘Well you can’t do it before me, you have to wait.’” And a few months later she saw studios open across the UK and Europe.

And as her client base grew, so did the number of teachers and, consequentially, franchisees and their businesses. This is in no small part thanks to Pernetta bending over backwards to support her network. “I don’t sleep at night if a franchisee has got a problem, I feel like that’s happened with my brand,” she says. As far as

the training is concerned they’re constantly handheld from budgeting and marketing to operations and equipment. “If they’re in Europe, they come here, we train them in our studios and they can see how it works and teach them the systems and if they’re abroad, we send one of our managers to help and I go to run workshops,” she adds. “It’s very much like a family. It’s not like a big corporate thing.” Additionally, the franchisor even provides franchisees with trained yoga teachers if they so require.

While Pernetta provides franchisees with the guidelines and marketing material, she also gives them ample creative freedom. The franchisor prefers the franchisees to be more quirky and individualistic while adhering to the brand

philosophy. In many instances, they’ve had unique ideas. “One of them went ‘Do you mind if we put the Fierce Grace logo on bicycle seats as waterproof covers,’” she says. “I thought ‘Do we really want people’s arse on the logo? Why not? Let’s do it.’” Indeed the franchisor encourages franchisees to insert their business strategies into their spaces. “We don’t go ‘It’s gotta look like this, you gotta only do it like that, it’s got to be orange or blue,’” she continues. “They want the tried and tested stuff and your wisdom but they also want complete freedom so you gotta go in the middle and listen to what they want.”

But maintaining a balance between a laissez faire and a total control attitude proved particularly problematic when Fierce Grace went global. When launching a studio in Rome, the class material and the marketing literature had to be translated to Italian but that wasn’t the

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real challenge she faced. In this case it was the franchisee who failed to follow the instructions. “The lady wasn’t listening to anything we said because she just went into a hole,” Pernetta says.

“It was stressful, just [as much] for me as for them. They were always loyal but they just weren’t running it very well.

They had no sign outside, they did no

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advertising. You can give everybody the things but they gotta actually do it.”

This wasn’t the worst experience she had. A former franchisee in France did what many franchisors deem as a nightmare. “They did the bad thing of taking everything and then stealing it,” she claims. “I have basically 50% Fierce Grace studios under a fake name in Paris which is very annoying. She’s using my teachings, my sequences but not calling it Fierce Grace.”

Experiences like these made her take extra care when recruiting.

Pernetta realised first-hand how being a franchisor requires a lot more than she expected. “Now we are a little more careful as to how we work with new studio owners,” she says. “They may say they’re good at business but I guess you can’t just trust that they are or they haven’t put their head in the sand because you get so busy with the building works that you forget to do anything.”

Indeed, with the power of being a

franchisor comes great responsibility.

“Franchising is really hard and so much work,” she explains. “It’s a whole business in itself that you’re running. It’s not like you’re just doing it on the side.

People have put their money on the line and my brand is on the line.”

Consequentially, she ensured her brand grew slowly and steadily, which she believes was the right pace. “We want Fierce Grace to be a boutique brand,” she says. “We don’t want to have a million outlets everywhere. We want them to be nicely placed, far away from each other in key places. I’m not looking to have a McDonald’s thing going on here. It’s got to be personal, run by people that are passionate about wellbeing.”

The main lesson she learnt was how important it was to be flexible when expanding abroad. “One needs to not just farm out the same kind of set of protocols to each country but has to understand the differences that a market has and listen to the franchisee,” she advices. For instance, the studios in New York demanded more one-hour classes as opposed to the 90-minute ones in the UK. While Pernetta wasn’t keen at first, she did what was needed. “I think a big mistake you can make is not to respond to what people want because there’s a reason they want it – I’d rather have somebody come in for an hour than not come in at all,” she says.

Looking forward, with a franchise studio coming in Down Under and with footprint across Europe and the US, Fierce Grace is only set to make people more fit. Additionally, as of 2015 it partnered with David Lloyd gyms which offers its hot yoga classes. And Pernetta is also planning to focus on online tutorials for those who can’t make it to a studio. She truly believes the sector is only getting hotter and hotter. “The general public today who are going to the office, taking care of their kids, going to the bar, spending ten hours on their devices – they need to feel relaxed,” she concludes. “You can’t become immortal by doing yoga so you must just enjoy this mechanism, keep [your body] healthy and not fuss about it.”

01/03/2019 12:17

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Like

riding a bike

It’s not always easy learning to ride bicycles yet it’s such a fundamental skill. Fortunately, kids as young as two are findng their feet with this franchise

U

nderstandably, children simply not taking to bike riding can mean months of back ache for parents as they try to help them master the technique.

However, a solution is now at hand.

CYCLEme TOTS teaches children as young as two how to ride a bicycle through its engaging balance bike program. A typical day involves dropping the little ones off at pre-school and nursery before travelling to the local leisure centre for our first parent and toddler balance bike class of the day. But the fun doesn’t just stop after those morning sessions.

Often, we pack the equipment away and take some time to have coffee with parents in the café, or work through some of the class admin and enquiry emails.

After all, we find little and often is the best way to keep on top of admin and ensure evenings remain work-free.

Then it’s time for the afternoon lunchtime club.

This takes place at a local school and involves teaching pupils in reception to learn to pedal, before visiting local community hubs to promote the classes and leave

some flyers for prospective new parents.

In summary, co-founder Sarah Mollison says: “What we love most about CYCLEme TOTS is we have the best of both worlds – running a successful and rewarding business and building a financially stable future for our family, all while ensuring we don’t miss the children growing up with their key milestones along the way.” Ineed, we are passionate about giving children a positive introduction to cycling and are keen to share this opportunity across the UK, helping other families build a profitable business to suit their personal circumstances.

march 2019 | elitefranchise

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01/03/2019 18:08

The MJB Franchise Programme is a tried and tested programme, designed to enable you to run your own successful consultancy.

Grow a business with your coach, with you every step of the way Book your complimentary discovery session and start your growth journey today! www.mjbgraham.com/franchise • michael.graham@mjbgraham.com

Work for yourself , profit with us Camile is a group of healthy online Thai delivery restaurants, growing strongly in London, serving food made with the freshest ingredients. Every dish is cooked to order and delivered to our guests within 30 minutes. We’re looking for some London based entrepreneurs with a keen interest in this market and are looking to start their own business.

- best restaurant turnover €35k+ in Ireland, £20k in UK - minimum personal investment £100k (total £200k+) - hands on operators who are keen to grow - relevant management experience

email us today at franchise@camile.co.uk camile.co.uk/franchising Joe Canning - Camile Franchisee

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Can you double your revenue in six months?

It’s time for MJB Graham Consultancy to expand and help even more franchisees and businesses thrive. Discover the excitement and pride that driving such phenomenal results can bring The four pillars At MJB Graham Consultancy, our specialist team helps companies across all industry sectors to overcome their sales challenges with an approach that drives performance.

The fact is that generating sales is the key to driving every business forward. We believe that if a business owner is open to learning the art of selling, they can achieve anything. We have broken this down into four easy to understand pillars.

Strategy How to get your product and service in front of the right clientele - an effective system to generate leads.

Process How to stay in control and save time when taking your prospect on the journey to becoming a client.

Pitch How to articulate your offering in the best possible way. People buy from you instead of you selling to them.

Mindset This is fundamental to succeed in any business. Without the right mindset, the rest is unlikely to work.

Supported every step of the way Let us help you to set up and run your own thriving consultancy business with our tried and tested systemised programme, designed to enable you to get you up and running with your own successful firm, whether you want to work part-time or full-time.

You will be fully trained on the four pillars, all of the programmes and be supported by your very own business coach. This will start off with your business plan, then you’ll be mentored every step of the way to drive quick, scalable and sustainable results for your clients, as well as yourself.

We have heaps of online collateral including case studies, proving that our method really does help businesses at least double their revenue within months.

The MJB head office fully supports you with sending out, as well as chasing contracts and invoices, freeing up your time to find more clients and drive their success.

We run quarterly events for the franchisees and their clients, which really help you and your clients strengthen relationships, as well as being a fantastic way to expand your network with like-minded individuals.

Hungry for more?

Book a discovery session today, where you’ll have the opportunity to talk to not only head office but be introduced to your assigned business coach, as well as the team of existing franchisees.

We look forward to talking you through the opportunity and answering any questions you may have to provide you with all the information you need to make a confident and informed decision.

To find out more visit: www.mjbgraham.com/franchise

March 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Anytime Fitness announces landmark mental and physical health partnership Britain’s second biggest gym provider has pledged to raise awareness of mental health and improve wellbeing through exercise and mindfulness

F

ollowing its recent brand refresh in the UK, Anytime Fitness has announced the latest commitment to its supportive ethos through a partnership with Mind, the mental health charity.

Further cementing the brand’s positive switch in focus from convenience to coaching, Anytime Fitness has embraced the synergy of physical and mental health with several fundraising and education activations planned for the year ahead.

As part of the partnership Anytime Fitness signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge, vowing to “raise awareness of mental health and improve wellbeing through exercise and mindfulness”. With over 160 clubs in the UK, Anytime Fitness’ support will also play a key role in raising awareness and fundraising for Mind’s Get Set to Go mental health support programme, which encourages people with mental health problems to increase their physical activity.

Anytime Fitness’ extensive club network will host local mental health awareness events throughout the year. The first will be National Workouts and Wellbeing Week between March 25 and 31, where the brand will have the opportunity to collaborate with Mind’s local network of over 130 locations across the UK. “We’re proud to announce Mind as our new charity partner,” said Stuart Broster, CEO of Anytime Fitness UK. “Mental health is a powerful topic that will undoubtedly resonate with so many of our members and we’re looking forward to raising valuable awareness to support the great work that Mind are doing.

“With over 160,000 members, we’ve seen firsthand the benefits physical activity can have on

mental health and it’s a really exciting partnership for the brand.

Mind and ourselves both believe that physical health can play an important role in improving people’s mental wellbeing and the CEO, Stuart Broster and Head of Product, Marvin Burton signing the Mind, mental health pledge.

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partnership will provide additional support to our members who may be experiencing – or have friends and family that are experiencing – mental health problems.”

Vowing to Make Healthy Happen for members and franchisees alike In addition to the new brand positioning and charity partnership, Anytime Fitness is continuing its commitment to support franchisees. The brand has grown its network of more than 30 specialists at the support office with several additions to the commercial and property departments and has enhanced the training on offer. For instance, upon joining the Anytime Fitness family franchisees are appointed their very own franchise performance coach (FPC), who will guide them through every stage of owning a club. From general managers to regional managers, these FPCs have years of experience in the field across both public and private organisations within the fitness industry. Adhering to best practices as part of the Anytime Fitness Coaching Commitment, they follow a charter setting out the support a franchisee can expect during their journey, as well as clarification on what is expected from the franchisee to maximise the growth of their business.

Anytime Fitness’ network also benefits from an assessment initiative called Evolve, which ensures all clubs are performing to the highest standards. This initiative works across several metrics including a Net Promoter Score assessment based on member feedback and brand standards assessments undertaken by the FPCs. Using a balanced scorecard approach, additional assessments focus on key areas of the business from health, safety and cleanliness to operations, service levels and marketing. This provides a complete view of the business where clubs are benchmarked against industry standards and any challenges are clearly defined. Now firmly in place in its second year running, the initiative has helped many franchisees focus on their key opportunity areas with the support of their FPCs.

and number one fitness franchise for eight consecutive years by Entrepreneur magazine, Anytime Fitness is an established brand which prides itself on providing a low staffing business model that allows a great work-life balance. Moreover, prospective franchisees can benefit from a very attractive fixed franchise fee and proven model with a UK success rate of 97%.

Anytime Fitness works hard to make the brand accessible for people of all ages and abilities with an appealing midmarket position and price. The convenience and affordability of the product for both franchisees and members is just one of the many features allowing the brand to thrive. The unveiling of its new supportive proposition messaging only further empowers franchisees to reach new heights in business.

A background in health and fitness is not required to become a franchisee. Anytime Fitness provides support and guidance for all levels of experience, living up to its promise to Make Healthy Happen. With comprehensive training and customised ongoing support from dedicated franchise consultants, it’s easy to see why 60% of franchisees have gone on to own another club.

To find out more, visit www.anytimefitness.co.uk/elite

How can you become part of the Anytime Fitness family?

Since launching in 2002 Anytime Fitness has outpaced the likes of McDonald’s and Subway, boasting a worldwide presence of over 4,500 clubs across 33 countries. Ranked the number one global franchise for three consecutive years March 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Want to run your own automotive business but don’t know where to start?

So you’re interested in starting your own business, working for yourself and being your own boss? This is where you start

T

he first thing I would start with is asking yourself why. This may seem like an obvious question but you should really have a good clear idea from the beginning of why you wish to run your own business. Why do you want to work for yourself and what do you really want to achieve?

Discovering your true desire or intentions early on will help you shape your mindset, stick to your plan with clear outlined goals and, more importantly, set you up in a business that works for you.

Here’s a top tip to help you on your way: whilst working on the why, try and envision yourself in five years time and ten years time. What would your business look like then? Would you

want to expand and have a number of employees? Would you franchise?

Know your numbers and do the math It’s a difficult task to get the exact numbers right in the beginning but you can definitely work on rough figures to give you a guideline to aim for, this can be tweaked as you develop and grow but without a clear monthly target that clears your overheads such as salary and outgoing costs you can not begin to work on how to actually turn a profit.

Work out your startup costs such as initial training, business registration, website, sales and marketing, tools, outsourcing contractors such as accounts and bookkeeping. This will give you your rough startup cost. Now work on your monthly outgoings, salary, subcontractors, ongoing marketing, van or premises rentals, liability insurance, don’t forget to include your own salary in this equation and also allow for saving the relevant taxes you will pay.

outweighs the initial franchise fee and royalties that are paid monthly.

A franchise is a proven system with ongoing support which brings success.

Franchises bring brand awareness with their names from day one. Therefore, customers will know about your products which will increase your sales. By buying a franchise, you are actually buying a turnkey business that is ready and waiting for you to start, why not get a headstart in business.

For more information visit www.restorefranchise.com

Benefits of investing in a Restore Automotive franchise Stats show that over 50 % of business startups fail within the first four years whereas the increased probability of success with a franchise usually far 60 elitefranchise | March 2019

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01/03/2019 15:33

Chris Roberts head of strategic development Franchise Finance

Managers and leaders have two different skill sets You need two sets of skills and people to grow your franchise successfully

I

f you’re about to become a new franchisee or are relatively new at running your own franchise you must be aware of the two distinct types of people in an organisation – managers and leaders.

You may have been a manager in a past role or you may be basing your actions on a manager who you’ve worked for and possibly admired in the past but in order to become a good leader you’ll need to think differently going forward. For a business to be successful, it’s imperative to have both roles covered. But what is the difference between the two?

The basic distinction is that leaders generally look at the bigger picture and drive change in order to grow and flourish whereas managers usually look to maintain the status quo and work within their given rules or boundaries.

It’s of course important to have both of these qualities for a franchise to be successful. The trick is to get the balance right.

Good leaders must be aware of what’s around the corner and therefore tend to look further into the future and sometimes need to be more entrepreneurial. They’re more keen to try out new things and take risks.

Correspondingly, managers are appointed to ensure the business works within the given structures and defined processes which have often been put in place with thought having been given to reducing or eradicating risk.

Managers are generally given responsibility to direct a clearly laid out team of people to work in accordance

with set rules or standards. They give direction and monitor performance.

Leaders need to set and convey those guidelines and inspire managers and their wider teams to perform well, hit targets and genuinely feel that they want to make the business successful.

A further important distinction is that good leaders set their sights on ultimate goals and have a vision in mind that’s often beyond what the business is currently doing. This means they’ll often be more focused on the long-term. Smaller events will be of less importance to them.

Managers, on the other hand, are more concerned with short-term issues and goals that ensure things run smoothly on a day-to-day basis.

You should spend some energy developing both sets of skills.

There are some great books and videos on both subjects. Amazon and YouTube make it easy for us all to sharpen our skills.

In summary, it’s important to understand when it comes to looking at management and leadership, neither is better than the other and you need both in order to sustain, grow and run a business well. Depending on the size of your business you may have to wear both hats but hopefully as time goes on you can employ one or more managers and then take on the leadership role in a substantial way.

MARCH 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Camile’s London expansion continues with fourth restaurant From Buckingham Palace to Earl’s Court, this restaurant delivery chain’s latest endeavour brings some exciting sites in reach

C

amile Thai Kitchen, the healthy online delivery restaurant chain, has announced it will be opening their fourth London restaurant at a new site in Battersea Park road.

“The new branch will be able to deliver to Buckingham Palace, as well as Kensington, Belgravia, Earl’s Court and Chelsea,” said Daniel Greene, marketing manager of Camile. “This will be our fourth restaurant south of the river, adding to our existing sites in Bermondsey, Clapham and Tooting Bec – and business is good.”

With more than 20 restaurants in the UK and Ireland – and ten more in the pipeline – Camile’s fast-growing franchise has ambitious plans to develop further in London initially and then further afield. After all, the home delivery of hot food market is exploding in urban areas around the world, driven by the rise of food aggregators like Deliveroo and Just Eat. “We are now offering franchises across London and experiencing a lot of interest in our online delivery restaurant brand,” Greene says. “With some of our London branches exceeding £20,000

per week in sales, this is a significant and serious opportunity for the right type of operator.”

It’s no wonder, given Camile offers healthy and sustainable food appealing to young urban professionals. This includes compostable packaging and dairy-free and vegan options, to name a few, which helps existing restaurants turnover up to €35,000

per week in Ireland – a country where Camile stands as a brand leader – and £20,000 and over in London.

What’s more, most franchisees are opening or have opened further outlets, which is easy considering Camile offers the latest bespoke technology to manage the logistics of delivery, suits owner operators capable of building their own team and boasts 21st century restaurant and packaging design.

For further information, contact franchise@camile.co.uk or visit camile.ie/franchise

March 2019 | elitefranchise

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Are you dreaming of owning your own photographic business? take that exciting step now!

0800 622 6008 For more information about joining Photography for Little People Franchise: Jan Massey 01207 299500 OR 07826841224 jan@photographyforlittlepeople.com

Benefit from becoming a Suit the City franchisee Join a leading business in a growing market, beating the current trends in retail Build your business with the aid of a team of Consultant Tailors all trained by Suit the City Low overheads - no stock, no waste and you can work from home or a small studio Supply professional clients with high quality, luxury products: you will have a high rate of repeat business and referrals Full training and support is given during the first three months and then on an on-going basis For more information please call us or visit our website

www.suitthecity.com

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21/12/2018 10:47 10:31 28/02/2019

ADVERTISING FEATURE

What exactly is the ideal franchisee?

It seems an incredibly subjective question yet franchisor after franchisor will ask it. But with this franchise, there’s certainly more than one answer

F

ried food has become a major part of our diets worldwide. This isn’t only due to the range of choices available and growing number of quick-service restaurants but also the expansion of hotel chains accommodating for increasing tourism and business travellers.

After all, due to ever-rising oil costs throughout the world kitchens are looking for ways to both reduce their overheads and improve food quality to drum up repeat business.

FiltaFry, for instance, is fast becoming a household name in commercial kitchens around the world and anyone not using the service should really ask themselves why. That’s because most customers save on average 50% of their original oil use and make financial savings in excess of 30%. The beauty of the service is it repeats week-on-week, meaning franchisees often visit the same customer two or three times a week, every week. In fact, the service’s increasing popularity means the franchisor’s constantly on look-out for new franchisees to service their local area – and the recruitment process uncovers some interesting findings.

One question we’re often asked is “what’s the ideal FiltaFry franchisee?” However, while different staff

members across the business may be able to highlight some characteristics and key experiences of their ideal candidate, the reality is it’s not as straightforward as that. FiltaFry’s been franchising for over 20 years and has met a variety of characters, some of which have gone on to become very successful franchisees and others who sadly had to be turned away.

There are, however, some crucial behaviours the “ideal franchisee” must possess to be successful in franchising overall. This includes having the right attitude, determination and ambition to succeed, being fit and healthy and being punctual with good communication skills. Of course, previous experience of the catering industry is beneficial with FiltaFry but not compulsory, as it provides all the training and support to help you succeed.

Fit the bill? FiltaFry wants to hear from you.

01788 550100 www.filtafryplus.co.uk March 2019 | elitefranchise

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Social media must be tamed to work for franchises They seem accessible enough but the many social platforms around must be approached carefully to stop them backfiring

W

ith social media now influencing every decision in modern life, from what to eat to where we visit to what we do on a night out, it’s more important than ever to harness it for your business – whether franchisee or franchisor. Embracing the digital world lets you develop strategies to maintain a pipeline of engaged prospective franchisees, as well as ensure existing ones see a growing community of happy customers. However, be warned – social media is an ever-evolving beast.

New channels pop up and disappear on a weekly basis, making keeping tabs on what’s out there and more importantly what’s relevant to your business a tricky task.

Therefore when starting out, as with many things, it’s worth at least getting the basics right.

The major social network channels are popular for a reason and should give your business a good starting point – but never sign up to something for the sake of it.

For instance, if you know your business doesn’t have great imagery maybe Instagram isn’t for you, so do your research and understand what platform works best.

Equally as important is finding precisely which sites gain the most traction and where from. Overall, UK social media usage hit an all-time high in 2018, with a hefty 83% of the adult population now using various forms of it. Facebook, for example, is dominating the UK social media sphere, with Facebook and its subsidaries Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram ranking as the first, third, fourth and sixth most used networks respectively.

The latest estimates from eMarketer suggest Twitter, on the otherhand, now only has 12.6 million UK-based users, indicating a significant drop. But it’s not all bad news for the social media giant, as its userbase is predicted to grow slightly over the next few years, with a long-term forecast of 13.2 million users by 2021.

With all this in mind we’ve developed two separate social media strategies to reach our target groups at Cafe2U.

For our franchisee’s customers we favour user-generated content, giveaways and more engaging posts to build a strong sense of community, predominantly on Facebook.

We’re therefore lucky our high-quality coffee product and exceptionally trained baristas lend themselves to producing some great photos. After all, as we all know people love sharing what they’re about to eat or drink.

However, that alone won’t sell franchises. Our franchise recruitment activity therefore carries more practical messaging, focussing on the many benefits Cafe2U can bring prospective “coffeepreuners” and delivering a mix of approaches to a variety of people, whether they’re looking for a business or a change in their lifestyle. Moreover, through our Facebook advertising we’re also able to ensure anybody registering interest is automatically put into our leads management system, helping us find the next franchisees in a quick and efficient manner.

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In fact, social media’s such an integral part to business that during each of our franchisee’s initial training week – before they even get into their van and launch their business – they undergo intensive training about marketing. This includes covering marketing activity they’ll eventually undertake themselves with the support of head office, as well as canvassing of prospects, direct marketing through demos of the service and product, our point of sale library, public relations, social media, email database building and e-newsletter development. Once complete, franchisees gain a strong understanding of what we do as a business to support them and what they can do for themselves – and for good reason.

As well as Cafe2U’s overall Facebook page, which has grown to 5,000 likes, each of our individual franchisees has a page created for them that covers their local area. Specifically, they’re added to their pages as editors, which lets them post their own content while Cafe2U’s general content gets posted to pages that aren’t updating regularly. What’s more, each page is also promoted to the local area a franchisee’s based, garnering eyeballs from the region right off the bat.

The social media drive doesn’t end there, as Cafe2U’s centrallyrun campaigns also get promoted to the whole franchise network, encouraging franchisees to join and run them on a local level. For instance, in the last twelve months Cafe2U’s run competitions where customers with loyalty cards get entered into a draw to win £1,500 worth of vouchers, promoting customer loyalty and engagement across the entire network.

We even encourage franchisees to get involved with national events with their clients, seeing us join a variety of events like National Christmas Jumper Day where our franchisees sport their best festive wear and post pictures with all their customers.

However, we also understand marketing is sometimes done by one or a couple of people in a different part of your business.

As such, to best support all our franchisees we commit to an ongoing learning process, educating about the latest marketing tools and techniques available to help them stay ahead of the curve. Moreover, we also invest in a software package of learning modules so franchisees can be taught more about marketing as they develop their business.

Available across the country, now is the time to start your own successful business with Cafe2U. Not only will you benefit from all this social media expertise but with our proven track record in successful business launches, you’ll soon be on your way to profitable ownership.

Visit www.cafe2u.co.uk/franchise-opportunities or call 01132 320118 for more information on our franchise opportunities

march 2019 | elitefranchise

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WE ARE DIFFERENT - No franchise fee or any other fees at all - Supporting Local Childrens Charities - We boast that ourproducts are better than others in this field - Our packaging has been designed to attract and sell

Snak Appeal has full time franchise opportunities available in several areas of the UK and Europe. This would suit either a single person or a couple wishing to build their own successful business with minimum initial outlay and NO FRANCHISE FEE. The area allocated is large enough to create two separate good sized rounds. You will be working in an exclusive area LOCAL TO YOU and supporting LOCAL children with an achievable gross income of at least £30k in the UK, more for Europe due to the Euro. There are very few expenses incurred with this franchise.

Benefits include: • No Franchise fee. You pay for stock and display boxes only.

• We invite you to visit the charity before you start so you can see the great work they do and to verify for yourself the donations we give them.

• UK investment needed is less than £3,000 inclusive of VAT (for stock and display boxes).

• No minimum contract, quit any time you want.

• Your sales will be boosted by the appeal of supporting LOCAL children.

0800 1699 077 Email: info@snakappeal.com Website: www.snakappeal.co.uk/Franchise

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Caring about

home care Not just anyone has that special something to launch a home care franchise. If you do, don’t waste your talents

H

eritage Healthcare is an award-winning, familyrun organisation with one overriding intention – to consistently provide first-class service to our clients across the UK. Caring is what we do. Heritage Healthcare’s CEO Glenn Pickersgill and directors Sally Pickersgill, Michelle Fenwick QFP and Amanda Jackson have over 85 years of experience within the care industry. They openly share their vast experience and expertise with the Heritage Healthcare franchise network, which is an invaluable resource for an individual new to the care sector.

The business model has already proven to be a success. Our blueprint is in place, ready and waiting for you to join our network and launch your home care business. Joining as a franchisee means you are steps ahead of someone who is launching a business from scratch. You have the benefit of the in-house marketing team and finance department at head office, who are there to provide guidance on your route to success.

Our franchise network has been in your shoes before and can reassure you with their own advice, sharing their best practice.

As part of the Heritage Healthcare franchise package we offer comprehensive training and development to start you off on the right track. A ten day induction course ensures you have a thorough

understanding of all aspects of the business, including recruitment and employment law, financial training, Care Certificate training and marketing.

Training is hosted at the Heritage Healthcare head office in Darlington, where franchisees have the chance to meet our support teams and take a look at what happens behind the scenes.

We map out your territory and tailor it to you so it has as much potential as possible. Each territory has a boundary so you know exactly where you can provide home care

services without the risk of competition from a fellow franchisee in the Heritage Healthcare network.

To discover more, visit us at www.heritagehealthcarefranchising. co.uk or call 01325 370 707

March 2019 | elitefranchise

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lITTLE MUSIC STARS

Reaching

for the stars

From pitching her own show on Netflix to rubbing shoulders with Sandra Bullock, Katie Verner’s franchise Little Music Stars is belting out success By aNNE STRUIJCKEN

March 2019 | elitefranchise

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Little music stars

We’re hitting our fourth year and things are really busy all the time, there doesn’t ever seem to be a dip

L

eaving your whole life behind to start over in another country is something few people dare to do. However, Katie Verner, co-founder of Little Music Stars, the pre-school music and movement franchise, was brave enough to do it. A few years ago, she moved to Los Angeles with her son hoping to find success. Before undertaking her new role as franchisor, Verner was singing her heart out on stages in front of big audiences pursuing a career in musical theatre but after her child was born she decided it was time for a new adventure. “I was living in a lovely village near London called Thames Ditton, which was nice but it just wasn’t enough for me and I wanted to go and explore and see what it was like living in another country,” Verner explains.

In the US, it all started when a musical education franchise caught Verner’s eyes, giving her the perfect opportunity to earn a living and raise her kid at the same time. “I’m a single parent and I wanted something that fitted around his school schedule so I knew that I could go pick him up,” remembers Verner. Combining her passion for musical theatre and her love for kids, Verner decided to go for it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly what she thought it was going to be. “I started teaching [with] the franchise and it just wasn’t working,” Verner recalls. She ended up deciding to part ways with the franchisor.

Determined to not let the experience hold her back, she decided to launch a pre-school music business of her own

together with her old school friend Jeanne Friedman. “I wanted to start again and build my own franchise and I thought I could do a better job and make it more modern,” Verner explains.

With both of them having singing and acting backgrounds they had everything in place to create the musical content. Together, they began to write music. And it didn’t hurt that Friedman’s husband was a record producer and that their Grammy-winning friend Rich Jacques helped pump out a few tunes. With the music in place and a drive to make this plan a reality, Verner started working on the business plan. “I sort of put what I have learned from [musical theatre] into what I thought a child would benefit from,” Verner adds.

To fund the business, Verner decided to sell her house in London. Having already sold an apartment she owned in the Big Smoke before moving to LA she was now ready to fully commit to her dream. “I knew that I wasn’t going to go back to that area in London so I sold my house and I made quite a big profit on it,” says Verner. “I decided to take a third of that chunk of money and put it into Little Music Stars.” Most of which was spent on getting the copyrights for the nursery rhymes they use in addition to their original songs.

And so Little Music Stars was born, offering a range of preschool music and movement classes for kids aged between three months and three years. “We had people like Sandra Bullock come to one of our classes,” she remembers. “Penny Lancaster and Sarah Michelle Gellar [were also] there. [So] quite a few famous kids came along.” However, Verner’s visa was running

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out. So after three years of living the American dream it was time to move back to England. With her moving back, Friedman eventually decided to close the operations in the US. Encouraged to make Little Music Stars a success back in Blighty, Verner started to teach classes in Kent where she moved after coming back from America. While it took some time for people to get familiar with the brand, Verner has managed to build a great reputation for Little Music Stars. “We’re hitting our fourth year and things are really busy all the time, there doesn’t ever seem to be a dip,” says Verner. “[It] takes quite a while for a business to launch and now I just feel like we’re really up and running.” With more demand than she could handle it was time to expand her business.

Looking at ways to scale the company without losing its character, she started to consider franchising. “I felt that it was right for franchising because it was doing really well, it’s a proven business and I have managed to start it up from scratch,” Verner explains. “I just thought if I can do it and if someone replicated exactly what I have done then I don’t see how it could fail.”

However, putting the franchise model together took longer than expected. In order to get everything together she locked herself up in her office and started typing away on her computer. “I just sat in front of the computer for many, many, many hours and slowly built up the curriculum,” recalls Verner. The entrepreneur made sure to list everything in her model, from all the instruments needed in the classes to how many students the franchisee should be inquiring. With the agreement and the model typed up Verner felt ready to embark on her new adventure.

Eager to put her model into action, she went looking for her first franchisee. But she quickly discovered that far from everyone had the right calibre. “I’ve had one lady who actually wanted to buy it and at the last minute I just thought this is not going to work,” Verner remembers. “She was quite a tricky lady.

She talked to me like this is a big corporation and it isn’t. It’s a

very small franchise, low-key. I wanted her to be more passionate about the material and the music and she was just talking from a business point of view. I understand that as well but it’s none of that artistic integrity coming through at all and I just felt she wasn’t the right fit so I said ‘Look, I don’t think this is going to work.’”

This lack of passion for the material and the music was understandably a no-go for Verner. To ensure aspiring franchisees do make the cut, she’s now devised a few tests to ensure they fit the bill. “Each franchisee has to sing for me for a start, I have to hear their singing voice,” Verner reveals. For the rest she relies mostly on her gut feeling. “You just get a feeling from somebody,” she adds.

This search bore fruit when Davina Owen responded to an ad on social media and it didn’t take long before the franchisor knew she would be the perfect first franchisee for the network. “She’s this very bubbly lady ,” Verner explains. “She’s got four children herself, a background in music and her husband is a composer. So she just fit the brief completely.” It didn’t take much convincing on Owen’s part and in May 2018, she bought into the franchise. “Within two or three weeks she put down the deposit so she was kind of like ‘Yes, I’m going to go for it,’” she adds.

To ensure franchisees represent her brand well, Verner provides hands-on training from the very start. “[I] initially ask for the deposit,” says Verner. “Then I send them some lesson plans and some songs and then I say why don’t you go off and do some classes on your own. You don’t have to charge [for maybe teaching] some friends’ kids [and] see how you find teaching the curriculum.” Practicing the classes in front of some family helps the franchisee get comfortable with singing the songs. “It’s nerve-wracking but how else are you going to do it?” she shrugs. Even after the franchisees go off on their own, Verner is still there to guide them through it with weekly phone calls or however often they may need her help.

Now Verner would like to add more franchisees to her network. “The idea is to slowly build it up over the next five years,” the franchisor explains. “I don’t really want to have like hundreds of franchisees but I would definitely like to sell maybe two next year and maybe three the following year.”

But expanding her network isn’t the only thing on her radar. “We’re actually now in the process of pitching our pre-school television show to the BBC,” she explains.

Using all their music and getting some producers on board, Verner and Friedman are starting a new chapter.

Having pitched to Netflix once but lost to Julie Andrews, the franchisor is now about to get back to the homestreaming service for a second round. “It’s not going to be called Little Music Stars because we’re not allowed to call it by the company name,” Verner reveals. “But it’s fairly similar so we’re quite excited about that.” We can only agree – exciting is definitely the right word to describe this franchisor’s future.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE ADVERTISING FEATURE

Stack the odds Stack the odds in your favour in your favour More to start start their their own own business business More Brits Brits than than ever ever are are gunning gunning to yet the five-year five-year mark. mark. yet so so many many close close before before reaching reaching the However, your chances chances However, franchising franchising increases increases your

A

ccording to ONS statistics, ccording to ONS statistics, 31.76 million people 31.76 million people worked in the UK across worked in the UK across 2016 with 3.2 million more 2016 with 3.2 million more expected to become their own expected to become their own boss in the next year. Interesting? boss in the next year. Interesting?

Yes. But remember – around Yes. But remember – around half of small companies don’t half of small companies don’t even last five years, according to even last five years, according to a study by Ormsby Street. But a study by Ormsby Street. But there’s one way to better the there’s one way to better the odds. odds.

Closure of businesses under Closure of businesses under a franchise model due to a franchise model due to commercial commercial failure failure remain remain very low at only very low at only 1%.

1%. And And one one of of the the most most lucrative lucrative sectors sectors worth worth singling singling out out for for potential potential franchisees franchisees is is the the business business services services sector, sector, particularly particularly recruitment. recruitment. And And that’s that’s where where Antal, Antal, the the recruitment recruitment organisation, organisation, would would be be aa brand brand of choice, with over 150 of choice, with over 150 offices offices across across 38 38 countries. countries.

After all, After all, 75.8% 75.8% of of Brits Brits are are in in employment employment –– one one of of the the highest highest rates rates since since records records began. began. Even Even better better for for employees, employees, their their average average earnings earnings have have increased increased ahead ahead of of inflation inflation and and are are running running at at 3.4%.

3.4%.

Unemployment Unemployment is is also also having having aa good good day. day. The The number number in in the the UK UK is is down down 14,000 14,000 which which is is 100,000 100,000

lower ago and and the the lower than than 12 12 months months ago lowest since 1975 at 4%. lowest since 1975 at 4%.

Moreover, number of of vacancies vacancies Moreover, the the number has also risen by another 14,000 has also risen by another 14,000 -100,000 12 months months ago. ago.

100,000 more more than than 12 Due to these simple facts alone Due to these simple facts alone there talent in in the the UK UK there is is a a war war for for talent and across the globe which needs and across the globe which needs the quality recruitment recruitment the support support of of a a quality brand – one that’s been delivering brand – one that’s been delivering client solutions for for client and and candidate candidate solutions the last 26 years.

So, if you are the last 26 years. So, if you are aa recruiter professional recruiter or or business business professional who understands the power of of who understands the power aa substantial benefits of of substantial brand, brand, benefits working within aa working collaboratively collaboratively within network as a a lone lone wolf, wolf, network and and not not as

then Antal Antal can can deliver deliver more more than than you you can can then imagine.

Antal believes that together we imagine. Antal believes that together we are stronger stronger –– and and our our franchisees franchisees are are aa are testament to this. testament to this.

To find find out out more more give give Gavin Gavin Chase, Chase, To Global Franchise Franchise Sales Sales Director Director aa call call Global on 07392 867158 (or office number on 07392 867158 (or office number 0207 467 2528) 0207 467 2528)

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Achieve Your Business Aspirations with the Brand, Network and Support of a Global Recruitment Organisation FRANCHISE WITH ANTAL FOR ONLY £29,750 + VAT • Gain access to a network of more than 150 offices across 38 countries.

• We teach you everything you need to know about recruitment and headhunting.

• Access to a 60,000 strong database of actual placements listed by sector, discipline and country.

• 26 years of established global brand identity.

• Share deals within our international network for a true global reach, generating additional annual revenues.

• Worldwide marketing including branded material, mailers, artwork, global PR coverage.

Find out now how franchising with Antal can work for you:

gchase@antal.com 0207 467 2528 www.antalfranchising.com

• We provide you with all the tools, processes, templates and mentoring support necessary to succeed in your first year of trading.

5 Continents – 1 Vision – Discovering Talent

Antal is a global leader in the provision of recruitment services to the world of business. template.indd 3

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

What can McDonald’s teach us about creating a successful franchise model?

Sport4Kids’ mission is to help franchisees build a growth-focused sports business with huge potential. The franchisor is all about helping a strong network of franchisees to build large businesses of their own

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hen we look at what makes a successful franchise model we look at those that have succeeded and to the all time greats in franchising.

No one is bigger or more successful than McDonalds. They’re the giants of our industry; they must be special to have had a feature film and several documentaries made about them over the years.

So, what can one of the greats teach us about business models and franchising?

It is not just franchising that leads to success it is the underlying business model that counts.

At the core and start of McDonald’s there was a kernel of an idea, an idea that was new to the market, it was innovative and transformed the industry.

It also addressed the consumers unmet needs, transformational in terms of standards and quality of offering not experienced before.

The McDonald brothers recognised a weakness in the market as restaurants delivered massive menus, long wait times, inconsistent quality and service experience.

In the modern 20th Century American lifestyle dominated

by car culture and speed there was a need and a gap for higher quality food, including faster service with a smile that consumers could rely on. The McDonalds brothers introduced the Speedee Service System in 1948, delivering a consistent experience and standardised service. It drove up quality at every location thus creating the modern fast-food restaurant concept.

Ray Kroc, the man who helped franchise the chain and eventually that bought the brothers out, made changes to the business to modernise it. Franchising at speed delivered scale around the US and worldwide.

But these insights don’t just apply to restaurants. In today’s children’s sports industry there are similar opportune conditions. Sports governing bodies are focused on the adult game and children’s coaches are largely volunteers without consistency and levels of quality, that parents and schools seek today. At Sport4Kids we use a secret formula for constructing child centric, parent focused sports programmes that combine child psychology, world class technical skills and fun based entertainment, that cannot be found elsewhere. A big tick in the box for meeting an unmet need with an innovative new Player Pathway System to achieve it.

Economies of scale are delivered in the Sport4Kids world first by franchising but also with multi service and product lines to provide increased access to new revenue streams and maximise the share of wallet. More points of delivery, using other people’s facilities such as schools, nurseries and universities secures speed to market and faster returns.

The resource that delivers your brand promise

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is critical to a successful franchise model. Recruiting young workers is a hallmark of the McDonald’s business model. Millions got their first job with McDonald’s. While this helps to keep wage bills down, McDonald’s also provides industry-leading, on-the-job training for young workers.

At Sport4Kids we give young people a first chance with an opportunity to be trained and lead their way into a successful career. We look for raw talent and a profile we call Sports Entertainers. This keeps costs low and builds quality through training and product control, even to the level of scripts for each class. Our coaches are said to be Phrase Perfect, we even write the coaches jokes for them.

“Quality, service, cleanliness and value” was Kroc’s motto. His belief in this motto was so strong he went on to found Hamburger University in 1961 based on those principles. This systematically taught franchisees how to run a McDonald’s restaurant.

The Sport4Kids University takes it further with Sport4Kids Two-Year Support Framework. Here franchisees get to graduate when they get to perform to the top Sport4Kids standards using the Peak Performance Framework of KASH, which stands for knowledge, attitude, skills and habits.

Can our business model be better than McDonald’s?

Tall order you may think. Well, you can look at the

limitations of the retail fast food format. We can also look at the dynamics of our own market and see where there are weaknesses and opportunities.

The retail fast food model is limited by the footprint achieved by each unit. It is a truism, but they’re fixed. With a multi-sport, multi venue and multiple routes to market we can take advantage of a more wider distribution strategy.

Targeting parents, schools and nurseries separately can achieve greater market penetration. We address all routes to market with focused propositions.

Cashflows and working capital are both areas of opportunity. The McDonald’s model has a high initial payment and investment in a typical unit. That unit has a certain footprint it is limited to and a certain level of ROI fitting a longer-term investment and returns profile. Here is the opportunity.

In a children’s sports business the initial capital investment is lower with smaller increments. The faster cycle of working capital to returns with higher gross margins is a distinct advantage.

The service industry, and in particular the children’s sports education sector, has so many more dynamics to play with in terms of the business model. It is why many franchise formats in this space fail or fail to scale. There is much more to go wrong than a fast food format and that is why if you get it right, there is even greater opportunity. There are several other elements of the S4K business model, that we have designed, to give our franchisees a competitive advantage and we would be happy to share those at length with anyone who is passionate, and wants to build a large scalable children’s sports business. Are you ready to take the next step?

Call me, Bev Regan QFP. Head of Franchising, now 07384 543107

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Charity-based franchises offer something not many can There’s a spectrum of franchises out there each with a unique offering. But as well as greater franchisor-franchisee trust, you can’t easily replicate what you get from running a charitable franchise

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t goes without saying everyone strives to be altruistic in their daily lives. But for those who take it a step further and make a career out of it, there’s a whole new world in store for them. Snak Appeal, the child care franchise, for instance, packs boxes with sweets and snacks for workplaces and leisure establishments, of which a proportion of sales go to children’s charities across Britain and Ireland. It’s resulted in over £2.5m being donated and makes Snak Appeal the biggest cause-related marketing business of this type of enterprise in the UK – and the effect it has on its franchisees is just as staggering.

Jay, owner of Snak Appeal Hertfordshire, for example, feels a great deal of trust in his franchisor thanks to its charitable roots. “I know that the business is true to its word and gives 100% to its franchises and the charities,” he said. It’s needless to say such an altruistic atmosphere has rubbed off on Jay’s day-to-day as a business owner too. “I am confident in the product I am selling and find great comfort in the charity that I support,” he continued. And that’s not the only benefit.

Take Rob and Karen, who have been flying the Snak Appeal banner from their Wales franchise since 2011 – and for good reason. “To be able to support a very deserving charity and have a more than comfortable income at the same time has been very rewarding for us,” they said. It’s said if you do something you love you never truly go to work and with the greater charitable impact they’re having, that’s more true than ever for Rob and Karen. “And to get up in the morning and not dread having to go to work has been a big bonus,” they laughed.

Turning your career into one that not only helps yourself but others too is truly something special. And fortunately, Snak Appeal is on the hunt for more franchises to join them.

Visit www.snakappeal.co.uk, call 0800 1699 077 or email info@ snakappeal.com to find out more

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Are you dreaming of owning your own photographic business? take that exciting step now!

0800 622 6008 For more information about joining Photography for Little People Franchise: Jan Massey 01207 299500 OR 07826841224 jan@photographyforlittlepeople.com

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Streamlined marketing

Sweat

the small stuff

By Paul Stafford, head of communications, Chantry

Just like in F1, franchisors have huge wins to make by focusing on the smallest of details

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ne of the more memorable presentations I’ve enjoyed at a franchising event was delivered by Marc Priestley, former pit crew mechanic for the McLaren F1 team. In a sport where hundredths and even thousandths of a second can be the difference between the race winner and the rest, Priestley eloquently described how every facet of a pit stop – which lasts less than four seconds and involves around a dozen people – was pored over in granular detail to shave off every fraction possible of the time the car had to spend stationary.

The relevance to business operations could hardly be more distinct. And in a time when uncertainty is the dominant force on the UK economy and the bigticket purchase considerations of its people, the small things can make a big difference in the race to attract new franchisees. Here are just three areas where incremental improvements can quickly add up.

within your marketing, there’s diversity in your target audience – the devil’s in the detail and armed with digital data you can see that for yourself.

By split-testing two or more different landing pages with minor differences, with both delivered alternately to the people clicking, it’s easy to compare which designs, images and copy deliver better results. From our experience at Chantry of managing PPC campaigns across several different franchisors, the impact of adjusting even seemingly innocuous details can be surprising.

The position of the call to action and even the colour used for the button have made notable impacts. So too the gender of franchisees used in images and even what they’re wearing – one campaign showed a stark contrast between the same franchisee dressed in business attire versus more casual clothing. And when it comes to the copy, testing one streamlined version against a lengthier and more detailed page can also highlight differences in enquiry quantity and quality that you may not otherwise consider.

Comparing your results and adjusting accordingly will deliver stronger performance when it comes to leads and a more cost-effective use of your budget.

Landing pages Perhaps the easiest place to measure the difference a subtle change can make is in digital marketing in general and on pay-per-click landing pages in particular.

Ultimately, people are more likely to follow through and enquire when they see something on the page that relates directly Nurturing content to themselves and their aspirations. Even From initial contact through to signing with a detailed franchisee persona to work on the dotted line, the little things on

the prospective franchisee journey can have a significant influence on results and, because there’s so much data captured in most modern CRMs, there’s a treasure trove of information to show where you’re potentially able to increase conversion rates of people moving through your process.

Regularly revisiting and, where necessary, refreshing email content – whether automated, first response or newsletters – gives an easy before and after comparison as to whether it’s more engaging. Does a different call to action on a newsletter have an impact? Does lengthening or shortening your first personal email or even simply changing the subject line, bring through more people? Leading email software has long since allowed for such testing to highlight the differences, for example by allowing two subject lines to be used on the first portion of your recipients and automatically using the most effective option for everyone else.

The same is true of discovery meetings content: adjust, measure and compare.

Taken over the longer term to allow for sufficient sample size, you’ll be able to see if more people are progressing further than they were before as a result of the updates you’ve made.

Recruitment operations Before the humble CRM became central to most businesses, lead handling

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And in a time when uncertainty is the dominant force on the UK economy and the big-ticket purchase considerations of its people, the small things can make a big difference in the race to attract new franchisees

usually centred on Excel databases or similar – and before that people obviously used files and papers. The advancement of business technology is generally aimed at making us more efficient and effective in our jobs – and of course it comes at a price.

But improving tech doesn’t have to mean huge investments in new systems when you’re looking through the magnifying glass.

Messenger programmes like WhatsApp or Slack are becoming widely used within teams. And they come with two big wins: fewer emails in everyone’s inbox and less time spent on the formalities of communication. It might only take a minute more to put something in an email but how quickly do those minutes add up for your recruitment team and how much better can they use that time to engage leads?

The same is true of reporting. This can be a consuming task, so a small change to automate something that saves even just minutes can add up to a lot over the course of a year. Could your CRM work harder in this area so that your people can focus on other things? Records are important but is there a better way to compile and present them than a huge Word or PowerPoint document? Remember this isn’t about wholesale change, it’s about finding what the business gurus like to term as a 1% better way of doing things.

That might seem like a small number but a few of them quickly add up to something more substantial. Sweat the small stuff and your team can be more efficient and effective, producing better results for your franchise.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Above everything, enjoy your franchise Some franchises promise the world and it can be tough not to join them.

However, if you don’t enjoy the work your success will ultimately suffer

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s franchisor and founder of Sanondaf UK I’m often asked for advice on a whole range of issues from prospective franchisees.

And the best guidance I always offer is to simply do something you will enjoy – and for good reason.

With nearly 1,000 franchise brands to choose from and around 8% of working professionals wanting to be their own boss, choosing the right franchise can be complex and challenging yet rewarding. For instance, do you pick the franchisor with the best adverts or the most adverts? Does your choice involve taking on premises and leasing equipment or a commercial vehicle – and how long is your liability? Will your decision involve recruiting staff and determining how many you need?

All of these are essential

considerations but fundamentally, you also need to ask yourself “is this something I’ll enjoy doing on a day-today business for the next five to ten years?” There’s a way to be certain.

The flexible Sanondaf UK business model, for instance, lets you choose the type of business that suits you. The majority of our franchisees operate from home but some have premises, others use cars and others still have a van. Here, flexibility of choice is designed from day one.

Moreover, Sanondaf can be ran by a single operator or you can engage technicians to work for you and operate as a management franchise.

In a typical working day we could be doing anything from providing treatments in a school for a sickness bug outbreak, visiting a nursing home

as part of a hygiene plan or a local hospital helping decontaminate clinical waste to ensure patient safety.

Of course, dealing with infections and contamination won’t be everybody’s cup of tea. So whatever franchise you’re considering, make sure you understand what you will be doing on a daily basis and truthfully answer this question in your own mind: “Is this something I would enjoy doing?”

If you would like more information, please visit www.sanondaf.co.uk or call 01236 702028

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Feminism

Feminism in franchising

By VARSHA SARAOGI

While it’s important for businesses to be more inclusive, this year has seen a new wave of feminists. But has the battle for equality gone too far?

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hen Charlie Day launched Sounds Right, the phonics class for kids franchise, she had no idea how challenging the path to success as a female founder was going to be. For starters, she had to deal with the constant questioning of how she could balance work and home – a question most working women are familiar with.

“It used to bother me when people asked why I was working when I had the option not to or ‘Why are you not focusing on being a mum?’ they would ask,” she recalls. “But nobody asked my husband if he felt bad, even though he leaves at 6am before our child wakes and comes back well after he’s asleep.

When I’m away with work and have to stay in a hotel, people ask me if I’m feeling mum guilt. Nobody asks my husband when he’s away for full weeks with work if he feels dad guilt.”

Indeed, gender inequality in business is a discussion that has gained momentum since 2017 after movements such as #TimesUp and #MeToo heralded a reckoning against sexism.

Around the world, women voiced their struggle to break the glass ceiling, to fight off unwanted sexual advances and sleazy behaviours. No one was immune. Even tech titans like Google had employees around the globe protest against sexual harassment by organising massive office walkouts.

Although companies are increasingly trying to encourage women, it seems like female franchise aficionados aren’t all impressed. “I have the same thoughts about feminism in general,” says Mandie Davis, founder and CEO of Les Puces, the French teaching franchise. “Whilst I totally get that we need to have more equality and need more women in business generally, I look forward to the day when we don’t have to think about it and can just get on with our work, whatever sex we are.”

Consequentially, 2019 has seen yet another wave of feminism and more women are striving to make their place in business. “I think as a female entrepreneur it’s difficult not to be a feminist, it’s a male-dominated world and you have to shout loud to get yourself heard,” Day opines. “Feminism is about women having equal chances and equal rights within business and franchising.” Associations such as Empowering Women in Franchising and the bfa have actively encouraged

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women in franchising. The numbers are testament that they’re taking over every sector. According to the bfa NatWest franchise survey, 37% of all new franchisees in the past two years have been female and women represent 65% of the 710,000 people employed in franchising.

Where there are women who are proud feminists, there are also those who think using labels are unnecessary and patronising. “I don’t see why I shouldn’t win over every other man out there so I don’t believe the banner of feminism is needed for all of us to be able to step up and achieve in our own right,” says Mandy Swift, south west franchise director of BBX UK, the cashless trade exchange franchise. “I believe the word feminism is used wrongly sometimes where the media and people think ‘poor women, we need to recognise them and help them’ whereas feminism should be about realising women are already strong in their own right and celebrating that.”

Indeed, according to a survey by YouGov, 57% of 2010 adults said they don’t consider themselves feminists.

“Feminism has created unnecessary boundaries and barriers,” Swift argues. “Where there wasn’t an issue before people now feel like they have to tiptoe around it. We used to be able to say things and laugh but now we’re scared to say things in case they offend people, which in the end breaks down relationships rather than strengthening them.”

Even though using labels might be irrelevant for many, some have taken it too far. For instance, when The Wellcome Collection, a museum and library in London, tweeted about empowering women by spelling it as womxn to condone

any patriarchal language, it claimed it did so to be inclusive of transwomen and non-binary people. This new term was criticised by many including female entrepreneurs and begs the question whether feminism has gone to another extreme. “It’s just a word – get over it,” says Davies. “Words change over time – we could all be gay a couple of decades ago but now the word has a totally different meaning. We don’t want to be using energy changing words to suit the times. I’m a woman but there’s no male domination going on here.”

Clearly, changing words isn’t the answer to solve the sexism issue. Despite the ubiquity of so many marches and protests happening globally, female founders agree that times are a-changing and women are far more powerful today than ten years ago. There needs to be a change in attitude going forward.

“Know that men and women are not the same and they never will be,” insists Lee Dancy, managing director of Barking Mad, the dog sitting service franchise.

“A far healthier attitude would be to acknowledge these differences and play to the strengths of one another.”

Apart from a more optimistic perspective, it’s essential to take inspiration from role models who are empowering rather than misogynistic.

“My advice for any women out there in franchising or thinking about going into franchising [is to] surround yourself [with] a tribe of successful and positive women,” Day says.

While this year is seeing the revival of the feminism wave, female entrepreneurs believe the time is ripe to see more women in franchising. “There isn’t enough diversity in franchising and this is something that I would like to see change over the next few years,” Day concludes. While decades of sexism have wreaked havoc for many female entrepreneurs, seemingly female franshisors and franchisees are a force to be reckoned with.

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Caring

by numbers

Despite being primed as a financial mastermind with a master’s in international finance, Ahsan Sajjad left it all to pursue his real passion of delivering home care to his community

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hsan Sajjad – known as Ash – always wanted to work in a caring capacity.

Good with numbers, he started his career as a financial controller for various corporations, having gained a master’s degree in international finance. Although Ash fast found success in his chosen field his heart wasn’t in it and, as a self-confessed workaholic, the time came for the young entrepreneur to move on to fresh pastures.

Franchising appealed to Ash for all manner of reasons but it was a franchise in the care industry, specifically, which saw him researching opportunities in detail.

“To put it simply, launching a care business just seemed like the right thing to do,” he recalls. “I had a background in business and finance supporting me, so if I could help others in my community whilst also running a successful business, well then that’s a win-win. I initially launched a franchise with another inhome care provider but Caremark just seemed a better fit. The family feel of the head office team appealed to me and everyone seemed very proactive, which is how I’ve always liked to tackle things.”

Ash’s story is fitting, given all Caremark franchisees operate in the heart of their communities as passionate ambassadors for local care. And as the largest privatelyowned care franchise in the UK and a

management opportunity, Caremark business owners are responsible for the strategic growth and development of their franchise, engaging and training teams of dedicated care workers who deliver personalised care to people in their own homes.

the main reason I joined Caremark was to serve my community by offering an impeccable standard of care and bringing work to people who need it. I love working in care – with passionate, caring people who make a significant change for the better in people’s everyday lives.”

Doubling success Ash took over operations at Caremark Dacorum & St Albans, based just a few miles from his home in Hemel Hempstead, in August 2017. With the ability to make a direct impact on his community with quality in-home care and employment opportunities, Ash thrived in his new role as managing director. In just 18 months he’s increased his team to include 30 fully-qualified care workers and a team of office staff. Before long, Caremark Dacorum & St Albans became regarded as one of the best quality in-home care providers in South West Hertfordshire.

Recognising a sense of ambition, the Caremark franchise development team began communicating further franchise opportunities with Ash. Keen to make a real impact on his wider community, Ash was eager to expand the business and launch a new office devoted to clients in nearby Hatfield. “My Dacorum & St Albans office expanded so rapidly that when the opportunity arose to expand my business portfolio by launching Caremark Welwyn & Hatfield, I jumped at the chance,” he says. “For me,

A division of strength Following registration from the Care Quality Commission, in March 2018 Caremark Welwyn & Hatfield rapidly went from strength to strength. Within a year, the

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team grew to 25 care workers providing 450 hours of care per week to 42 clients.

Alongside the operation of his brand new territory, Ash didn’t let his multi-unit status get the better of him. By recruiting a proactive and experienced office team and putting his management skills and business acumen to good use, he worked hard to ensure his flagship Dacorum & St Albans office continued to make its mark. “We received an excellent rating following

an inspection by the regional division of the Directors of Adult Social Services,” Ash explains. “That was a real high point for me as a business owner but also a pivotal moment for the business and the team – we were over the moon. We were also rated “good” after our very first inspection from the Care Quality Commision, which anyone in care will tell you is no mean feat.”

Triple the reach As testament to Ash’s unwavering commitment to his cause, his third expansion in under 18 months came at the end of 2018. When the former franchisee of Caremark North Hertfordshire & Stevenage – based just 23 miles from Caremark Dacorum & St Albans – made the decision to retire, Ash stepped in, expanding his business portfolio yet again but crucially maintaining the careers of 36 care workers. But despite all this success, Ash still finds time to relax. “As any successful entrepreneur would agree, downtime is often fleeting but I make time for myself at the weekend,” he says.

“You’ll often find me in the local gym, spending time with family or reading a history book or two – but managing and developing three successful and dynamic businesses has certainly kept me busy.”

His goal of launching a truly

community-minded organisation is now reality. And in more ways than one, given his three territories now cover much of Hertfordshire and allow hundreds of local residents to benefit from his impeccable standard of care. But he isn’t alone. Ash joined a team of over 100 franchisees operating in the UK and internationally. In fact, Caremark’s high-quality service is delivered to more than 6,400 clients every week by over 5,400 care workers. Collectively, its franchisees’ businesses deliver close to 100,000 hours of care every single week across the UK. Ash’s initial strengths may have started in finance but his heart was always focused on his community. If you also have a head for business but a passion for caring, Caremark offers the training and support to guide you into successful business ownership.

Visit www.caremarkfranchises.com or call 01903 266392 for more information

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10:59 AM

Multi-award winning franchise model Flexible financing assistance C

Choosing to start this business was one of the most important and worthwhile decisions that I have ever made. I knew I wanted to be in a business which was creative and would be a challenge. Above all I love the diversity of running a FASTSIGNS® centre and I have never regretted my choice.

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Innovative industry Full technical training Personalised operational support

Richard Wedgewood | FASTSIGNS Manchester

©2012 FASTSIGNS INTERNATIONAL, INC. Each location independently owned and operated.

For more information visit: www.fsfastsigns.co.uk

THE IMPORTANCE OF REPEAT BUSINESS Unique, weekly repeat business Huge customer base Guaranteed national accounts Low overheads and stock

JOIN OVER 350 FILTAFRY FRANCHISE OWNERS

Franchising since 1996

01788 550100 www.filtafry.co.uk | dslater@filtagroup.com

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

A good franchise can’t be a one-trick pony Success needs far more than just one ingredient. Just like Auntie Anne’s mouth-watering pretzels, there’s an entire recipe to jot down

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t’s hard to believe it but we’re already a quarter of the way through 2019. While that means the vast majority of franchises’ New Year’s resolutions have either been dropped or altered, it also means those that remain are from the strongest – and Auntie Anne’s is no exception.

That’s because the brand’s on track to expand from 38 to 50 stores across the UK and Ireland in 2019, which is a huge leap from its humble beginnings in 2003. In fact, today Auntie Anne’s enjoys presence in heavy hitter shopping centres like Manchester Arndale, Liverpool One, Brent Cross, Intu Watford and Oxford Westgate. It’s certainly not a feat just any franchise can achieve, so how did this one do it?

Like every good business, it all comes down to more than just one factor.

Firstly, everything at Auntie Anne’s is made from the ground up with a secret pretzel mix, giving the flexibility to come up with new products at the drop of the hat. Whether it’s good ol’ fashioned classic pretzels sporting salted and cinnamon flavours or wild designs like pretzel sandwiches, breakfast buns and even pizzas, it’s needless to say there’s something for every customer. But a vast range of top-notch products isn’t the only ingredient to Auntie Anne’s success.

The saying “the customer is always right” didn’t come from nothing and

Auntie Anne’s knows it. From product quality to friendly service, this franchise strives for only the best customer experience at every angle. After all, even the best offering in the world won’t fly without the right presentation.

Hands-on, fast paced, great exposure – the recipe comprising Auntie Anne’s success goes on and on and becoming a franchise lets you in on it. Working out of an eye-grabbing kiosk or store in bustling shopping centres or travel hubs guarantees footfall. And with the franchisor by your side, you can both have your pretzel and eat it.

If you would like more information, please visit www. auntieannesfranchising.co.uk or email franchising@auntieannes.co.uk

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Flexible franchising is a piece of cake Whether part-time or full-time, there’s nothing stopping you from achieving your dream with this franchise

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t Cup the Cake, we certainly understand that in today’s financial climate it’s important for both mums and dads to work. So what better opportunity is there than to work from home, have fun and still be able to spend time with your little angels?

With us you get just that. What’s more, we don’t breathe over your shoulder or ask for any of your profits. Your earning potential completely depends on you. A delectable opportunity to start your own business from the comfort of your own home with no traffic, no travelling expenses, no boss to answer to and best of all, no monthly royalties to pay out. What you earn is yours to keep because you earned it – it’s yours.

An idea inspired with your angelic children in mind Your business will be set up for you from scratch. Included with your startup pack is a comprehensive kit equipping you with all the basics needed to best service your customers. Comprehensive initial training is included with the option to further advance with our ongoing training.

At Cup the Cake the sky is the limit. Our unique selling point is we create cupcakes with unconditional love and enthusiasm for our customers, regardless of the occasion.

We thrive on our creative abilities. Cup the Cake makes everything from cupcakes with a unique splendour and wedding cupcakes with a flair to something quick and simple to take to the office and unique no-two-the-same designs for birthdays.

Not only will you still be with your angels and work from home but you’ll also be in a position to earn a cash income greatly influenced by the amount of hours you invest into your business venture. Whether it be part-time or full-time.

Cup the Cake offers three entry packages. The first, Fairy, offers the opportunity to start something on a smaller scale with abundant potential. Included is your complete online set up, website, admin, booking and payment portals, order requests, store front, Facebook page, email address, training, ongoing support and even hosting your website for six months. Your complete online set-up and training await you.

All you need to do is have fun while you earn.

The second option is called Cherub. It includes the set up found with the Fairy package as well as business cards, car magnets and an online marketing boost. Your set up will also include your business registration with Companies House, guidance with regards to your business banking account options and accounting software. Your starter kit is comprehensive and will equip you with all the basics needed to get those orders out to your customers.

Thirdly is Angelic which includes all as stated in Cherub plus an electric mixer and an edible image printer set up for all your creative toppers as well as a turntable for your masterful creations, an airbrush set up with a compressor, edible colours and a fondant steamer for brightening up your unique designs. Got a taste for it? Get in touch.

t: 07799 453621 e: hello@cupthecake.com w: cupthecake.com

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Want to work for yourself but not by yourself?

Whilst you may not have thought about it, franchising could be the missing piece of your puzzle. Nowadays, you can just about find a franchise in any industry. All you need to do is figure out the perfect one for you Why franchise?

You’re buying into a ready-made business, a business in a box so to speak. A franchise offers an already established brand, a marketing strategy in place that has consumers’ invested interest and a company that simply works.

Being a tried and tested model, franchisors have already ironed out the rookie errors and overcome the hurdles many solo startups encounter. With a franchise, you’re buying into an established brand and a business that is already successful, which is why only around 5% fail compared to around 80% failure rate of new SMEs. A lot of franchises offer appealing benefits such as financial assistance via low interest loans, help to get you up and running, flexible working hours to suit your lifestyle and flexible working options. Banks also prefer lending to franchisees due to their high success rates – more than 50% of franchises now claim an annual turnover greater than £250,000 per annum.

Where do I start?

While franchising is a less risk adverse model, a franchise can still feel like a big leap into the unknown, especially if you haven’t researched the idea. Attending a franchise show will provide you all the information you need at your fingertips.

Trust us on this, many franchise shows offer free expert advice and guidance, interactive features, live demos, knowledge from the franchisees themselves, and hundreds of brands for you explore all under one roof..

So if you’re serious about venturing into franchising and make a better life for yourself, that’s where we’d start.

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Step one: prepare The first thing you should do before attending a franchise exhibition is to plan ahead. Consider what your budget, skills, passion and drives are.

Moreover, think about what it is that you want to achieve and what lifestyle do you want?

At franchise exhibitions you’ll see brands ranging from fast food to cleaning franchises and everything in between – we suggest printing off the exhibitor list from the website and circling those brands that potentially interest you. Take note of what stand or zone they’re in and perhaps arrange a time to meet during the show.

Research the exhibitors. Work out how much you need or like to earn and how much you need to invest. Think about what you’re good at and what you’re not. Remember that banks hold a preference for lending to franchisees, so try and find out how much you could potentially borrow. Write a CV to bring to the show. Investing in a franchise is a two-way process: the franchisor needs to recruit the right candidate as much as you need to find the right opportunity. Luckily, a CV is a quick way to showcase who you are, so bring one.

Step two: attend the show Formulate a set of key questions that will help you determine whether or not potential franchisors tick the right boxes. Have a 60 second pitch ready and set off exploring.

Navigate through the various zones using the floor plan, which is usually provided upon entrance or in the a show-guide copy, to the stands of the

franchises that you’re most keen on.

Also, ensure you’ve made note of the seminars and workshops happening throughout the day where you can expand your knowledge from some of the best-know industry experts.

A few weeks after the show you’ve most likely forgotten a lot of key information gained at seminar talks or workshops. Bring a notepad or have a note app ready on your mobile to scribble down key tips or important information you learn. Even if you don’t have a notepad or a pen with you, pick one up – there’ll be lots on stands – and usually the show guide will give you some free space to take down notes.

Once the show is over and you have all the information you need, you’ve weighed up possible investments and have a pool of potential franchises - follow up. Call or email to plan the next steps. Don’t be alarmed if you’re contacted for follow-ups too: franchisors will be keen to hear from interested candidates. Have your notes ready and discuss the next steps to becoming a franchisee with your perfect franchise.

Poutinerie, Pepe’s Piri, and 9Round Kick Box Fitness. With franchise prices ranging from under £10,000 and up to more than £200,000, the Franchise Show really is the perfect opportunity for anyone looking or even considering becoming their own boss – plus Lloyds Bank will be on hand if you need help discussing options.

This year the show boasts a lot of new features including; a new franchise zone offering new and exciting franchise concepts, a Master and International Franchise Theatre, where you can learn from the experts in franchise expansion, franchising overseas and much more, and a Google Digital Garage Theatre, to equip you with all the marketing skills you need in a digital world.

So what are you waiting for? Take charge of your career, become the boss, and start your empire today.

Get your free tickets at www. thefranchiseshow.co.uk. Or call +44 (0) 330 1222 049 for full details and information.

Ready to get started?

On Friday April 5 and on Saturday April 6 The International Franchise Show will return to London ExCel. Celebrating ten years, The International Franchise Show has an abundance of franchises for you to choose from, including well-known brands such as Laura Ashley, Warrens Bakery, Tutor Doctor, and Chemex International, as well as big US brands such as Dickeys BBQ Pit, Smoke’s

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Innovating to compete

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Innovating to compete

Partnerships in

innovation

By David Glover, managing director, caremark

When you no longer wish to compete on price and your quality of service can’t go much higher, how can a business take market share? David Glover, managing director at Caremark, looks at how franchisors can work with franchisees to innovate into a position of strength

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here are plenty of in-home care franchises and this can sometimes put off prospective franchisees who worry about a crowded marketplace. We’re not the only sector where this happens. You’ll find numerous property sales and lettings, fitness and cleaning franchises all competing for their slice of the pie.

All good franchisors look to support their network to provide the best customer service and competitive pricing within the parameters of a profitable business. So, what else can we do to stand out? In some sectors, like care, we also have to contend with government cuts to budgets, adding another challenge to the mix.

The answer is innovation and not just for the sake of innovation but to make a big difference to all stakeholders in the business. How would we know if our new systems, products or services will make that impact? We have to involve representatives from each of our stakeholder groups. We must develop in a partnership.

Recent innovations we’ve seen include apps. If you combine appointments, delivery and loyalty functions, it can make franchisee activity clear for franchisors, operations easier for franchisees and upgrade the experience for customers. Other innovations could be as simple as a new product or a service extension but, if you want a seamless transition across the network, you need involvement during the research, planning, trial, development and delivery stages.

Over the last year, we’ve been doing just that at Caremark.

With the delivery of social care under financial pressure and many clients still feeling terribly lonely with just a couple of very brief visits each day, we wanted to act. Our founder Kevin Lewis had always wanted to combine the best parts of

the service in a care home with keeping people in their own homes for as long as possible. So, we decided that now was the time to innovate our way out of the norm.

We wanted to create a way of delivering in-home care that would fit current local authorities’ budgets but improve the lives of our clients and our care workers. Our idea to allocate clients into small geographical patches was tested in partnership with West Sussex Council and their occupational therapists, our franchisees at Caremark Mid-Sussex & Crawley, a group of existing clients, our head office team, the Care Quality Commission. The delivery system allows for care workers to be salaried, rather than being on zero-hours contracts, and clients can have more contact over the day as well as creating a sense of community for them. The results were great, with benefits spreading even further than anticipated, and it was agreed to extend PatchCare across our whole network. Formal processes, including support for franchisees to introduce the new delivery system to other Local Authorities, were shared with franchisees and their teams with the roll out of this innovation beginning this month.

Was it a risk to go against the grain? Was it challenging for clients to adapt to a new style of care delivery? Will it take a bit of getting used to for franchisees and their teams? Of course. But innovating in a partnership limited the level and longevity of these risks. I’d recommend this strategy for innovation in any franchise. We aren’t the only ones innovating and we hope more franchisors consider innovating in partnerships as it can yield results for everyone involved. A brand must continually develop to maintain a position of strength and innovating with partners is a great way to stay ahead of the curve.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Why do you want to buy a franchise?

When embarking on any new venture it’s essential you take a long-term business view and define your end goal – buying a franchise is no exception

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s you flick through the pages of this magazine, do you really know why you want to buy a franchise? For some it’s a way of escaping someone else’s red tape. For others, it’s to build a legacy that can be passed on to family members.

Jamie Williamson, Portsmouth franchisee of Driver Hire, the logistics recruiter franchise, saw his franchise as a business he could pass on to his children, should they wish. “When I started to look at Driver Hire, I soon learned about the strength of the brand as the UK’s market leader for supplying temporary staff to the logistics sector,” he says. “Even though I had no experience, I could see it was a straightforward business my children could eventually come in and run.”

Whatever your motivation to run your own business, you need to know your end goal. Knowing where you are heading sets the course for your business and provides you with manageable milestones to aim for and focus on.

Here are three top motivators that could be driving you.

It’s all about the money Running a franchised business certainly can be lucrative. In the UK alone - according to the latest British Franchise Association (bfa) NatWest Franchise Industry survey in 2018 – franchising turns over £17.2bn annually and 93% of franchise units are profitable.

Little wonder that so many people are eager for a slice of the action.

Building up a franchise, increasing its value and selling it on is a common motivation for those looking to build a pension pot or move on to their next challenge. If this is your driving force, then profitable business growth will be a major focus of your business plan. Luckily for you, as you investigate your options you’ll find the franchise model is usually based on a tried and tested method of conducting business. This means there should be plenty of support and advice

on hand to help you build up significant capital value on your initial investment.

Gary Riches, the Driver Hire Colchester franchisee, is focused on maximising his return on investment. “Operating at the £1m turnover mark, naturally I’m looking to grow the business even further to maximise its future sale price,” he says. “The business has changed my life and my family life considerably, compared to being employed. It’s been a great

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move and I love what I do.”

Finding that balance Whether you want to reduce your hours or simply be in charge of when your working day starts and finishes, it’s possible to enjoy a better work-life balance with the right franchise at the right time. If this is the case for you, choose your franchise carefully. Don’t be under the misapprehension that buying a franchise, as opposed to setting up your own business, will offer you an easy life. As with any new business or venture it is definitely hard work at the start. You may even find, to begin with, you’re putting in far more hours than originally anticipated.

Once your business is off the ground you should be able to better manage your time by hiring a team you can trust, to support you or carry out the service you provide.

Diane Maxwell, the Driver Hire Belfast franchisee, certainly backs up this practice. “Running your own business can be hard work but as my business grew, I was able to take on staff and achieve a much better work-life balance,” she comments. “Building a team you can trust means you can step away from your business and know that it’s in safe hands. As a result, I’m now able to work a four-day week.”

Be my own boss Whilst not strictly a business end goal this is arguably the biggest attraction of becoming a business owner: the chance to be your own boss. For you, making money and the worklife balance may seem part and parcel of being a franchisee.

Whilst this can be true, it isn’t a given. Franchising is known as a safer route into business ownership but still, you do need to adhere to the instructions set out in your franchise agreement and operations manual. The amount of control you have will vary between the different franchise models out there – all 935 in the UK – so check the fine print and speak to existing franchisees.

“Before deciding to buy a franchise, I worked in retail sales,” says Andrew Padgett, the Driver Hire Ashford & Canterbury franchisee. “I got fed up with the politics of a large organisation and decided that if the right franchise opportunity came along, I would go for it. Running my Driver Hire franchise

is financially rewarding, mentally challenging and its flexibility enables me to have a good work-life balance.”

Next steps Here’s some top tips to help your end-goal decision making process: write down a wish list and whittle this down to your primary objective. Writing a list of pros and cons to becoming a franchise owner might help, as well as asking those close to you to sense-check your thoughts. Keep your goal in mind once you have settled on it throughout your research, business planning and buying process. And don’t forget your short-term goals – small steps to bigger things.

Driver Hire The featured franchisees all chose Driver Hire, a five-time bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year award winner that has been franchising since 1987. Franchisees run a logistics stafffocused recruitment business. The entry level investment for a Driver Hire startup opportunity is from £35,000. As a Driver Hire franchisee you should be aiming to achieve a net profit of over £130,000 per annum.

Driver Hire Recruitment – B2B management franchise www.driverhirefranchise.co.uk george.pomfret@driverhire.co.uk call George Pomfret on 07767 270 077

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A New Way Forward

Supporting the Continued Success and Growth of the UK Franchise Sector

The AFA is a self-regulatory, voluntary body that provides a complete support network for franchisors, large and small, offering membership and our Seal of Approval to eligible franchise organisations.

We also offer Partner Membership to industry partners, as well as providing impartial guidance advice to potential franchisees.

Over the last year, The AFA has experienced rapid growth and we have ambitious plans to expand our reach, including regional support meetings across the UK and our first, Annual Conference in 2019, where we will announce our exciting, new Franchise Awards. Finally, we are very pleased to announce that the AFA Conference will take place on Thursday 28th March in Oxford. Please visit https://www.theafa.org.uk/afa-national-conference/ to book tickets.

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TRUSTist TRUSTist works with many franchise organisations.

We address two questions: How do I recruit more franchisees?

How can my franchisees sell more?

To answer the first question, we ask franchisors to ask their franchisees for reviews of them as a franchise. To help franchisees we make it easy for them to collect reviews from customers. These reviews help them get stars in their Google search results which increases the amount of visitors their web site gets. When new reviews are taken from clients the TRUSTist platform auto posts about them to Facebook, Twitter and Google.

DOR-2-DOR DOR-2-DOR established in 1987 is the premier leaflet distribution network in the UK, with nearly 70 offices we have representation in England Ireland Scotland and Wales.

Our franchise network uses the unique DOR2-DOR system with fully trained and carefully monitored adult Post People™.

The DOR-2-DOR website is No.1 in Google nationally and we have developed a bespoke software system (D2D-Works) to manage our Post People, feed weekly reports to clients and maximise profitability for our franchisees.

Contact:Jeff Frankling - Founder & CEO 01582 250 000 franchise@dor2dor.com www.dor2dor.com

PERSONAL MATCHMAKER Are you a natural matchmaker?

Many people are and have natural skills in bringing, friends, relatives and their work colleagues together.

If you are one of them, have you ever thought of making matchmaking your living and way of life?

If so then The Professional Matchmaker franchise could be exactly what you have been looking for.

With our help and support, working in your own exclusive county or region we could help you generate high earnings and achieve great satisfaction in one of the UK’s boom industries. Like to know more? Ring our MD Mike Parker on 0845 2303199 to find out how Personal Matchmaking could be the right business opportunity for you. We’d love to talk to you! www.theprofessionalmatchmaker.co.uk

DIAMOND HOME SUPPORT Diamond Home Support is an award winning cleaning, home help and gardening franchise. We have a network of 70+ franchisees across the UK delivering services which are in high demand.

We are the lowest priced franchise in the Elite Franchise Top 100 list for 2019. So if you’re serious about starting a business, come and take a look at what we have to offer. Our start-up is just £2,495+vat and this includes a full start-up package, training and a 6 month marketing launch campaign.

01795 859182 https://diamondhomesupport.com/ cleaningfranchise

KEY PROPERTY SERVICE UK WIDE FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES WITH KPS (Providing Inventory Management Services To Letting Agents, Landlord & Tenants).

As the housing rental market continues growing we at KPS would like to hear from conscientious, motivated people interested in running their own successful KPS inventory management enterprise.

If you feel you have the potential to manage your own exclusive territory large enough to enable you to develop & expand your business & earn a significant income in the process please view our prospectus atwww.keypropertyservice.co.uk

HOUSE OF COLOUR ARE YOU CONSIDERING PERSONAL STYLING AS A GREAT CAREER MOVE? Having had one of their best years yet in 2018, House of Colour, the UK’s premier personal stylists and colour analysis experts, is looking to recruit 25 more consultants across the country in 2019, which they also hope to match in USA. House of Colour’s world-class training programme and support services are designed to help franchisees quickly become experts in this growth market. The business has several lucrative streams of income from colour analysis, styling, make up classes and over 250 make up products and enables stylists to start in their home or take a small studio to work with their clients. www.houseofcolour.co.uk

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Fresh Faces

The new

and the bold

By ERIC JOHansson

From mobile delights to mobility scooters, the franchising sector never fails to surprise. There truly is a franchise for everyone. Don’t believe us? Well check out these newbies on the UK franchise scene

People like the convenience of having food delivered straight to their door.

That’s why franchises like Really Awesome Coffee and scaleups like Just Eat have become tremendously popular in recent years. Now, get ready for another franchise to leverage Britons’ propensity for home-delivered snacks – Camile Thai. Born in Dublin in 2010, this franchisor delivers succulent Thai dishes to customers’ doors. Having begun to expand internationally from London, this Irish franchisor is now looking for fantastic franchisees ready to commit themselves to making the business a success in the UK. With its dedication to using natural ingredients, being ethical and promoting wellbeing by organising things like yoga classes, this is a delicious and guilt-free opportunity that deserves a second serving.

This franchisor is taking the lead in the pet food space, having unleashed itself upon the market in 2009 after founder Stephen Ward’s own dog developed allergies to some foods. Now he’s passionate about ensuring other pet owners can easily get their four-legged friends the grub they deserve. With Heights Farm Premium Pet Foods, he aimed to do just that. Now he’s searching for equally enthusiastic people to join the franchise network he launched in 2017.

“We’re looking for enthusiastic, sociable and warm-hearted people with the ambition and self-motivation to grow a successful business,” Ward said about the expansion. No reason to paws fur effect as looking into this franchise certainly doesn’t mean animal friends are barking up the wrong tree.

Who doesn’t love a good burger? Seizing the opportunity to leverage the UK’s increasing interest in healthy living and animal rights, Miami Burger has launched its first super-healthy fast food restaurant in Reading. More importantly, all succulent servings are entirely guilt-free as each patty is based on soy. Plant-based cuisine chef Tom Halford was headhunted to help refine the first UK menu, having previously worked at Michelin-starred restaurants. “Quality plant-based food is easy to find in the biggest cities but what about everywhere else?” says Halford. “Miami Burger aims to change this situation.” And the vegan eatery isn’t going to be alone. The company is now cooking up something big and looking to grow to over 100 franchisees in the next five years.

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Fresh Faces

Oh snap! Pop! Studios is taking the photoshoot experience to the next level. Far from just snapping a great shot, this franchisor also retouches the picture to give it a unique Hollywood-esque shimmer, making photos indistinguishable from the posters of big screen movies.

Launched in 2014, Pop! Studios offers several packages – from fairytale forests and space battles to cosplay creations and superhero adventures. Founder Wendy Mackney decided to franchise in October 2018 and is now seeking her first franchisee to join the business after the debut concept store in intu Derby proved a huge success. In the next five years the company plans to open a few more in the UK before taking the franchise abroad. Big smiles everybody. Say cheese!

Ever fancied getting in touch with your creative side or at least trying something new with friends on a night out? That’s exactly what Brush Party provides. Since hosting its first party in July 2016, the company has now grown to run over 400 events every year. During these events, the attendees get advice on how to paint, receive inspiration, sip some bubbles and walk away with their own one-of-a-kind artwork. However, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the company is now looking for its first round of franchisees to join it as Brush Party was designed to be franchised from the get-go. The franchisor sold its first franchise in September 2018 and plans to recruit 30 franchisees per year over the next five years. So, if you’re looking for a franchise that brings out your true colours, this might be the opportunity for you.

This franchise is absolutely radiating.

Sunbed supplier Tan & Deliver was established in 2008, although it does offer services in its physical stores as well. In the decade since opening, the company perfected the model and now wants to bring that special lustre to new franchisees’ lives as people have begun to reach out from across the country. Having decided to franchise in January 2019, the franchisor already had two new franchisees signed up by the end of of February. However, it won’t stop there. In fact, the franchisor hopes to have over 150 franchisees in the next five years. Are you looking to catch a spot of vitamin D and are you passionate about beauty? Then this franchise opportunity might be shining a light just for you.

Easy Living Mobility is all about raising the standard of living for those with a limited range of motion. Launched in 2001, the company’s eight stores now offer a huge selection that includes wheelchairs, mobility scooters, shoes, bathroom appliances, armchairs, bedroom aids and stairlifts. But the company isn’t stopping there. The business was recently franchised and received its bfa accreditation in November 2018. Now it’s hunting for the right franchisees to join its blossoming new network.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Why is being customer-focused so important anyway?

Suffering a laptop crisis saw Mark Holland, CEO of Bodystreet UK, enjoy one of his best experiences as a customer to date – and franchises can learn a lot from it

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esus taught us to “love thy neighbour as thyself.” This must have been a particularly important message as it’s mentioned in the Bible not just once but eight times. Indeed, it’s very good advice for how we should go about our everyday lives but shouldn’t just be restricted to that – it’s also very useful for how we run and operate our businesses.

We all love dealing with companies and their representatives that put our needs above their own profit. It’s a

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win-win situation, for when we engage with such businesses our loyalty, and in many cases recommendation of their products or services, is guaranteed for a considerable amount of time. For instance, I recently had a crisis with my beloved MacBook Air. Like most – if not all – people, I know the importance of regularly backing up files on technology. However, as the saying goes: “To know and not to do is not to know.”

One early evening I was planning to

do a little extra work and faced what appeared to be a very slow laptop.

Naturally, I thought it would be a great idea to switch off and restart the computer. But what I didn’t realise is the harddrive was so full that when it went into startup mode, I was greeted by nothing more than a blue screen. Googling possible solutions I kept finding references about “the Blue Screen of Death” and nothing I did seemed to work, so the next step was to contact Apple’s online support – and to say they were amazing is an understatement.

The team – and over the seven hour call I interacted with at least three, if not four, different members – were patient, understood my lack of knowledge and never once commented about my foolishness for not backing up my work. It seemed to me their entire purpose for their working day was to help revive my computer and ensure the work on it was saved. It was a great feeling, I can assure you. They then solved the issue, ensured all my work was on the computer and taught me how to finally back everything up.

I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve retold my experience to.

And while I appreciate the cost of Apple equipment isn’t the lowest out there,

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

what will keep me coming back to them isn’t just the products they sell but the customer focus they operate from. See, customer focus is more than just good service but putting the customers front and centre in everything you do as a business. It’s about how, as a company, Apple completely orientated themselves towards serving their consumers’ needs.

What’s more, having great customer focus is usually a strong contributor to the overall success of a business.

It involves ensuring all aspects of the company treat client satisfaction with utmost importance. This means getting employees to put themselves in the consumers’ shoes and view things from their perspective, which entails understanding what they’re feeling, thinking and aspiring to achieve. It means putting the customer in the driving seat and detecting what his or her needs, wishes, aspirations and dreams are, instead of focusing on yourself and your business.

Being customer-focused puts you in a better position to help clients in an honest way. They’ll see you’re making an extra effort to understand their situation and help them get what or where they want to be. And this is more true than ever in a good

franchise system.

As a franchisor your customer, and therefore customer focus, can be seen as your franchisee. Franchisees look to you to provide the tools, support and direction to help them achieve their goals and aspirations. After all, they’re seeking a number of different things like financial independence, time with loved ones, security and many more.

Similiarily, franchisors look for success through the expansion of their brand by offering the opportunity to operate their proven system to others.

Zig Ziglar, the famous salesman and motivational speaker, stated “you will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want first”. Indeed, helping a franchisee be profitable should be the first goal of any franchisor. This can be achieved in a number of ways, like using the group’s buying power to improve the cost basis of individual franchisee businesses. Once a franchisee’s in profit, the franchisor can then focus on driving the revenue stream of all their franchisees. This coupled with strong margins leads to an attractive investment for others considering the franchise system.

John Paul Getty is quoted as saying “I

would rather earn 1% off 100 people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts.” In short, the focus for franchisors should be on helping franchisees achieve what they want first. Surely, this is great advice for how we can both live our lives and operate in business.

Visit www.bodystreetuk.co.uk or call 01908 766220 for more information on our franchise opportunities

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

What makes a true entrepreneur?

The attraction of being your own boss is widespread – but what skills really give a new business owner the best chance of success?

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sk any small business owner to describe their average working day and you’re bound to be met with a pause. That pause is due to the complexity of the question you’ve just asked them. They are unlikely to have a standard working day in the way that employees often do because they are being pulled in so many different directions. From providing the actual product – whether that’s selling high-end children’s clothing or providing care to an elderly person in their home – to marketing, staff management, strategising, analysing the profit and loss statement or submitting their VAT return, the list is endless.

And while this may seem like a common furstration, it’s actually one of the greatest joys.

An entrepreneur is often an individual who, others imagine, is strong in every single area of business management. However, a closer look into any successful business reveals a different story. The individual, partnership or team at the top of good businesses are people who know their own strengths and are adept at making sure their weaknesses are covered. Either

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Finding a franchise system which is complementary to the individual’s skills, experience and passions makes for a powerful and rewarding combination. covered by other workers in the business, good processes or by finding the right help from other companies.

Entering the world of franchising as a franchisee gives a different angle to business ownership. A good franchise system presents the owner with a model which has already been proven to work. Naturally, not all franchises

01/03/2019 18:25

ADVERTISING FEATURE

are the same – and the research a prospective franchisee undertakes before purchase is crucial in identifying what the franchisor is, and is not, providing. Finding a system which is complementary to the individual’s skills, experiences and passions makes for a powerful and rewarding combination.

Some franchisors offer a highly structured system where the franchisee will succeed by paying close attention to operating the business exactly as instructed – for example, McDonalds.

Other franchises provide the broad business boundaries and offer training and experience, encouraging franchisees to be creative in the way they bring the product to the customers in their area – for example, some franchises in the children’s sector work this way. It’s an exciting characteristic of the franchising industry that there is so much variety. This isn’t only from the sectors available as franchises but also to allow someone looking to buy a franchise to finesse their choice to match and complement their skills.

The value of a comprehensive operations manual and initial training is recognised throughout franchising and most individuals enquiring with a franchisor asks about them.

However, it could be argued it’s equally important for the prospective franchisee to take the opportunity to identify their own strengths, weaknesses and desires for their working life in the years ahead. Many people find personality profiling or psychometric tests a helpful guide.

To take the rapidly growing care sector as an example, there are broadly speaking two different models available in franchising: The traditional option is that the new business owner is trained by the franchisor to register with the regulator, find an office, employ suitable staff to manage and deliver the care, find their customers and master other business essentials. The initial investment is significant in recognition that the resulting turnover, and rewards, are likely to be high.

For individuals seeking to build their empire, this can be very attractive.

The newer model, on the other hand, is a more streamlined approach whereby the franchisor is responsible for the delivery of care, taking away the need for much of the complexity of the franchisee’s business as they are focusing purely on relationship development and finding the customers. It’s a straightforward model where the franchisor and franchisee work very closely in partnership, making

moving into the care sector accessible to a wide range of people who may not wish to run a large business with lots of staff – particularly as it’s a lower investment entry point.

Both approaches have undeniable strengths but the important factor, whatever the sector in question, is the enquiring franchisee must identify their existing skills and wishes for their working lives and establish whether the franchisor will complement those. Good franchisors with carefully designed recruitment processes are also working to identify whether the match works.

So, an entrepreneur seeking a franchise is already benefitting from seeing clearly in front of them the business model on offer and can compare that with their own strengths. Those who are really searching for the key to success will compare the structure of the franchise model and the franchisor’s strengths with their own – and look for a complementary match.

It’s equally important for the prospective franchisee to take the opportunity to identify clearly their own strengths, weaknesses and desires for their working life in the years ahead.

March 2019 | elitefranchise

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EXITS

Forming a smooth All franchisees should prepare for the day when they leave their company behind

BY ED WRIGHT,PARTNER, AND RICHARD VERNON, LEGAL DIRECTOR AT LAW FIRM, SHAKESPHEARE MARTINEAU

F

ranchise structures can prove to be an effective commercial strategy, enabling businesses to accelerate their expansion plans and move into new markets. However, without timely and careful planning, franchisees could encounter problems when it comes to selling-up.

When structured correctly, franchises can provide established organisations with a number of commercial benefits. Where a business has already proven successful, this strategy allows franchisors to expand by setting up a brand name and business model that can be applied throughout different geographical areas and jurisdictions.

Franchises also provide reassurance to stakeholders who know there’s a good track record in place which is likely to succeed elsewhere too.

In effect, they act as a type of ready-made business that already has the blueprint for success. As well as this, there’re likely to be existing supply chains and advertising campaigns in place that can be taken advantage of, helping to drive efficiencies across the business and boost profit margins in the longterm. However, as well as providing a unique set of

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“However, as well as providing a unique set of opportunities, franchises pose specific challenges to franchisees considering their exit strategy”

EXITS

franchise exit strategy opportunities, franchises pose specific challenges to franchisees considering their exit strategy.

It’s important to bear in mind that as the party granting the right to use their business model and products, franchisors hold some of the decisionmaking power when it comes to delivering an exit strategy. As such, in order to proceed with any potential sale, the franchisee will almost certainly first need to obtain consent from the franchisor. This usually involves illustrating that selling wouldn’t result in damage to the overall business or brand.

The franchisor will probably have discretion as to whom the franchise can be sold to and may even have a specific list of internal candidates who meet certain criteria, for example, existing franchisees or individuals who’ve already undergone the necessary checks and training. From the franchisee’s perspective, this offers a further pool of possible buyers but franchisees should also consider individuals who already work in and know the business as well as potentially instructing sales agents to find a buyer.

To ensure a smooth exit strategy is delivered, the normal rules of good business must be adhered to by a franchise just as much as any other business. Getting a business to be sale-ready takes time, so rather than relying on a last-minute and reactive approach, franchisees need to think at least two or three years ahead. It’s worth remembering that the franchisor and any potential buyers will want to see key records, covering areas such as financials, for the past few years, so it’s important to check that these are not only up-to-date and correct but also accessible.

Ensuring the business is attractive to a potential buyer also involves checking that the right contracts are in place for a range of areas, from employment and procurement to the customer database.

To maximise business value, boosting profits wherever possible is key. As such, franchisees should

consider streamlining their supply networks to drive cost savings and investing in marketing and advertising to increase business value in the period before a potential sale. It’s important to note that, in some cases, franchisors may impose requirements around the maximum sale value that can be achieved. The reason for this is that they will not want the new franchisee to be struggling financially from the outset as they pay off the purchase price. Furthermore, franchisors often take a cut of the sale price for facilitating the sale.

Getting the right professional advice early in the process is also important. For example, financial advisers can help the business to get its accounts in order and identify key areas for driving efficiencies and enhancing profitability. They can also advise on how the deal will be structured to maximise the tax efficiency of the transaction. Seeking legal advice, in areas such as how to structure transactions, early in the exit planning process is also essential.

That said, franchisors will often have tight controls on the sale process, and may even insist that the legal paperwork follows its standard form. The British Franchise Association, which provides independent advice to both franchisees and franchisors, is another important resource which can help parties to navigate the exit process and secure the best possible deal.

Effective communication from the early stages of an exit process is also key and a dialogue should be opened with the franchisor early on, so that everyone is kept in the loop. Franchisees that have maintained a good relationship with the franchisor are usually better able to navigate their exit strategy smoothly and enjoy cooperation at all stages of the transaction.

For businesses which have enjoyed past success, franchises are an effective way to expand and grow into new markets. By considering their exit strategy in good time and applying the rules of good business, franchisees are more likely to avoid any conflict with franchisors and achieve their commercial objectives for a business exit.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

As a Wonderlawn franchisee you’ll thrive on competition It seems impossible to get your business’ voice heard in such saturated times. However, that’s not a problem with a franchise like Wonderlawn

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t’s certainly not easy running a business and that goes double for today. One need only look at how saturated markets have become, where developments like the internet have enabled hundreds to get their name out there and compete for the same clients. However, you don’t have to exist in such a busy space.

Wonderlawn, for instance, removes the need for franchisees to get bogged down with stockholding and delivery management so they can focus on improving cashflow, generating profit and getting ahead of the competition. After all, with their schedule cleared franchisees can focus on enticing customers with Wonderlawn’s unique products few franchises can claim to offer.

That includes its – quite literally – cutting-edge artificial grass, which is far from just a pretty sight and the envy of the market.

Moreover, considering virtually every home improvement for the past three decades has swapped natural materials for advanced, maintenance-free artificial ones, Wonderlawn’s offer stands out as a no-brainer to a great deal of people. One thing’s for sure – it’s sending lawnmowers and strimmers the same way as the dinosaurs.

The market has blossomed into a thriving £350m industry and Wonderlawn sits poised to take a commanding position with turnover doubling year-onyear. Having kicked off its business more than ten years ago, Wonderlawn’s seen just about everything when it comes to the dramatic evolution of its industry and knows how to steer clear of the low-grade astroturf pumped out by others over the years. And if you’re

willing to put in the work, you can stand at the industry’s frontier with Wonderlawn too.

That’s because Wonderlawn’s currently seeking franchisees with self-motivation, a strong work ethic and who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty to absorb its expertise and blossom as a locally-based business. Fit the bill? Then your journey’s already started.

Visit www.wonderlawn.com, email sales@wonderlawn.com or call 0333 700 6000

artificial grass installation

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01/03/2019 17:06

Cup the Cake is about a challenge where the sky is the limit Start your business from the comfort of your own home with no monthly royalties to pay out, what you earn is yours to keep. With three packages to choose from there is something to fit everyone’s needs and skill level!

To learn more about the business options available contact: t: 07799 453621 e: hello@cupthecake.com w: cupthecake.com backdrop for half ad.pdf

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17:16

Point Franchise – your one stop franchise

N UK umb aft er 2 50 er O Fra ,00 NL nc 0 v Y 6 his isi m e P ts on ort pe ths al r m * a in t on lrea he th dy resource.

Point Franchise is far more than just a directory.

We are a management platform that links franchisors and franchise candidates together; streamlining your lead generation process with unique leads that have the best chance of conversion.Our integrated web platform enhances your recruitment strategy by moderating each lead as it comes in to ensure our expert teams do all the hard work and and that you only receive serious applications that have a vested interest in your business.

So whether you are a business looking to recruit a new franchisee or an individual who has the entrepreneurial spirit and wants to take control of their own future,

you can begin that journey today by visiting us on : www.pointfranchise.co.uk

*Traffic sources: Similar Web, AHREF – March/April 2018

ADVERTISING FEATURE

A cut above the rest A recent trip to Marazion got Noel Gilronan, CEO of Everyman Barber, thinking about why he started his own barber franchise without prior industry experience

C

ome on, someone must know – are we in or are we out? I’ve never heard an expression repeated so much since the Hokey Cokey was popular. Even as I type we still don’t know the outcome of Brexit and it’s only 38 days until we are supposed to leave. After almost two years of potentially going, clearly very few people will have their metaphorical suitcases packed and given the government still hasn’t got things right, what hope have we? It begs the question: is anyone going anywhere?

Fortunately, the business world doesn’t stop because of Brexit and you don’t need to vote to decide if you want a franchise – but you do need to carry out research.

I was reminded of my own intensive research before getting into franchising as I took a break in Marazion, down on the southwest coast of Cornwall. I say “took a break” loosely because running your own business is ultimately a 365-24/7 operation and despite me not being physically present, my mind was.

Like a lot of coastal towns Marazion invokes real nostalgia of my childhood, yet could not be further from where I would want a business. I was reminded of the five parameters I set almost 15 years ago if I were to have my own company – and all five had to be ticked. Those included a cash-in-hand business, as I’d seen companies

die from not being paid on-time; a business that didn’t fear the internet, because even back then the death knell for the high street was already chiming (but fortunately Google can’t cut hair); to work in a big city with all the aspects of city life; a cool business because, let’s be honest, I’m sure selling insurance or banking has its upsides but it isn’t exactly water cooler chat; and finally a fun company, because they say if work is fun you never work a day in your life – or words to that effect. So hello barbering.

Although it was a strange choice to some of my friends, who constantly reminded me I wasn’t a barber and also follicly challenged, they now all funnily enough spend a lot of time in my stores having haircuts, beard trims and dyes.

Barbering was a big decision and I won’t lie, when I decided to throw my hat into the ring all those years ago I did so with some intrepidation since I wasn’t a barber and never owned my own brand. Nonetheless, it ticked all my five musts and I had done my research Having said that, I thought “how tough could it be?” I had vast experience running under someone else’s brand, which crossed many channels including sales, stock management, marketing, merchandising and finance.

These were all transferrable skills and gained over a career in various industries spanning 25 years.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

However, it turned out it can be hard and definitely different, especially while you’re in the mode of building a business. Soon, I realised I had to forgo the steady salary and nine-to-five hours, sacrifice personal capital, obsess over the daily managing of cash flow, really understand my business potential, trust my team and overall change my lifestyle. But I loved it and still do.

I pondered these thoughts in Marazion because we were actually revisitng, having last gone just prior to opening our first barbershop in Birmingham almost 15 years ago. And while it turns out little had changed in Marazion, where it seemed time almost stood still, I’ve seen a lot change in Birmingham in those years.

Our Birmingham store’s now a very busy barbershop and has thrived. Although, I cant say the same for the 90% of other business around us at the time, who have disappeared for many various reasons. But those that remained have done so because they offer the things we offer customers: a great service, great experience and trust. After all, we’re a really social business and

high street brands need to invest to make the high street an enjoyable social experience in the future.

We now have eight stores and some of the most talented barbers in the UK. And we want to award franchises to – well, people like me. Again, in case you missed it, I wasn’t a barber but someone with passion, pride and perseverance and a desire to run a tried and tested concept. And yes, I know what it means to run a franchise and yes, we’ll do it right. So if that’s you, we’ve a chair with your name on it called Everyman.

March 2019 | elitefranchise

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v2-Daltons business - full page ad - 196x270 with 3mm bleed CMYK 300dpi.pdf 1 05/10/2017 16:55:02

Buy or sell a business or franchise today...

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• Search over 30,000 businesses for sale • Franchise opportunities to suit every budget

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• The UK’s favourite place to buy or sell a business

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12/01/2018 05/10/2017 17:53 17:14

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Your recruitment franchise opportunity

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aw Staff Legal Recruitment is an awardwinning legal recruitment firm with a network of connections spanning local, regional, national and international law firms as well as in-house legal departments. Law Staff acts for legal professionals at all levels, whether they are climbing the career ladder or looking for a change, and works with employers who are looking to recruit the best people to join their organisations. Law Staff’s aim is to fill each role with the best available candidate in the marketplace.

From our head office situated in Cambridgeshire, we currently work with a wide variety of clients from across the UK. Established in 2002, we have provided exceptional recruitment solutions for a wide variety of private practice, in-house and magic circle clients. Adapting our proven technique to support all manner of recruitment, our clients’ needs are at the very heart of our business.

As we expand into the future, we are looking for exceptional people to help build on our success, broadening our brand into new frontiers across the globe. Are you a top-class communicator who thrives in a self-motivated work environment? Then this could be the perfect opportunity for you. A background in sales, customer services or management isn’t essential, but it will be beneficial, although a great personality is the perfect starting block.

As a franchisee, you will receive invaluable, continual business support, including training, marketing, access to new technology and more. Our franchise management team will assist you in developing your business plan,

“Offering much more than just an ‘off the shelf’ package” learning the best ways to hire and manage personnel, and how to profitably manage your facility. At Law Staff, we share our success.

We ensure that you are well equipped not just to start but also to grow your business. Training, continual business support and a wide range of resources are available when you become a Law Staff Legal Recruitment franchisee. We want to make you part of our journey of success.

Our exclusive franchise offer is limited in number, which means you are buying the right to develop your business in a defined geographical area, as each region or territory is sold as a package. Meaning that you are not fighting for vacancies from inside our company for business.

W: www.law-staff.co.uk T: 01954 208062 E: psweeney@law-staff.co.uk

March 2019 | elitefranchise

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01/03/2019 14:31

Franchise Resales

Buy an existing franchise

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Search 100s of franchise resales now Visit bfsale.co.uk/eliteresales

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an altogether friendly bookkeeping experience

Merry Maids has been one of the most successful home cleaning franchise operations in the world for the past 37 years, with almost 100 franchises in the UK. If you’d like to hit the ground running, perhaps one of our existing Merry Maids businesses is for you.

Northampton

Investment: £60,000 Established: 2005 Turnover: £140,000

Wigan

SOLD

Investment: £35,000 Established: 2015 Turnover: £40,000

Grantham & Newark Investment: £75,000 Established: 2004 Turnover: £130,000

Bromley & Orpington Investment: £195,000 Established: 2002 Turnover: £340,000

TruGreen is the world’s largest lawn care company. The journey began as a small private company in 1973 which was acquired by ServiceMaster in 1990 and we now serve more than 3.4 million residential and commercial customers throughout the UK and the USA. Be a part of the world’s largest lawn care company with one of our rare resale opportunities.

We may also have other areas available for resale as our franchise owners’ circumstances can change at short notice so if you don’t see an area that you might be interested in listed, please still get in contact as we may not have had chance to update our resales information.

South Oxfordshire Investment: £54,000 Established: 2010 Turnover: £54,000

ServiceMaster Clean Contract Services deliver office cleaning, commercial cleaning and contract cleaning services to businesses across the UK. Our rare resale opportunities benefit from employees, equipment and customers, so that you can continue to grow a profitable business.

We also have vacant territory available in Scotland, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Norfolk & Kent.

Bournemouth & Poole Investment: £80,000 Established: 2014 Turnover: £120,000

Glasgow & East Strathcylde Investment: £300,000 Established: 2003 Turnover: £478,000

Over 4 million businesses in the UK require a bookkeeping service and you can be a partner in supplying it!

Whether you are a qualified or an experienced bookkeeper we have a route to suit you. As a Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise, you can benefit from the following: • Recurring income with average 50% net profit margins • Excellent growth opportunities to build into a management style business • Flexible hours – work from home – keeping costs down • Dedicated support in Bookkeeping, Operations, Sales & Marketing Although we don’t currently have any resale opportunities on the market, we do have vacant territories throughout the UK.

Contact ServiceMaster Ltd today on 0116 275 9005 or email franchisesales@servicemaster.co.uk for more information

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www.franchisesales.com

01/03/2019 14:54

FRANCHISE RESALES

Call us today for a confidential chat: 0800 0188 297 or visit us at www.taxassistfranchise.co.uk

North West

Investment: TBC Established: 2003 Turnover: £324,000

I really appreciate all of the support that I have had over the last 6 years. I feel financially secure and that is all down to running the business as per the TaxAssist model, it really has worked for me, thank you.

A resale opportunity has arisen in one of our Franchises based in the North West.

The franchisee started in 2003 and operates from two prominent shop front locations in the area. The business services around 608 clients and enjoys gross annual recurring fees of circa £307K. With established shops, complete with furniture, IT and telephone systems and experienced staff, any purchaser would be walking into a ready-made business. This represents an excellent opportunity where a new franchisee can further develop an already substantial business. The business has enjoyed regular organic growth with the majority of new clients coming from recommendations, walk-in business and inbound leads generated from the support centre.

The business is offered as a successful going concern within the TaxAssist Network and the purchaser will become part of that network of accountancy practices.

Tess Blayton - Franchisee

Call us today for a confidential chat: 0800 0188 297 or visit us at www.taxassistfranchise.co.uk

Kent

Investment: TBC Established: 2000 Turnover: £300,000

It’s been great and has exceeded expectations! I love the variety of clients that I get to meet and work with, ranging from new startups through to established businesses and also landlords and retirees.

John Biggs - Franchisee

sponsored by Resales.indd 2

A resale opportunity has arisen in one of our Franchises based in Kent.

The franchisee started in 2000 and operates from a shop front location.

The business services around 430 clients and enjoys gross annual recurring fees of circa £260K. With an established shop, complete with staff, furniture, IT and telephone systems, any purchaser would be walking into a ready-made business.

The business has enjoyed regular organic growth with the majority of new clients coming from recommendations, walk-in business and inbound leads generated from the support centre.

The Franchisee is selling the business because they are retiring.

The business is offered as a successful going concern within the TaxAssist Accountants network and the purchaser will become part of that network of accountancy practices.

www.franchisesales.com

01/03/2019 14:44

FRANCHISE FOCUS

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£: 29,995+VAT

£: n/a

£: 5,000

chipsaway.co.uk

driverhirefranchise.co.uk

mactools-franchise.co.uk

Restore Automotive

Revive!

Snap-on Tools

£: 24,997

£: 27,500

£: 16,037

restorefranchise.com

revivefranchise.com

snaponfranchise.co.uk

Screen Rescue

SuperGlass

£: 19,750 +VAT

£: 15,000

screenrescue.co.uk

superglassukfranchise.com

BUSINESS ActionCOACH

Business Doctors

CPA Online

£: 27,000+

£: n/a

£: 7,375+VAT

actioncoach.co.uk

businessdoctorsfranchise.com

cpa.co.uk

Expense Reduction Analysts

Get Ahead VA

How 2 Franchise

£: 39,900

£: n/a

£: n/a

erafranchise.net

getaheadva.com/franchise-opportunity/

how2franchise.co

Jackson Fire & Security

MJB Graham Consultancy

PA4You

£: 39,500+VAT

£: P.O.A

£: n/a

jacksonfire.co.uk/franchise

www.mjbgraham.com/franchise

pa4you.co.uk

Platinum Business Partners

Regus

The HR Dept

£: 30,000+VAT

£: n/a

£: n/a

platinumbusinesspartners.co.uk

regus.co.uk

hrdept.co.uk

Ableworld

Bluebird Care

Caremark

£:75,000

£: 115,000

£: 100,000

ableworldfranchise.co.uk

bluebirdcarefranchise.co.uk

caremarkfranchises.com

Heritage Healthcare

Home Instead Senior Care

Kare Plus

£: 29,995+VAT

£: 90,000+

£: 40,000

heritagehealthcarefranchising.co.uk

homeinstead.co.uk/franchise

franchising.kareplus.co.uk

Promedica24

Radfield Home Care

Right at Home

£:£20,000 + VAT

£: 75,000

£: 37,000+VAT

franchise.promedica24.co.uk/

radfieldhomecarefranchising.co.uk

rightathomefranchising.co.uk

Arising Cleaning Franchise

Betterclean Services

Blue Sky Guttering Ltd

£: 2,995+

£: 19,600+

£: n/a

arisingcleaningfranchise.co.uk

bettercleanfranchise.co.uk

franchise.blueskyguttering.co.uk

CARE

CLEANING

SPONSORED BY

WWW.FRANCHISESALES.COM

FRANCHISE FOCUS

CLEANING Bright & Beautiful

Clear Brew

Deluxe Window Cleaning

£: 17,995+

£: 15,000+VAT

£: n/a

brightandbeautifulhome.com

clearbrew.co.uk

deluxewindowcleaningfranchise.co.uk

Drain Doctor

Dublcheck

Dyno

£: 21,000+VAT

£: 9,950

£: c250,000

ukplumbingfranchise.co.uk

dublcheck.co.uk

dyno.com

Envirogroup

Fantastic Services

FiltaFry

£: 23,950+VAT

£: n/a

£: 14,950+VAT

envirogroupfranchising.com

joinfantastic.com

filtafryplus.co.uk/franchise

Jan-Pro Cleaning Systems

Jani-King

Merry Maids

£: 1,000 - 5,000

£: n/a

£: 19,995+VAT

jan-pro.com/franchising

janiking.co.uk

merrymaidsfranchise.co.uk

Metro Rod

Minster

Molly Maid

£: 100,000+VAT

£: 28,225+

£: £16,975+VAT

metrorod.co.uk

minsterfranchise.co.uk

mollymaid.co.uk/franchise

MouldDoctor

Ovenclean

Ovenu

£: 33,000

£: 14,995

£: 9,995

moulddoctor.co.uk

ovenclean.com/franchise

ovenufranchise.co.uk

Prima Master Dry Cleaners

Sanondaf

ServiceMaster Clean

£: n/a

£: n/a

£: 26,150

primafranchise.co.uk

sanondaf.co.uk/sanondaf-franchise/

servicemastercleanfranchise.co.uk

techclean

Wilkins Chimney Sweep

Zero Dry Time

£: 19,500+VAT

£: 13,100+VAT

£: 24,950+VAT

techclean.co.uk

franchisechimneysweep.co.uk

zerodrytime.com

Cafe2U

Coffee-bike

easyCoffee

£: 26,650+VAT

£: 7,490

£: 15,000

cafe2u.com/uk

coffee-bike.com/en

easy.coffee/franchise

Boogie Beat

ComputerXplorers

CYCLEme Tots

£: 5,995+

£: 29,500

£:POA

www.boogiebeat.co.uk

computerxplorers.co.uk

cyclemetots.com

diddi dance

First Class Learning

Helen O’Grady

£: 4,995+VAT

£: 8,000-16,000 +VAT

£: 15,000

diddidance.com

firstclasslearning.co.uk/own-a-franchise

helenogrady.co.uk

COFFEE

Esquires Coffee £: 22,500 esquirescoffee.co.uk

CHILDREN

SPONSORED BY

WWW.FRANCHISESALES.COM

FRANCHISE FOCUS

CHILDREN Kiddley Divey

Kumon

Mad Science

£: 5,997+VAT

£: 3,000

£: 23,500

kiddleydivey.co.uk/join-our-team

kumon.co.uk

madscience.org

Magikats Maths and English

Mathnasium

Monkey Music

£: 10,000+VAT

£:40,000

£: 13,975+VAT

educationalfranchise.co.uk

mathnasium.com/franchise

monkeymusic.co.uk

Puddle Ducks

Sport4Kids

Stagecoach

£: 18,975

P.O.A

£: 14,995+VAT

puddleducks.com/franchising

www.s4kfranchising.com

stagecoachfranchise.com

Sticky Fingers

Swimtime

The Creation Station

£: 3,000

£: 18,000+VAT

£: 7,999+VAT

stickyfingerscookeryparties.co.uk

swimtime.org

thecreationstation.co.uk

The Detective Project

Turtle Tots

Tutor Doctor

£: 9,995

£: 13,000+VAT

£: 49,700

thedetectiveproject.co.uk

turtletots.com

franchise.tutordoctor.co.uk

DATING Most Beautiful People £: 9,000 easterneuropewomen.com

FASHION & CLOTHING Mobile Workwear

Noa Noa

£: n/a

£: 40,000

mobileworkwear.com/Franchise

noanoa.com

FINANCE BBX

DNS Accountants

Expense Reduction Analysts

£: n/a

£: 25,000

£: n/a

bbxuk.com

dnsaccountantsfranchise.co.uk

uk.expensereduction.com/

Rosemary Bookkeeping

TaxAssist Accountants

£: 16,970

£: 36,950+VAT

rosemaryfranchise.co.uk

taxassistfranchise.co.uk

Auntie Anne’s

Beatons Tearooms

Camile

£: n/a

£: 55,000

£: 250,000+

auntieannesfranchising.co.uk/

beatonstearooms.co.uk

camile.co.uk/franchising

Fifo Capital £: 25,000 fifocapital.co.uk

rosemary an altogether friendly bookkeeping experience

®

FOOD & DRINK

SPONSORED BY

WWW.FRANCHISESALES.COM

FRANCHISE FOCUS

FOOD & DRINK Chock Shop

Cup the Cake

Harpers

£:POA

£: 377+

£: POA

chockshop.co.uk

cupthecake.com

harpersfranchise.co.uk

Harry Ramsden’s

Maston’s

McDonald’s

£: 150,000 - 250,000

£: 25,000

£: 400,000 - 800,000

harryramsdens.co.uk/franchise

marstonscareers.co.uk

mcdonalds.co.uk/franchising

Papa John’s

Riverford

Southern Fried Chicken

£: 100,000+

£: n/a

£: 125,000+

papajohns.co.uk/franchise

riverford.co.uk/franchise

franchise.southernfriedchicken.com

Subway

Snak Appeal

Warrens Bakery

£: 86,000 - 222,000

£: n/a

£: 18,500

subwayfranchising.com

www.snakappeal.co.uk

warrensbakery.co.uk

HOME IMPROVEMENT & GARDEN BoConcept

Countrywide Grounds Maintenance

Decor Walls & Flooring

£: 100,000

£: 44,950+VAT

£: n/a

boconcept.com

countrywidegrounds.com/franchise

decorcladdingcentre.co.uk

Just Shutters

Mr Electric

Schmidt

£: 25,000

£: 26,238

£: n/a

shutter-franchise.co.uk

franchise.mrelectric.com

www.home-design.schmidt

Shuttercraft

TruGreen

Wonderlawn

£: 25,000

£: 28,000+VAT

POA

shuttercraft-franchise.co.uk

trugreenfranchise.co.uk

wonderlawn.com

Concept Building Solutions

Concordia

Moreland Insurance

£: 32,995+VAT

£: n/a

£: n/a

concept-solutions.co.uk

concordia-employment.co.uk

morelandinsurance.co.uk

Diamond Logistics

InXpress

Mail Boxes Etcs

£: 14,997+VAT

£: n/a

£: 25,000+

diamondlogistics.co.uk

gb.inxpress.com/franchise-opportunities

mbe.co.uk/franchise

Pack & Send

The Original Poster Compay

Two Men And A Truck

£: 29,500

£: 15,000

£: 30,000

packsend.co.uk

originalposter.com

twomenandatruck.co.uk

INSURANCE

MAIL & COURIER

World Options £: 29,995+VAT worldoptions.com

SPONSORED BY

WWW.FRANCHISESALES.COM

FRANCHISE FOCUS

MARKETING Signarama

Vibe Marketing

£: 25,000 - 45,000

£: 14,995+VAT

franchise.signarama.co.uk

vibemarketing.co.uk

PET SERVICES Barking Mad

MyWaggyTails

Now Boarding Pet Hotels

£: 10,000+VAT

£: 7,750+VAT

£: n/a

barkingmad.uk.com

mywaggytails.co.uk/grab-a-franchise

nowboardingpethotels.co.uk

OSCAR

Trophy Pet Foods

We Love Pets

£: 8,995+VAT

£: 13,995+VAT

£: 9,999+VAT

oscar.co.uk

trophypetfoods.co.uk

welovepetsfranchise.co.uk

De Photo

Photography for Little People

White Box

£: 14,950+VAT

£: 15,000

£: n/a

dephoto.biz

photographyforlittlepeoplefranchise.co.uk

whiteboxphotography.co.uk

FASTSIGNS

Kall Kwik

Recognition Express

£:POA

£: 50,000 +shop fit +VAT

£: 35,000+VAT

fastsigns.co.uk

kallkwik.co.uk

recognition-express.com

Signs Express

Voucher Packs

£: 40,000+

£: 10,000 - 12,5000

franchise.signsexpress.co.uk

voucherpacks.co.uk

PHOTOGRAPHY

PRINT

PROPERTY Agency Express

Belvoir

Century 21

£: 24,500+VAT

£: 22,500+VAT

£: 23,500

agencyexpress.co.uk

belvoirfranchise.com

century21franchise.co.uk

HomeXperts

Martin & Co Estate Agents

Platinum Property Partners

£: 19,995+VAT

£: n/a

£: 41,450+

home-xperts.co.uk

propertyfranchise.co.uk

platinumpropertypartners.co.uk

Redstone Lettings

Surelet Property Rental Services

VeriSmart

£: 14,995+

£: 9,500+VAT

£: 9,000+VAT

redstonesfranchise.co.uk

SureLetFranchise.com

verismart.biz

SPONSORED BY

WWW.FRANCHISESALES.COM

FRANCHISE FOCUS

RECRUITMENT Antal

Driver Hire Nationwide

Law Staff Legal Recruitment

£: P.O.A

£: 35,000+

£: n/a

antalfranchising.com

driverhirefranchise.co.uk

law-staff.co.uk

CeX

Cash Generator

Everyman Barber

£: 150,000 - £250,000

£: 80,000

£: n/a

webuy.com/franchising

cgfranchising.co.uk

everymanbarbers.co.uk

KG Professional

One Stop

Suit the City

£: n/a

£: 92pw+VAT

£: 19,950 - 22,950

kgsalons.com

openaonestop.co.uk

suitfranchise.com

9Round

Anytime Fitness

Body Street

£: 115,000+

£: 110,000

£: P.O.A

9round.co.uk/own-a-franchise

anytimefitness.co.uk

www.bodystreetuk.co.uk

Energie Fitness

Fitness Space

HITIO UK

£: 95,000

£: 24,950

£:POA

energiefranchise.com

fitnessspace.com

hitiogym.com

One Element

Premier

YourZone45

£: n/a

£: 14,950 ex. VAT

£: 60,000

one-element.co.uk/franchise

makesportyourbusiness.com

yourzone45.co.uk

Eazi-Apps

Fone Doctor

Project M Asia

£: 7,995

£: 58,000

£: from 25,000+VAT

eazi-apps-business.co.uk

fonedoctoruk.co.uk

projectmasia.com

RETAIL

SPORT & FITNESS

TECHNOLOGY & SOFTWARE

Trivaeo Cloud Services £: 14,995 trivaeo.com​

TELECOMMUNICATIONS Auditel

Challenger Mobile Communications

£: 37,950+VAT

£: n/a

auditelfranchise.co.uk

challenger-mobile.co.uk

TRAINING Pitman Training

Sandler Training

£: 22,500+VAT

£: 55,000+VAT

pitman-franchising.com

sandlerfranchising.co.uk

SPONSORED BY

WWW.FRANCHISESALES.COM

DISCOVERY DAYS

CREATE THE WORK/LIFE BALANCE YOU WANT Dynamic, £3bn marketplace Six lucrative income streams Home-working potential Excellent support and training Robust marketing framework

In business for yourself, but not by yourself...

Come and talk to us at our Insight Day in York & Belfast 9th November - York 23rd November - Belfast www.mcdonalds.co.uk/franchising

t: 01530 513300 e: franchise@thebardongroup.co.uk w: recognition-express.com Please contact us for more information regarding available territories

Book a discovery meeting with us by emailing: opportunities@century21uk.com or call 0115 902 1002 A meeting is a chance for you to find out more about the CENTURY 21 UK team and whether it is the right fit for you.

It’s important that you see the systems & support we offer and get the opportunity to speak to our Business Development Managers who would help you grow your business.

We hold these meetings across the country on a monthly basis.

United Kingdom

0115 902 1002 opportunities@century21uk.com www.century21franchise.co.uk

PREPARING CHILDREN FOR THE FUTURE Home-based, management franchise Flexible, family-friendly commitment Generous territories with at least 600 prospects Dynamic support programme Rewarding and fulfilling

t: 01530 513308 e: franchise@thebardongroup.co.uk w: computerxplorers.co.uk

Try a different type of franchise instead.

Contact Imogen on 01925 730 273, email franchise@homeinstead.co.uk or visit www.homeinstead.co.uk/franchise

124 elitefranchise | MARCH 2019

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DISCOVERY DAYS

Do you dream of being your own boss?

To find out more about our business opportunity visit www.monkeymusicfranchise.co.uk email jointheteam@monkeymusic.co.uk or call 01582 766464.

Discover more about our Ovenu Franchise with an informative, one to one chat over coffee.

Contact us today and we'll put a date in the diary.

Franchise with us Shops, kiosks, drive thru and vending Proven success in busy high street locations Great arabica blend coffee at great prices Quality food options and great service Innovative equipment and smart technology Support and training from committed team Join the orange coffee revolution

Visit www.easy.coffee/franchise or call us on

0333 433 0311

Discover how to MAKE MONEY and MAKE A DIFFERENCE! With a Mathnasium Learning Centre franchise you have the opportunity to build your own business, be your own boss and make a great living whilst making a difference.

Join us for a discovery day and experience the Mathnasium Method and Model, held in Manchester and Hertfordshire.

Book your place at mathnasium.co.uk or call 0161 791 0686 Standard call charges apply

01189 743 911 ovenufranchise.co.uk

Apply for up to ÂŁ2,000 to run your own FLexible fun and rewarding Creation Station franchise Run your own educational, fun and flexible arts & crafts Creation Station franchise.

Choose your hours, have fun and create positive differences within your community with your own successful business.

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DISCOVERY DAYS

RELAUNCHED FOR THE DIGITAL AGE

STRICTLY B2B

EXCELLENT SUPPORT AND TRAINING

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS IN BUSINESS

Robust marketing framework

ROBUST MARKETING FRAMEWORK

t: 01530 513300 e: franchise@thebardongroup.co.uk w: kallkwik.co.uk

Franchise Opportunities with Driver Hire - ‘Franchisor of the Year’ award winner - five times - Average franchise turnover of £1,180,450 in 2017/18 (3 x franchise industry average) - Average net profit more than £130,000 - Franchising successfully since 1987

driverhirefranchise.co.uk

Multi-award winning franchise model Flexible financing assistance Innovative industry Full technical training Personalised operational support

For more information visit: www.fsfastsigns.co.uk Your Discovery Day Invitation

To join us on our next webinar or find out more about Platinum Business Partners go to:

http://bit.ly/PBPDiscovery Register your interest:

01202 652 103

platinumbusinesspartners.co.uk info@platinumbusinesspartners.co.uk

Our Discovery Days provide the perfect opportunity to investigate what MOLLY MAID can provide and decide if it could be right for you! We hold one to one Discover Days to ensure we can tailor the meeting to focus on your specific requirements and circumstances. Our meetings are held at MOLLY MAID House in Maidenhead, Berkshire, that way you can experience our professional and family feel environment, whilst meeting other passionate members of the team.

Aaron Watson Director Business Development, Tel: 01628 583765 Email: aaron.watson@mollymaid.co.uk Web: www.mollymaid.co.uk/franchise

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DISCOVERY DAYS

make their

FUTURE your

Call us now on 0800 854 714 or visit kumon.co.uk

BUSINESS • the UK’s largest supplementary education provider • proven business model • marketing support • comprehensive training

BE PART OF THE WORKPLACE REVOLUTION We are recruiting franchise partners to join the revolution in the UK Regus provides a network of 3,000 locations, in 120 countries and 900 cities globally, with over 300 centres across the UK. We are looking to grow rapidly, in response to massive changes in the way in which people are working and the growth in demand for flexible workspace.

We are now looking for partners across the UK to help us increase the pace of our growth, to keep up with demand. Our partners will find, set-up and operate Regus centres under franchise. You will benefit from our proven business model, established back-office systems and infrastructure, along with our world-class marketing and sales tools. You will have the opportunity to open multiple centres in a defined geographical area, which can deliver an excellent return on investment.

Gain access to a world of opportunity and become part of a recognised global brand.

If you have the drive, resources and commitment to be part of a global growth story, call our franchise team on +44 (0)7823 445061 Visit regus.co.uk/franchise or email franchising@regus.com

Butcher, baker and cabinet maker... our franchisees come from all works of life!

But they all have one thing in common. They all wanted to take control of their own destiny and become their own boss.

“The teams that perform the cleaning tasks are always very thorough, professional and quick.

I would certainly recommend using them”

Call us to learn about our Discovery Days

Fund Management group

Love fashion, live your passion with Suit the City Join a leading business in a booming market, beating the current trends in retail. Work from a small studio and build your business with the aid of a team of Consultant Tailors all trained by Suit the City.

Why choose Techclean? + Experience and credibility + Work from a home environment + Low cost, high margins + Operate in an ever growing market

www.suitfranchise.com

UK’S NO.1 FRYER MANAGEMENT SERVICE WEEKLY REPEAT “MAN IN A VAN” FRANCHISE HIGH-DEMAND, EXCLUSIVE TERRITORY VIRTUALLY NO COMPETITORS

Call us on 01788 550100 to find out more www.filtafryplus.co.uk | dslater@filtagroup.com

Could YOU be the next UK Franchisee?

SEARCHING FOR A CAREER CHANGE WITH A FUTURE?

Arrange a meeting with us today and find out if we are right for you!

Request more information enquiries.uk@boconcept.com

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Checkout Your Dream Franchise At the One-Stop-Shop for Franchise Recruitment, Profiles, Latest News, Success Stories, Upcoming Exhibitions and Dates for Your Diary.

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07/11/2018 15:56

Jane Maudsley founder & managing director Little Voices

The triangle of love in business How one symposium made Jane Maudsley of Little Voices think about the role love plays in franchise success

W

e had our national Little Voices conference a few weeks ago and I got my inspiration from the speakers at our event as well as arranging the day to inspire, motivate and add interesting, practical learning for our network.

One of the points I’ve thought deeply about ever since is the reason we attract, keep and lose our customers. This is a serious issue for every company as clients are the lifeblood of enterprises, the only part of it that provides your bottom line.

Wayne Cherry, one of our trusted suppliers from Recognition Express, the brand recognition experts, spoke at our symposium. He offered a simple answer to why any business is losing clients: “You’re not showing them enough love.”

At first I thought it sounded bonkers. Love? Really? You’re sitting there thinking that the problem is not doing enough sales. But then I realised that maybe the reason we’re not doing enough sales is because sales come from showing love.

Which made me ask myself, what do I do to show love and why am I not showing more? What does

your love-o-meter look like in your business? And given my own reaction, I recognise the temptation of being smug and thinking that you do show clients love, that you’re fine and don’t need to have a love-o-meter in your business. But I implore you to consider that we all want more custom and more profitability. Why else are you in business?

So my challenge to you this month is to stop thinking about marketing and making sales and start focusing on love, to create your company love-o-meter.

The way I did it, I drew a triangle when I came back home from the event. I put my customers and those that have bought from me in three different sections of the triangle with 20 love hearts as bullet points.

In each section of the triangle I considered long and hard about how much love I have shown them and how much more I could show with more concerted effort.

Sounds a bit like a marketing campaign, right?

Yes, to some extent. But it’s still important to really think long and

What does your love-o-meter look like in your business? hard about it with the psychology of ‘showing enough love’. It’s helpful and provides a fresh approach when implementing those campaigns.

No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, rushes things and misses things. Just spending half a day considering the love you’re distributing in your business will have outstanding effects on your

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bottom line. I guarantee it. People buy from people. Even in B2B it’s a human transaction between two people in different companies.

How can we show them love more consistently and regularly?

So against each of those hearts on the triangle around the customers names I wrote something I needed to do or something I could do better.

All those hearts contained gems of activity that I had to do, think about and personalise to ensure I could

communicate and, ultimately, show people love. The way you show love can be done in numerous ways. A newsletter, a phone call, a birthday card, Valentine’s card, random act of kindness card, a bulky gift sent through the post, a catch up face to face that has no agenda. You get the idea. What did you do with your loved one on Valentine’s Day? What do you do with your friends?

You build relationships by building trust and by showing love and

I put my customers and those that have bought from me in three different sections of the triangle with 20 love hearts as bullet points in each section of the triangle

genuine care. Being in business is no different. I’m a massive fan of handwritten letters, personal touches and taking the time to genuinely express my gratitude to the people in and around my business. If you send something packed with a personal touch and lots of love, it’s really important.

Sales is all about building relationships but you have to do the hard work that makes the selling easy. So by doing all of those hearts, by implementing everything along with emails and newsletters and other marketing activities by showing some love you will keep, gain and return lost customers. Indeed, the extra love you show to your current customers will gain loyalty. And loyalty is everything. Loyalty is reciprocated by word of mouth marketing that brings you even more customers and profit. Loveo-meter in the shape of a triangle is definitely the thing to have in your business.

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ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY IN IRELAND OR SCOTLAND? Our recruitment franchise could be what you’re looking for Law Staff Legal Recruitment is an award-winning legal recruitment company situated in Cambridgeshire. Established in 2002 by Marcus Stevens, our Company Director, the business has grown over 16 years and now employs over 25 members of staff, ranging from experienced Recruitment Consultants to our exceptional Recruitment Assistants and Marketing Executives, including an excellent accounts team.

We operate from our own bespoke database system, with over 25,000 registered candidates actively seeking new employment opportunities in the UK alone. We pride ourselves on our strong brand and commitment to excellent service, working with top tier ‘Magic Circle’ firms, through regional heavyweights to the smallest niche practices. Each one is awarded the same level of specialist attention to ensure we are recruiting the right person for the vacancy. Working collectively we ensure that we produce tailored campaigns catering for individual client’s needs.

As we expand in 2018 we are looking for exceptional people to help build on our success, expanding our brand into Ireland and Scotland. Get in touch if you are ready for that next step in owning your own piece of this incredible business.

Why choose a Law Staff franchise?

Low set up cost

Continual support

Fantastic earning potential

Experienced Training given

Start working from home!

Flexible working

W: www.law-staff.co.uk T: 01954 208062 E: psweeney@law-staff.co.uk template.indd 3

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