Elite Franchise July 2019

elitefranchisemagazine.co.uk

JULY 2019 ÂŁ4.50

To franchise or not?

Learn the basics of franchising before jumping into it

Wanna Humpit?

Humpit handed out free condoms to market the hummus franchise

Season of sizzle Make your franchise a summer success

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Why you must prevent sexual harassment in your franchise

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ISSN 2054-9741

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The big no-no

Travel Counsellors

The franchise led by Steve Byrne has supercharged human empathy with tech

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The mark of excellent care

Sue’s doing it...

Would you like to have a positive impact on people’s lives?

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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contents 07.19

14 Ready for tech off

Travel Counsellors CEO Steve Byrne has 1,800 franchisees under his wing and is taking the travelling franchise to new heights by using the latest technology

REGULARS 6 Welcome & contributors 81 Franchise diaries

COLUMNS 08 Frank Milner 11 Dorian Gonsalves 22 Gemma Tumelty 54 Lisa Law

FEATURES 25 Ready to Humpit?

This father-and-son team’s hummus bars are rocking the franchise world

40 Is your brand franchisable?

Revealing what it takes to franchise a business

68 Will your franchise shine this summer?

Unveiling the truth about what makes seasonable franchises work

JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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welcome Volume 09 Issue 07 / 2019 EDITORIAL editorial@cemedia.co.uk Zen Terrelonge Editor Eric Johansson Web Editor Varsha Saraogi Feature Writer Angus Shaw Acting Commercial Writer Fahima Begum Editorial Intern

The digital direction

DESIGN/PRODUCTION production@cemedia.co.uk Darren Marriott Head Designer Lizzie Thurgood Designer Rodrigo Segura Designer Mae Bradshaw Design Intern Dan Lecount Web Development Manager dan@cemedia.co.uk

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he publishing world has changed over the years to see digital rise.

Although there will always be a place for print, regrettably that place isn’t for Elite Franchise. And that’s why all future content from the brand will be found on the website. But as always, although this is the final print edition of the magazine, we’ve got some particularly distinct franchises featured within its pages.

For example, would you ever have considered condoms to be a useful marketing tool for hummus? I suspect few people would. However, the founders of Humpit – as in hummus and pitta – found that capitalising on the name of their brand was a savvy move to appeal to students and get them through the doors. And now with a franchise model in place, franchisees are getting equally as eager to Humpit.

Elsewhere, for our cover story I spoke with Steve Byrne, CEO of Travel Counsellors. In keeping with my original point about digitisation, this travel franchise has put a serious amount of cash and faith into tech, believing it can supercharge the human connection between franchisees and customers. With almost 2,000 members in its network, the business appears to be correct.

SALES & MARKETING Jemma Tonge Acting Sales Manager jemma.tonge@cemedia.co.uk Loretta Smith Sales Account Manager loretta.smith@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

■ ZEN TERRELONGE - EDITOR 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

Contributors

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Lizzie Thurgood

Eric Johansson

Fahima Begum

Varsha Saraogi

Our very own designer has yet again used her design magic to ensure the magazine maintains its reputation of looking top-notch

The web editor proved his passion for franchising by delving into food franchise Humpit. Make sure you get a taste of it

While the team was pulling their weight to produce the magazine, our intern was making sure she populates our site with her words

Feature writer Saraogi has become so enamoured with the franchise world she’s working up a sweat with F45’s new plan

JULY 2019 | ELITEFRANCHISE

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Frank Milner CEO Tutor Doctor

Some things never change There are some questions prospective franchisees ask that never go out of fashion and you better have the right answers

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any things have changed since Tutor Doctor came to the UK: the economy, diversification of the industry and digitalisation to name but a few. But no matter what sector your franchise is in, I’ve found the main questions that we, as franchisors, get asked by potential franchisees have stayed largely the same. Of course, there’ll be differences depending on the brand but the most common queries that come up at each stage of the process haven’t changed for over ten years. And I’m sure if you asked me, I’d say the same again in another ten.

One of the first things people ask about is training: what do they get? That’s because it’s usually the part most franchisees worry about.

We all know it’s common to have prospective franchisees who haven’t run a business before, let alone owned one. Understandably they’re nervous about making an investment without the experience to fall back on. Communicating your training programme – what you offer and when – especially at an early stage, is

vital to attract and engage the right prospects. As a franchisee, especially if you’re coming into a sector that you don’t hail from, this detail is going to be crucial. For example, 80% of Tutor Doctor franchisees don’t come from an education or teaching background but that’s ok. And it’s the same with most brands. My advice about training is ask, ask and ask some more.

Questions about finance are obviously common. Franchising involves a huge investment – financially, physically and emotionally – and money worries remain the same. Franchisees need to be sure they can afford to make the initial investment as well as the ongoing fees. So, there are always questions around the types and levels of funding available and how individual circumstances impact on that. Another FAQ is “how will you support me?” Franchisees want to know exactly how they’re going to be supported for the duration of their agreement. What you say in your marketing literature about this could be the deciding factor for a lot

of people before they even get as far as speaking to you. And be warned, if you say you’re going to offer it – make sure that you do.

Another question almost guaranteed to come up is the one about where customers will come from. Franchisees want to know how they’ll get clients and what they can do to retain them.

Not everyone has sales and marketing experience and these skills might not come naturally so reassurance is essential. As a prospective franchisee you should ask about the processes you’ll be shown that empower you to win business in the first instance and most importantly, keep customers coming back.

The reason these continue to be the most common questions is simple: potential franchisees remain largely the same too. They possess entrepreneurial spirit but crave that sense of security and, often in uncertain times, that’s not a bad thing.

Franchising is a mutual agreement between two parties and respect has to be on both sides. Questions are important, so don’t be afraid to ask.

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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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DORIAN gonsalves CEO Belvoir

Winning ways Want to outperform the competition? Belvoir CEO Dorian Gonsalves advises how to get the mission accomplished

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ext year will be Belvoir’s 25th anniversary – another landmark for a company that has continued to grow and develop with each passing year. As a franchisor, we’re naturally very proud of everything Belvoir has achieved in terms of its reputation and growth but we also take great pride in everything that our franchisees achieve.

It’s no coincidence Andy Campbell, who was Belvoir’s very first franchisee, is still running his extremely successful business over in Moray, Scotland, and many other franchisees have remained with us for over 20 years. Furthermore, these businesses aren’t only thriving but also growing.

This kind of longevity in business is one of many reasons the public likes dealing with a franchise. It’s also the reason why, as a local, independent

trader with the backing of a large, reputable franchise behind you, you’re already equipped with some great advantages that’ll enable you to outperform the competition in your area. Firstly, dealing with a reputable franchise is something that gives the public confidence.

Unfortunately, in today’s financial and political climate, many new or fledgling independent businesses that appear on the high street tend to close their doors quite quickly afterwards. This is hardly surprising as an independent sole trader can find it very difficult to react quickly enough and implement the necessary initiatives that’ll enable them to successfully adapt to the changing shopping habits of consumers.

Secondly, being part of a reputable franchise means you’re instantly part of a recognisable brand and can hit the ground running rather than having

to take time to establish yourself and persuade consumers of the reliability of your product. You’ll already be adhering to a tried and tested business model and savvy customers will recognise your business is one that can be trusted and is likely to be around for a very long time.

Of course you cannot simply rely on brand reputation to succeed.

You’ll need to build on this trust by focusing your energy into providing outstanding levels of customer service, which means not only meeting the expectations of your clients but also going above and beyond what they might expect.

Good customer service is what will result in those all-important positive online reviews and personal recommendations, generating new clients and ensuring that they will return to you time and time again.

July 2019 | elitefranchise

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More than 725 stores & in 27 countries

Equivalenza perfumery has revolutionised the perfume industry by making a luxury novelty perfume market affordable and accessible for the everyday user.

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The secret is in the name of this Spanish company, which has a number of stores in the UK and is now recruiting new franchisees. Equivalenza means equivalence in English and provides consumers with high quality fragrance, cosmetic and aroma products at a fraction of the cost by creating emotions and unique experiences.

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Ready

Tech 14 elitefranchise | JULY 2019

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h Off With 1,800 franchisees on board its network, Travel Counsellors has a series of tech-centric and people-powered support options on its in-flight menu, which CEO Steve Byrne believes has allowed the franchise to soar to great heights

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“When I started there were three developers – we’ve now got 100 people working in tech”

BY Zen Terrelonge / photography by jon parker lee

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“

’m at home at the moment,” says Steve Byrne, CEO of Travel Counsellors. “I’m heading off to London in about an hour’s time.”

When we speak on the phone, he’s temporarily embodying the essence of the Manchester-based travel franchise he helms where remote working is the norm – at least for workers. For Byrne, it happens to be more circumstantial in this instance.

“This time of year is quite busy for us with our overseas conferences,” he details. “I’ve just come back from South Africa and I’ve got a function tonight, so it’s one of those things.”

Byrne notes support staff are actively encouraged to work from home once a week, which he can only dream of.

“I probably do [one day per] month,” he laughs. “I try my best to do it more often but it doesn’t really work out – it’s nice when you can do it.”

But taking a trip back to Byrne’s earlier career, the relaxed travel industry culture wasn’t something he was accustomed to. He got his

first break in the corporate world at professional services firm KPMG as a principal consultant where he worked for six years following his study of accountancy and an MBA. “It mainly involved what they called strategic option reviews, which was looking at different organisations and their options to get more competitive,” Byrne says of his role.

“A lot of the work was involved in presenting to different organisations and convincing them of the value you could provide.” Having relocated to London with the business, his upcoming marriage prompted him to return back to his home in the northwest. And alongside tying the knot, there was another union that came about.

While the north isn’t necessarily known for its warm weather, the sun was shining on Byrne’s career prospects. “I met [a friend] who knew the owner of a travel business called ITC – International Travel Connections – based in Chester and

they were looking for [a financial director],” he remembers. “I was thinking about my next step and at the time the only option would have been moving back to London with KPMG but that didn’t suit for personal reasons, so I was thinking about my next move anyway.” A chat with the owner of ITC and the post with the luxury tour operator, which arranges high-end holidays to the Caribbean, Africa and beyond, was his. “The role was based in a business with great people, in my hometown and in an industry that was really exciting,” Byrne says. Referring to the now deceased founder-entrepreneur Drew Foster, he calls his former boss and ITC owner “great.” “At the time [of joining] we were hoping to take the company forward,” Byrne details.

“It had been very entrepreneurial until then, so we were looking to put structure into the business.”

During his time there, he happened to come across travel agency Travel Counsellors which was sourcing some

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Travel Counsellors

holidays through ITC. Having visited the company in Bolton where it was based at the time, he got talking with the then managing director to find out more about the operation. “He left to launch his own business so they asked me to be the MD at Travel Counsellors,” Byrne says. While ITC ran using a “conventional workforce” it was turning over somewhere between £50m and £60m and Travel Counsellors was already doing around double that, so it was a bigger operation. There were also another reasons the franchise attracted him. “It had this nature to it where the Travel Counsellors were selfemployed and working from home and that added a different dimension, so that was the appeal,” he says. “And it was still within the northwest and at the time I was thinking about [being close to] my three daughters.”

In the time Byrne has been captain of the ship at Travel Counsellors, the franchise has grown massively.

“When I joined 15 years ago, it had 400 franchisees and turned over about £100m,” he reflects. “I worked with the family ownership for about ten years and then did our first private equity investment with Equistone who took a stake in the business,” says Byrne. “And now we’re on a second private equity ownership with Vitruvian to take the company to the next level.”

Of course, one could argue Travel Counsellors is already at the next level.

From 400 franchisees when Byrne joined, it now has 1,800 members in its franchise network.

A decade and a half with a company is a long time, so what is it that’s kept Byrne so invested in Travel Counsellors? Well, its forwardthinking nature is one thing. “A lot of people who are progressive about their career and life like to see progress don’t they?” he opines. “And you don’t necessarily have to leave to get progress. The business was hugely successful before I arrived and one of the fastest-growing companies in travel and that’s continued, so there’s always been variety.” With change and challenges continual since he’s been there, Byrne notes the business is always pushing itself to be and do more for both its customers and franchisees alike. “Travel could be

susceptible to not just to the economic events but to terrorism and so on,” he details. “So both externally and internally there have been things we’ve wanted to do to make the company better. And that can be anything from the evolution of ownership structure to the technology.”

While technology is a dominant force in the world of startups and scaleups, it’s a different story for the franchising industry, although Travel Counsellors has ripped up the rulebook on that front to write its own chapter. “We’ve completely developed the technology within the business – when I started there were three developers,” Byrne says. “We’ve now got 100 people working in tech. And we have a tech platform that enables travel entrepreneurs to run their business from home.” Continuing, he notes that “sales have grown from £100m to over £600m” and it’s clear he believes tech has been the driver behind that financial surge.

Seemingly leaving no territory uncharted, Travel Counsellors caters to both leisure travel and business travel customers. “Leisure travel is member of the public who wants a tailor-made holiday to any part of the world – could be Europe, could be the UK, could be overseas – that’s right for them and their families,” Byrne explains, whether that’s a beach, safari or cruise they’ve got their eyes set on. “So we look after and service people who value advice and recommendations from someone they trust.” From advice to booking and even ongoing communication throughout the holiday, it’s very much about handholding.

On the other side of the coin, while larger businesses are supported with Travel Counsellors’ services, SMEs are the franchise’s bread and butter.

“It’s bespoke travel planning, so that corporate customers can book flights, accommodation and everything else they want to do whilst they’re on the trip,” says Byrne. “So we’re not just there with you for the transaction and that’s it, we’ve developed a proven sales structure that’s enabling the franchisees to build a relationship and critical to that is the skill of the franchisee. We’re very selective about who we offer a franchise to. They must have the ability and desire to offer care

to a customer and then we give them the technology tools to be able to run their own business from home.”

Flexible working is a requirement of increasing attractiveness among Brits.

The end of June 2019 marked five years since the Flexible Working Regulations came into play, granting employees the right to request more adaptable working patterns. And although cybersecurity firm Avast Business found 38% of workers don’t receive the technological help needed when remote working, it’s a different story for Travel Counsellors franchisees. “We’ve consistently proven we have a strong sense of community so the franchisees feel a part of it,” says Byrne. With a great amount of independence provided to members of the network including deciding what they sell, who they sell to, how much they’ll charge and so on, that community is key. “So we put a huge amount of focus on internal engagement and that takes effort and time so that people feel part of that sort of thing,” he adds.

In the same way that franchisees are able to cater to the specific bespoke needs of customers, Travel Counsellors aspire to meet every conceivable requirement the franchisees may expect. “Our platform enables the Travel Counsellor to have all the things they need to run their business so they can look at their income streams, their costs, they can look at their sales, they’ve got their own customer records,” says Byrne. In other words, they have all the data they could possibly desire, which you would hope considering the business is investing £6m a year into tech alone. “Wherever they are in the world, whether they’re working from home at a Starbucks or in an office, they can access the product that they need for their customers 24/7.”

But although tech is central to the operation, the job couldn’t be done without people either. “The [platform] enables the franchisee to build up an intimacy with a blend of tech but the customer doesn't see the tech, the customer sees the Travel Counsellor,” concludes Byrne. "And the Travel Counsellor takes their genuine care, human empathy and expertise and uses the tech to embellish that so the customer gets an extra layer of service that they couldn’t get anywhere else.”

JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Launching franchisees the right way

With over 1,800 stores across more than 25 nations, Auntie Anne’s knows a thing or two about successful launches – and it all starts with location

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pening any new business is a huge task. But picture yourself in a busy shopping centre or travel hub dealing with commercial landlords – it gets a little bit tougher.

Fortunately, Auntie Anne’s, the pretzel franchise has been opening stores in these environments since launching in the UK ten years ago, so has plenty of experience making the process as smooth as possible.

In fact, this franchise is the world’s largest soft pretzel chain, going for over 30 years and amassing above 1,800 stores in over 25 countries.

Franchising was a natural path for the business. Anne Belier, founder of Auntie Anne’s, initially started selling pretzels from a market stall to help fund a local community centre.

However, the business quickly took off beyond such humble beginnings and

soon customers were asking for the recipe, wanting to take the “best pretzel” they “ever tasted” to other locations.

Nowadays Auntie Anne’s is very happy to offer the chance for excellent people to start their own UK store. This sees franchisees continue to grow and develop the brand and run a healthy, profitable business for themselves.

A huge part of the recruitment process is finding the best possible location in franchisees’ desired areas.

To achieve this Auntie Anne’s uses well-established commercial property agents who have relationships with all the large landlords. Once a suitable place is sourced the franchise then thoroughly negotiates lease terms, ensuring the deal is right for everyone involved. Auntie Anne’s is particularly happy with its Solihull franchise, where the franchisee is delighted to

have tallied five stores.

Auntie Anne’s has also reopened its Hammersmith Broadway store – with brand new franchisees in a prime location – and a new Fulham Broadway franchise launching at the end of June.

If you think a hands-on bakery business is for you get in touch with us today – email franchising@ auntieannes.co.uk or visit www.auntieannesfranchising.co.uk

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19/06/2019 14:56:52 20/06/2019 15:36

ADVERTISING FEATURE

The power of coaching

Working for a company counting £75m annual turnover didn’t quench Sean Purcell’s thirst. Once a young business owner himself, he wanted to ease the pains millennial entrepreneurs face today

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efore investing in an ActionCOACH franchise in 2017, Sean Purcell was sitting on an executive board at a company turning over £75m. However, it was always his dream to help out small business owners, having experienced the trials and tribulations of business ownership at the tender age of 24.

“I took charge of a family restaurant when I was younger,” he says. “With a really basic understanding of running my own business, I had to learn everything myself. If I wanted to find something out or learn something new, I had to go about doing it on my own – I didn’t have anyone there next to me. That’s where my passion for business coaching stems from – I wanted to become that support mechanism for others.”

After graduating university Purcell taught in various colleges and eventually became a full-time history and sociology lecturer. Although he enjoyed the business of education, he soon realised the classroom wasn’t for him anymore. From there, he became the youngest ever appointed curriculum manager at Havering College.

Due to family circumstances

Purcell ended up taking voluntary redundancy to focus on time at home. And once home life stabilised he worked with a private training company for two years, where he liaised with many business owners on their personal and professional development. It was here his desire to become a business coach ignited. “As I could see the benefits of coaching, I always knew I wanted to go back into it eventually,” Purcell recalls. “The birth of my first son meant I had to completely re-evaluate my life and think about both my and my family’s future. This was my opportunity.”

The appeal of coaching Purcell’s discovery of ActionCOACH was relatively organic. A simple Google search for business coaching was enough to spark his interest and get him to meeting with Ian Christelow, co-founder of ActionCOACH UK. It was at this meeting when they both realised Purcell would be a great fit for the franchise. “I knew I wanted to work with a proven model as doing it from scratch, on my own, would take forever – and require a lot of

money,” Purcell opines. “There are thousands of people these days calling themselves a business coach but meeting with ActionCOACH made me see the strength in the franchise would be enough to help me stand out from the rest.”

Purcell’s next step was going through due diligence. He spoke to many other Action Coaches, went to an event to see the franchise in action and prepared himself for the hard work ahead. Then, in November 2017 Purcell was ready to attend his training at ActionCOACH University.

Getting fit for business “It was an incredible week,” he describes. “I already had experience as a business coach, so it was the ActionCOACH systems I had to get to grips with. I was blown away by the sheer support of the franchise and model, so to say I was very eager to get going would’ve been an understatement. The whole team was friendly, helpful and we were fully prepped to start trading as soon as our training week was completed. I felt confident I had the backing of a reliable support team.”

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I was blown away by the sheer support of the franchise and model, so to say I was very eager to get going would’ve been an understatement

Fresh out of ActionCOACH University Purcell was raring to go and already decided the focus of his coaching: millennials. He had a desire to give young people the opportunity he never had, helping them to achieve the high-growth business he initially set out for. “Throughout my whole career I never had anybody who understood what it’s like to grow up in this generation,” Purcell says. “Older people just don’t understand the challenges – they’re analogue children in a digital adulthood – and that’s why I wanted to become a champion for budding entrepreneurs.

“Most of my clients created a business by accident when becoming self-employed, grown it to a point where they employ a few people and became unsure of which direction to take it next. That’s when I step in. I’m currently engaging with more than 250 businesses a year and hope to double that number by 2020.”

Reaching a new level In late 2018 ActionCOACH introduced a new senior partner licence, where existing and prospective franchisees can apply to operate in an exclusive

territory containing 10,000 businesses and start employing coaches to build a firm. This grabbed Purcell’s interest in March 2019. “Business was very good in my first year but I wanted to take it up a notch,” he says. “To become a fully-encompassing firm, I would need to have more coaches by my side with skills I don’t necessarily possess – the new licence allows me to do exactly that. We’ll be able to reach a much wider audience.

“I’ve currently got 25 clients on the books, for both group and one-to-one coaching sessions,” Purcell continues.

“With all the business coming in I’m taking on a business development manager first to help with the operations in the office and plan to have my first employee coach in the team by the end of 2020. The next year will be a busy one.”

Reflecting on his first 18 months with ActionCOACH, Purcell talks about what’s stood out for him. “It’s been a serious commitment but with the systems and the team behind me, I’ve felt fully prepared,” he concludes.

“I knew I wanted to have my own business and investing in a franchise let me have control but also gave me

a lot more support than I expected.

All the business growth strategies ActionCOACH gives me to use on my clients I can use to grow my own business too. We practice what we preach and that really pays off.”

If you want to make a lasting impact on your local community and you’re the kind of person who loves learning and developing yourself, has enjoyed success in your career or sport and is willing to invest if they see substantial returns can be made, then find out more by watching the overview video at actioncoach.co.uk/overview

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GEMMA TUMELTY managing director The HR Dept

Preventing sexual harassment in your franchise Protecting your employees and franchisees against sexual harassment is more important than you think

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he culture of endemic sexual harassment across varied workplaces – from politics and sport to big retail and entertainment – has had a spotlight shone on it in recent years.

The #MeToo movement has given those who’ve experienced such behaviour the confidence to make complaints and not give up on pursuing justice.

Businesses should now realise sexual harassment in any organisation isn’t only morally wrong, it can carry huge risk – employment tribunals, considerable fines and irrevocable reputational damage.

And given the clear extent of the problem, it would be naïve for owners of franchise systems to expect their organisation to be completely free of sexual harassment issues.

In May 2019, McDonald’s US branch faced action after a group of 25 women in 20 cities filed sexual harassment complaints against the whole brand with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Three other complaints were filed as civil rights lawsuits. The claimants alledged the company had done nothing to keep women safe while working at its franchise and corporate-owned restaurants.

While the company says it isn’t liable for working conditions at independently owned franchised units, the issue of joint employer liability is yet to be resolved in the courts. Should the judgment go against McDonald’s, it may well have implications for franchisors worldwide.

This isn’t a first for McDonald’s. Over the years it's implemented sexual harassment training for managers and set up a reporting hotline. But female workers still seemingly don’t believe the company is doing enough to protect them.

As ever with franchising, there are layers of potential issues and impacts. Some responsibilities are legal, others are moral.

As an employer, you have a duty of care to ensure your workplace is harassment free. Likewise, as employers your franchisees have the same duty of care to their staff.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance encompasses all workplace contexts and related activities – these include office functions and parties, training courses and conferences – and says sexual harassment can be perpetrated by workers and non-workers, including contractors, agency staff, clients or customers.

Franchisors have the same duty of protection to their franchisees, so a zero-tolerance policy throughout an organisation will provide safety for all the brand's workers.

You can start with your own company culture. Make it undeniably clear to your employees that sexual harassment is prohibited from your workplace and that any occurrences will face severe consequences. This can be further reiterated through an anti-harassment policy and staff training.

You should be confident you have policies and procedures in place to deal with allegations of sexual harassment in scenarios like a supplier harassing a franchisee in the bar after dinner at your conference, one franchisee accusing another of sexual harassment, an employee accusing a franchisee of sexual harassment, a customer complaining to head office about sexual harassment by the franchisee or a franchisor’s employee accusing a franchisee of sexual harassment.

I would advise putting in place policies, procedures and the necessary coverage in your franchise and supplier agreements so you can act swiftly and fairly. Communicate these policies to employees, franchisees, contractors and suppliers alike, before effective implementation, monitoring and review.

You should also have an appropriate procedure for reporting harassment, protecting victims and taking action if it occurs.

22 elitefranchise | JUly 2019

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Only hire top talent

Recruitment is crucial to any organisation’s success yet so many end up with bad eggs. Fortunately, external hiring sorts the wheat from the chaff

E

mployers must consider key needs in their company when looking to take on more staff, making timing essential. “Knowing when to expand your staff workforce can be a tricky task,” says Paul Hulance, MD of Clark James, the recruitment franchise. “There are signs you may be ready to hire one or more new employees and we work very closely with companies to assist in this process.”

Above all, an employer should consider the following: Is the company achieving steady growth that can support additional staff? Are current employees working efficiently or are they overworked? Should you restructure roles within the company?

Have you had to turn away new business and are you providing excellent customer service?

A key advantage of external hiring is qualified candidates – some who

may have developed a wide range of skills elsewhere – can bring new ideas, perspectives and talent to the organisation. With the know-how, tools and experience to supply such talent, Clark James understands.

Hiring skilled and experienced external candidates may also reduce training costs and give the organisation a competitive advantage. This is in addition to providing new, innovative ideas for management strategies and creating a forward-thinking approach stimulating advancement and growth.

In fact, if you’re looking to work for a professional services business in a consultative capacity, a Clark James Recruitment franchise is an ideal consideration, with excellent longterm and financial rewards.

For more information please contact Paul Hulance at head office on 01673 847140, or email paul@clarkjames. co.uk to request a prospectus.

TM

Recruitment

Specialists

24 elitefranchise | July 2019

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Ready to Humpit?

Humpit’s founders have international aspirations and aren’t afraid of ruffling a few feathers, whether through calling other food chains’ potential disasters or handing out condoms to students

BY ERIC JOHANSSON

A

ll things considered, everything worked out better than expected for Humpit’s founders. Simon Phillips still remembers how he and his son rolled up at the Leeds street food event in what was supposed to be their first outing with their hummus and falafel bar. “It was challenging because we’d never made that quantity of product,” Phillips recalls. “We’d obviously made a few back at our table but we’d never made them to the numbers that we thought we might be catering to.”

While they prepared for the 200 or so portions, the father-son duo feared they’d struggle to sell everything. “We thought we’d have to give samples away,” he says. However, the moment they opened for business people poured in to get a taste. Not only did the Humpit founders sell out the first batch but had to send someone to the store to buy additional ingredients.

“It was very stressful that day but we completed it fairly well,” Phillips states.

As a proof of concept goes, Humpit was off to a great start.

The little gazebo they used at the event has since been removed as the business has grown. Today Humpit has scaled into a chain of hummus bars around the UK with a franchising contract with the National Union of Students (NUS). Moreover, the Phillips’ have just opened their first real franchise, with between two and five more in the pipeline to open this year alone. “Sometimes I think we’re growing too fast,” Phillips admits.

“But we choose the right partners, do it carefully and cautiously to not expand too quickly and take our eyes off the ball.”

To get to this point, one has to rewind the tape about seven years to when Phillips Sr was working as a consultant in the food and beverage industry. “A potential client approached me saying they were [interested] in opening a hummus bar chain in the UK,” he remembers, adding that he felt sceptical of the concept at first. Initially

his research seemed to back up the hunch that a middle-eastern themed hummus bar might not be successful in Britain. But when they started looking at westernising the concept he realised there might be an opportunity there after all. “It’s a little bit like what you’d find when it comes to sushi,” he explains. “You go into Yo! Sushi but you don’t think you’re in Japan. It’s just good food in a nice modern environment. We had the same idea and that’s how we developed through my input.”

While the client eventually pulled out of the project and the research was put in a drawer somewhere, it laid the foundation of his own restaurant venture a few years later. “The project was pulled out of the drawer again because my son Jonathan had completed university and was looking for work,” Phillips continues. During his studies Jonathan Phillips had spent some time in Kuala Lumpur and had fallen in love with the street food culture. Phillips continues: “So he sort of came out of uni and said: JULY 2019 | ELITEFRANCHISE

25

Humpit

‘Dad I don’t know [if] I am actually going to to do the corporate route. I want to do something with food. How about that hummus idea that you had a couple of years ago?’”

They opened the file and decided to go at it together. “We put in a little bit of money each ourselves and I put in a really small amount of money,” Phillips says. “I’d call it pocket money.

Although, [Jonathan] actually put in his own pocket money. So maybe it hurt him slightly more.” Having spent a bit of time coming up with the name, they used half of their initial investment to enlist the services of a design agency for their marketing. Phillips also used his network within the industry to borrow a few pieces of equipment to get started.

“We did a bit of product development at home as one does on the kitchen table, borrowing and stealing inspiration from people making falafel,” he recalls. “You can go online and read everything about how to make hummus and falafel. We just honed what we thought was a good product which tasted good.”

All these preparations paid off at the Leeds street food event where

the father-son team proved their concept. “We were given that boost of confidence to go out and do a few more events,” Phillips recalls. During the summer of 2014 they catered to parties, weddings and home events. This made them money and further proved the concept. By September, the Humpit boys felt confident enough to approach Leeds Corn Exchange to see if they could set up shop in the Victorian building. They agreed to try it out on a monthly rolling contract. “It took off straight away,” Phillips says. After six months and a steady stream of lunch guests attending the store, Humpit was offered a five-year lease.

One year later they met Richard Branson when they became one of the winners at Virgin StartUp Foodpreneur Festival 2015. “That obviously gave us a lot of exposure,” Philips recalls. It certainly helped boost their marketing efforts and enabled them to secure a second branch in Sheffield a few months later, which saw the Steel City store open in March 2016. “Everything helped because it’s not always easy to secure

leases when you’re a small company,” Phillips argues.

The award also helped them grab the interest of potential investors.

“Early in 2017 we were contacted by a venture capitalist group called Venturian Funding and Investment,” Phillips recalls. After meeting them, the Phillips’ and the VC firm signed a deal that saw Venturian invest £200,000 as well as its expertise of building successful companies into Humpit for an undisclosed share in the business. “[It] has really helped us develop to where we are now,” he continues.

That happened in August 2017 and in September the same year Humpit opened its third store at the University of Leeds. “That had already been arranged before the investment was made,” Phillips says. While the opening had come about because many students already frequented the company’s first store, that didn’t prevent Humpit from going all in when it came to the marketing. For instance, during freshers week the company gave away condoms with the words “Ready to Humpit?” written on them.

Sometimes I think we’re growing too fast

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Humpit

“It was quite a cheeky way of marketing the brand,” Phillips says. “We got a lot of feedback and many were very positive. Some people were obviously a little bit negative. But you always get that. Primarily it was very cheeky and it made people laugh and remember us. Of course, that was the reason we did it.”

With the new store open and the backing of Venturian, Phillips set out to see what the best way to further expand the brand was. Eventually they landed on franchising as the obvious solution – the company’s processes could easily be written down and the VC firm had experience in using the model to scale corporates. “So the business was fairly straightforward to franchise,” he explains.

The University of Leeds success also proved that there was a clear demand among students to eat healthy vegetarian food, which led to the NUS signing a master franchisee agreement to open new sites at different campuses. The first of those franchises was opened in Edinburgh in February 2019. That proved to be the first of several interested parties to join the business. “The first franchise opened two weeks ago in Huddersfield,” says

Phillips, adding “that’s our first private franchise.” But it won’t be the last. The franchisor is already in talks with a few other potential franchisees.

However, Humpit won’t simply pick

“I’ve seen some franchises being offered out there that aren’t that well known but are extremely expensive,” Phillips says.

“That to me is almost a recipe for disaster.

I don’t see how people would be able to part with a huge sum of money for something unknown.” Pointing particularly at expensive burger franchises, he adds: “I struggle to find out why people are investing in that type of business today.”

Looking at the future, it’s obvious Phillips has several plans for Humpit. To begin with he plans to open more stores himself, focusing primarily on Manchester and London. “I believe that London in itself could easily in the next five years have five to ten sites,” he claims. “Plus it with Manchester and the other sites, I reckon that from now to the next five years in the UK we could be in the region of having 30 to 40 stores potentially if it all goes well.” Phillips also reveals he’s interested in taking the business abroad, saying several interested international parties have already approached Humpit. “That is something that myself and my son would be happy to pursue,” Phillips says.

And given the rapid speed at which Humpit has scaled so far, they may soon get their wish.

So the business was fairly straightforward to franchise anyone who approaches it looking to join the network. The ideal candidate would both have the financial muscles to open a franchise and some hospitality experience. “We’re looking for someone who understands the philosophy of the business,” Phillips explains. Another key characteristic is if the franchisor gets along with and trusts the aspiring franchisee. “They’re taking care of our baby and we want them to be able to represent it well and believe in it as much as we do and look after it as well as we do,” he continues. “It’s very important.”

In return, the people joining the franchise network would get access to the model and the franchisor’s support without being forced to break the bank.

JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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The three Ps of the fitness industry Neil Randall, director of sales and marketing at Anytime Fitness UK, explains the three vital steps franchisees must take to capitalise on a booming fitness industry 28 elitefranchise | JULY 2019

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

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nytime Fitness, the gym franchise, firmly believes a successful club is built on strong foundations, beginning well in advance of club openings. It’s essential franchisee engagement and training is implemented during a club’s development plan. At the centre of these foundations are the three Ps: property, people and pre-sale, which we believe are the key pillars of a successful fitness franchise. By regularly considering these factors, you stand the best chance of opening the club with momentum and, subsequently, cashflow and profit.

Property There’s perhaps no other component more crucial than your club’s location, as it can determine an array of influential factors likely to shape your club’s success. For example, by being aware of competitors and their proposition you can strategically formulate your club’s offering to generate a more appealing package.

But if you don’t know how the offering can challenge local competition, it’s likely you won’t attract your desired target audience.

Critically analysing your local demographic profile and density is a fundamental element of planning.

Knowing the percentage spread of key socio-economic groups, for example, supports the development of more tailored packages.

Furthermore, you must ask yourself whether there is enough demand for a new club. Franchisees can often excitedly dive in without completing thorough market research and consequently take longer to make the impact they desire. Other aspects such as whether your property has capacity for free parking can play an influential role in consumer accessibility, all of which can be overcome through effective planning.

Other considerations are details such as your property’s size and layout. By testing your club’s kit flow and volume you can gauge profit per square foot and ensure it matches potential yield. You should then calculate your property’s service charge while ensuring rates are capped and justified, as these are both costs that can sometimes be missed in the early stages.

As part of the extensive support we provide, and to alleviate such issues, Anytime Fitness UK has partnered

with leading real estate advisor CBRE. Their broad network of over 130 UK-based leasing managers and contacts within the property industry play a key role in helping franchisees with property searches and achieving competitive commercial terms.

People Recruiting well ahead of opening is crucial. Your team will need to support your customers’ requirements and they will be instrumental in your pre-sale period, actively going into the local community and marketing to prospects. People buy into the passion and enthusiasm of staff so it’s important to look for personable, passionate health and fitness professionals. Set aside time to search for capable team members who can add value.

Train your staff to approach and engage all members. The best advocates for your club are your staff as their interaction with members can lead to increased engagement and loyalty. It’s far more cost effective to retain members through meaningful social interaction and added value than having to spend resources to recruit new members.

It’s also imperative you’re clear on the club’s strategy and your position as either an owner-operator versus owner-investor. Ask yourself what role you are going to play at the club.

When developing the strategy, we recommend including your club’s team in the overall creation to improve buy-in. This allows your team to work together from the outset, fostering a culture of delivery and problem solving as a group.

As part of this, being clear with staff incentives from the beginning provides clarity and trust between all parties. For example, knowing the difference between sales commission and management bonuses can play an influential role.

Emphasis should also be placed on CPD and with Anytime Fitness’ franchisor training offering, it’s strongly advised all new and current franchisees attend.

working capital is required to invest beyond this time period.

Our road map to achieving a strong pre-sale maximises our franchisee’s chances of ensuring club turnover from opening. Incorporating this plan into your strategy enables you to execute pre-sale actions successfully, subsequently providing you with the deserved benefits.

An example of a major success story is our Anytime Fitness Fleet club, which recently broke the global pre-sale record by opening its doors with 1,396 members. The owner is a multi-site franchisee and used an effective combination of community engagement, face-to-face and digital channel marketing to capture the imagination of the local population.

We often find franchisees can fail to understand the importance of effective channel distribution, with traditional face-to-face interaction presenting equally prosperous leads as digital activity. It’s a matter of combining channels to create multiple touch points with prospects to market your club effectively and stand out from the competition. A great example would be by engaging with your local community, ensuring your club is present at local events and offering advice to educational institutions, societies and clubs. Anytime Fitness prides itself on building welcoming clubs with a community feel and partnering with local businesses. Building value for the consumer from day one develops the grounding for them to become club advocates within the local community.

By following your franchisor’s advice and engaging with a process that has been successful not just in the UK but across over thirty other global markets, you are increasing the chances of success.

With over 160 clubs in the UK and over 4,500 clubs globally, Anytime Fitness is the fastest growing franchise in the world according to the IHRSA. To find out more about Anytime Fitness and its attractive franchise opportunities, visit anytimefitness.co.uk/elite

Pre-sale At Anytime Fitness, help is always at hand to ensure you achieve what is undoubtedly the finishing touch to your club’s foundations: pre-sale.

The better the pre-sale, the less JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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24/06/2019 12:19

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Reasons to take a closer look at Puddle Ducks: The UK’s only 100% child-led baby & child swim school – technically world-class product A team of experts supporting you every step of the way and a fantastic network of franchisees with a wealth of experience for you to draw on Full bfa and EWIF members and multiple award-winners and finalists with both of these bodies Our established franchisees enjoyed profits of over £100,000 in 2017/18 Don’t just take our word for it – hear what our happy franchisees have to say. Scan the QR code to watch our short video.

Get in touch with Claire on claire.mills@puddleducks.com or 01477 410082 for an informal chat or to ask any questions you may have.

Find out all about our Franchise offering at www.puddleducks.com/franchising

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Puddle Ducks / Hitio.indd 1

24/06/2019 09:28

Bringing

balm to the care industry crisis While many headlines rightfully preach about Britain’s subpar care for vulnerable adults, few offer workable solutions – so are there any?

Franchising has an answer 32 elitefranchise | JULY 2019

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Recruiting care workers in the UK to deliver such crucial services is notoriously fraught with difficulty

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ach of us would like to imagine there’s a good range of highquality choices at affordable prices when organising help and care for our nearest and dearest – or for ourselves. However, unfortunately that’s all too often not the case. In fact, Britain’s care industry crisis has been brewing for years.

Essentially, most adult care takes one of three forms. The first is domiciliary care, with regular pop-in visits one or more times a day to assist patients with day-to-day living.

Alternatively, live-in care sees care workers stay with patients in their own homes to support independent living. Finally, residential care involves patients moving into a nursing or other residential home and being cared for in a group environment.

Recruiting care workers in the UK to deliver such crucial services is notoriously fraught with difficulty. For example, Skills for Care, the strategic body for adult social care, estimates around 390,000 employees resigned from the industry between September 2017 and September 2018 – 30.7% of the workforce. Moreover, at any one time there are around 110,000 social care vacancies – a staggering figure giving clear indication something isn’t functioning properly.

The two-part BBC One Panorama documentary Crisis in Care raised awareness that over six months in 2018, at least 2,500 frail, elderly people in England had to move because their care home closed. This is a sharp 39% rise from the same period in 2017 and another sign of

the increasing pressures on a care system meant to look after the most vulnerable in society. The personal journeys of elderly as well as workingage adults through the care system also powerfully brought to life the statistics behind the difficulties.

It’s not least because funding issues are enormous. For example, according to the BBC local authorities provide adult social care including support

provider, for instance specialises in the provision of 24-7 live-in care. This is in recognition that many needing care prefer to stay in their own homes and communities until it’s physically impossible, rather than move into residential care. At Promedica24 highquality care staff with good language skills are recruited from Poland, who the English have a good cultural fit with, overcoming the issue of domestic recruitment difficulties.

Promedica24’s wellpracticed systems ensure care worker capacity is never an issue, providing families with the peace of mind knowing their loved ones are receiving the attention they need. The franchise’s customer reviews reflect the appreciation of its services, with delight and relief of the discovery that care can be provided in the home setting.

Promedica24 is expanding throughout England with the franchising model, carefully selecting personable individuals to introduce the service to families and communities in their local area.

Offering a high-quality service which allows people to stay in their own home makes for a hugely rewarding industry to be part of.

However, the silver lining in this gloomy picture is many care providers are expanding to offer more help with day-to-day tasks like washing, dressing and medication either in a care home or private property.

However, to be eligible you must show significant need for help and in England, you need savings and assets worth less than £23,250. Care systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland operate in slightly different ways but many of the pressures they face are the same.

However, the silver lining in this gloomy picture is many care providers are expanding to offer more help.

Increasingly creative approaches are addressing the situation and online portals such as www.homecare.co.uk and www.caresourcer.com are making it easier for families to decipher options open to them and their loved ones.

Promedica24, a leading live-in care

If you’re ready to reap the rewards, visit www.promedica24.co.uk or call 0800 086 8686 for further information

JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

The franchise

that’s tough to leave When becoming a franchisee of Puccino’s, Asad Razvi wasn’t planning on sticking around long. Now, 14 years later, he can’t keep count of the number of reasons there are to stay

T

o be totally honest, I wasn’t initially interested in becoming a franchisee of any particular brand. I just set out to have a business within the coffee industry as I was looking for a fast-paced, customerfacing and revenue-earning retail opportunity. Simple. Well, not quite.

Back then I didn’t know anything

about the coffee industry and neither did I have great experience of running a business. What I did have was a natural inclination towards customer service and of course an appetite to build a healthy revenue stream.

With this in mind a franchise operation was the obvious choice, as I learnt through research I would

get significant benefits from teaming up with a demonstrable proven successful model.

But what made me choose this particular branded concept called Puccino’s? For starters, it’s important to define what success is. Again, through research I established franchisors’ views about success

34 elitefranchise | JULY 2019

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vary. In Puccino’s, for example, for the partnership to be successful both the franchisee and franchisor have a part to play to achieve the satisfaction of building a solid, financially-rewarding business.

There are a number of reasons why, despite now having enough knowledge and experience to move on, I choose to stay and grow my business with my franchisor. Firstly, there’s a full breadth of systems and training support – Puccino’s team are experienced, accessible, approachable and ready to assist.

Secondly, it has a chosen market and profile in which to operate, having established itself as one of the preferred go-to franchisors for commercial agents by offering new locations and renewals of existing opportunities. My franchisor also recognises standing still is not an option, with regular introductions of new products developed in conjunction with a trusted supplier base keeping the offering fresh and relevant. Furthermore, I find

Puccino’s celebrates their franchisees’ successes and regularly recognises the achievements of both franchisees and individual team members. Finally, there’s the humour. Seriously, the artwork and humour has its own following, a cut above everything and everyone else.

I joined some years ago with the intention of staying for a short while before moving on. Well, that plan went to the wall as I’m still here enjoying the challenge and continuing to grow my business, with my biggest frustration being I can’t get another unit quick enough. This is another factor for anyone considering this franchisor: they don’t open units for the sake of it. All the sites are carefully chosen following extensive research.

I’m far from the only success story with this business. A fellow franchisee started out as a barista a few years back and now proudly operates five units. The important point is our franchisor is supportive of our ambitions yet realistic in assessing the capabilities of each

individual franchisee.

You can expect any wellestablished, reputable franchisor like Puccino’s to offer comprehensive processes with procedures in place so their franchisees need not worry about the basics. But what sets Puccino’s apart is a defined market niche and strong and long-standing relations with high-profile suppliers.

Also, while it’s well-established and respected in the coffee industry, Puccino’s is small and personable enough to work closely with both new and existing franchisees. This complements their loyal customer following, great product offering, fantastic branding and business model that continues to grow.

JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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FiltaFry / Spa810.indd 1

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Pilots get franchises

off the ground CYCLEme TOTS is currently looking for three enthusiastic and ambitious people to join its business as pilot franchisees – but what exactly is a pilot franchise?

W

orking alongside fantastic franchise consultants, we at CYCLEme TOTS have developed our children’s cycling activities business into a franchise operation and are keen to find like-minded individuals to help the brand grow.

Our pilot franchisees will follow the CYCLEme TOTS business model and processes in their chosen territory to prove it’s replicable across different areas. Once proven successful, we can then roll our franchise opportunity out across the UK. Our pilot operation will help us learn how to best support our franchisees, testing operations manuals, training programmes and processes.

As one of a limited number of pilot franchisees CYCLEme TOTS can ensure a great deal of head office attention and support to launch your business. However, as a prospective franchisee it’s important to maintain some crucial considerations.

A franchise partnership is an ongoing relationship, so you must be

sure you can trust your franchisor for their ongoing support to build your business. Use multiple meetings to fully understand the business and systems, including the customer relationship management and territory mapping.

Also, look for accreditation and awards as a mark of the standard of service of the existing business.

Franchisors investing time, energy and money into these achievements show commitment to the success and growth of the brand, which is the kind of franchisor you want supporting your business.

So long as you’ve done your research into a franchise’s owners and operations before taking the plunge, the advantage of being a pilot franchisee could be significant.

Firstly, a pilot franchisee will often pay a reduced fee to join the company to counteract the risk.

Our full franchise package fee, for example, has been reduced to just £7,995 plus VAT for pilot franchisees.

Secondly, remember no franchisor sets out to fail. It takes time, dedication and not to mention a lot of investment to turn a small business into a franchise operation. Therefore, as a new franchisor it’s essential to build a franchise network as strong, successful and profitable as possible and that all starts with the pilot.

Quite simply, as a pilot franchisee you can capitalise on great benefits with additional support that wouldn’t exist if you went it alone in launching your own business.

For more information on our opportunities please visit www.cyclemetots.com/pages/ franchise-me

JuLY 2019 | elitefranchise

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Can you put your carers at the heart of what you do?

Our mission is to become the UK Care Sector’s Employer of Choice by 2022.

Join our mission and change the way care businesses are run.

At Visiting Angels we understand that to be a successful care franchisee you need to put the interests of your staff at the heart of your business. We are one of the UK’s first Carer-Centric franchise businesses.

If you want to be successful working in your community, if you want to make a difference to caregivers, clients and families, if you want to smile because you are changing lives and being commercially successful - call Visiting Angels today.

Join a worldwide network of 600+ franchisees A new approach to running a care business Specifically addresses the challenge of recruitment Model proven over 20 years Reduced franchise fees for development franchisees Liquid capital required of circa £30,000

Learn more about one of the world’s largest care franchises by speaking to Dan Archer

on 0114 433 3000 or 07584 178 458 www.visitingangelsfranchise.co.uk I darcher@visiting-angels.co.uk

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26/03/2019 12:13

Brand is

ADVERTISING FEATURE

everything Carefully crafted brands can charge up a range of emotions in customers, as this franchise discovered

W

hether you’re thinking of investing in a franchise or are a franchisor, ensuring a strong brand is crucial to business success. Portraying the right message to target audiences is vital, helping reach customers on an emotional level, build reputation and ensuring you stand out from the crowd. In fact, it’s so easy to underestimate the impact a strong brand message has on business.

If you’re a start-up business or looking to refresh your company, it’s important to begin by dedicating time to researching and defining your brand. This includes everything from

the logo and website right through to end customer experience.

A brand also needs to be easily recognisable, memorable, unique, consistent and tell the right story.

Good brands connect with people in a richly emotional way, making them fundamentally feel good when buying or using your services.

Riverford, the fruit and veg delivery franchise, for example, has traded for over 30 years but recently decided to rebrand. The franchise knew it was first and foremost composed of farmers and experts in veg – veg nerds, if you will – with an outspoken leader devoid of corporate sheen. This all formed the

basis of a rebrand and set the tone for the message and stories the franchise wanted to get across.

Riverford worked with a marketing agency to help centre its thinking on veg, which proved to be an extremely good investment. Also working with an independent researcher, Riverford learned who its customers really were, what they thought the brand represented and what drove them to purchase the produce.

Ultimately, veg is Riverford’s favourite topic. It’s what excites the franchise and has always been at the heart of everything it does. As well as bringing great design sensibility and creativity, Riverford’s agency helped the franchise focus on what truly differentiates it in a way the whole business can rally behind. It even came up with the strapline Live Life on the Veg – words to live by.

Riverford’s franchisees were also excited and reinvigorated by the rebrand, being massively supportive and proud vows were being renewed.

It’s a tough market out there, with supermarkets, online shopping and home delivery services vying for customers. But Riverford has the brand to show it grows and delivers the very best organic veg around. franchise@riverford.co.uk 01803 227 380 www.riverford.co.uk/franchise

JuLY 2019 | elitefranchise

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24/06/2019 10:08

FRanchise branding 101

Is your brand franchisable?

By FIONA BOSWELL, partner and head of franchising, fraser brown solicitors

Many small-business owners with a successful model may want to venture into franchising. But if you’re franchising a business you must consider the key elements for a successful brand

G

ood branding is probably the most crucial aspect of a franchise business and its long-term success. It provides your customer base with a perception of what goods and services you’re providing and what qualities you want them to associate with your company and is the valuable asset leveraged in the franchise model.

To help you on your journey, here are some helpful tips on how to create the perfect franchise brand and how to sustain it.

(1) Tailor the brand to your franchise concept As a proven and successful business you’ll already have a brand but may need to adjust it to make it suitable for a franchise. Is the brand generic or in multiple use? It’s worth investing the time to develop a less descriptive but more unique brand.

If someone else is designing your brand material ensure you own the intellectual property rights in it and legally have the right to register it as your trademark. In intellectual

property law, creators own what they create irrespective of you paying for it unless they legally transfer ownership to you.

Consider what entity will own your brand. Is it going to be your designated franchisor company or are intellectual property assets best allocated to a holding company for future exploitation or sale independently. There are tax consequences depending on which structure chosen, so ensure you get the right advice.

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FRanchise branding 101

Good branding is probably the most crucial aspect of a franchise business and its long-term success (2) Develop a franchise brand strategy You must clearly identify what your brand is to your network and how it should and shouldn’t be used. Having a clear and documented brand manual will ensure consistent use of the brand across your network. Ensure it captures not just use of main and central logos but straplines and sub brands used across the network.

(3) Protect the brand So you have now identified your logo and branding and are ready to launch your franchise concept. Ensure you check to ensure the trading name and logo aren’t already in existence and registered as a trademark as you will then encounter opposition to its registration if it’s used in the same business sector.

Search the IPO, internet, Companies House, trade press, trade shows and domain name registries. Check if the brand you plan to use is already taken by anyone else for the same or similar services to what you plan to provide.

Once you’re sure the brand isn’t used by others, protect it as a registered trademark. Registered trademarks give brands far greater protection than relying on the laws of passing off which rely on reputation that may only have been established in a specific geographical area.

The monopoly right of having a registered trademark means you can

challenge others that may copycat your brand anywhere in the territory in which it is registered for example the UK. Also don’t protect brands that are too descriptive of what you’re trading in.

For example, door companies should avoid calling themselves The Door Company – you may secure registration by being able to demonstrate by evidence significant reputation.

However, it will always be a weak brand open to challenge.

Don’t assume that registering your business name at Companies House provides you with trademark protection as it doesn’t.

Carefully consider the goods and services that the trademark will be registered under. Once the trademark has been registered you can’t change the classifications. So ensure it’s registered for all the purposes you intend to use the trademark, including franchising and not just the products or services you provide.

Do not use the ® symbol until your trademark has been registered as this is an offence under trademark law. You are, however, entitled to use ™ if you so wish.

(4) Protect the brand elsewhere In addition to registering a distinctive, cleared brand as a trademark you should also register it as a domain name, secure Companies House registration and at social media accounts.

If you don’t someone else will and although a pre-registered trademark does give you the right to challenge a bad faith domain registration you have to take action to do this.

Note if you plan to expand your network overseas you will need to secure protection of your brand in that country.

You will also need to check there are no adverse associations in local dialect for that brand.

(5) Police your brand Once you’ve registered your brand conduct regular checks to ensure others aren’t using it adversely. As a franchisor you have a duty to the network to ensure the reputation of the brand isn’t being disparaged by inappropriate use or copycats. Take firm action if it’s being infringed. Get advice and solicitors to assert your rights. This can result in stopping unruly competitors or alternatively result in a lucrative licensing revenue for you.

(6) Use your brand and review portfolio protection As shown by the recent McDonald’s Big Mac case it’s vital to use the protected form of the brand as covered by the registration. Otherwise your monopoly right for your brand can be challenged resulting in the invalidation of your trademark.

Annually review your brand portfolio to ensure current trademark protection reflects use and extend or amend classifications as required or engage in some activity to support legal use in the form registered to avoid late challenge.

(7) Word to the wise Franchising is all about the brand, protecting and preserving its value is central to the concept of business format franchising – ensure you have monopoly protection for strong franchise brands and that you police and review these regularly. july 2019 | elitefranchise

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25/06/2019 12:00

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Franchising was the missing link

It took a lot of courage for Edmund Augustin to give business ownership another crack after his previous failure. But this time, an obvious yet crucial ingredient inherent to franchising changed everything

M

y father is a carpenter by trade. Going to building sites with him while growing up, it’s no surprise I became a tradesman myself – albeit one dealing with electricity rather than wood. From one job to another, I was wondering what the future holds for me. Could I start a business of my own? Did I have what it takes to be my own boss – a person in charge and responsible for others?

These questions can be scary and doubly so when going it alone.

Taking my first steps in business, I was absolutely ecstatic – a young entrepreneur ready to take on the world. I thought I was being smart and felt invincible, which was naive of me.

It’s a crushing reality but being your own boss means every day is Monday – there is so much to do in such little time. I was far from prepared, started to doubt myself and, ultimately, failed.

The gap between a working man and businessman was too wide and I couldn’t bridge it.

Later, as I was looking for a job to bounce back on my feet I randomly stumbled upon an ad simply saying “Be your own boss.” At the same time another company in my field was looking to expand through franchising. This was interesting but if I went down the same route, how would things be different this time? What if I failed again?

Here’s the thing: failure is a great teacher. A brutal teacher. As humans, our most valuable lessons in life come from our own failures. So I went back to the drawing board and studied all the things I did wrong, evaluating every little detail and tracing how one thing led to another. That’s when I started asking smart questions: Why was I taking all these risks? Why was I trying to reinvent things that already worked?

Why was I spending money without knowing what results to expect?

Looking back at my career journey, I can say franchising was the missing link. What I really needed was a partner who could make up for everything I lacked and I was lucky to find a franchise that provided all the necessary support. That’s when I learned business doesn’t have to be a lonely, scary endeavor – you can do so much more with the right partner.

To find out more visit www.joinfantastic.com or call 020 7846 2703

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24/06/2019 16:01

Be

the

boss

Long to wake up and do something you believe in?

We grow the veg, you grow your business!

Partner with an innovative, established brand.

Run an ethical home delivery business to be proud of Share your passion for outstanding organic veg

Want to find out more?

Call 01803 227 380 or email franchise@riverford.co.uk or visit www.riverford.co.uk/franchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Perfectly poised It’s no secret Britain’s fitness industry is riding high. And with widespread recognition for its approach to innovation, what does the future hold for énergie Fitness?

W

ith the golden age of fitness well and truly upon us, there’s never been a better time to invest in a fitness franchise. The latest State of the UK Health and Fitness Industry report published by LeisureDB, the database company, confirms another year of unprecedented growth for the industry. And there’s good reason why énergie Fitness is perfectly poised to help franchisees capitalise on the exciting opportunities ahead.

Leisure DB’s report confirmed the fitness industry has achieved several key milestones. For starters, the penetration rate now stands at 15.6% while total UK membership broke the ten million mark for the first time.

Also for the first time, the industry is now worth more than £5bn.

However, although the UK fitness industry is healthier than ever before, future opportunities are providing the most excitement to current and prospective franchisees of énergie Fitness. That’s because the franchise

is singled out in LeisureDB’s report, which cites the rollout and success of énergie’s in-club boutique-style training experience, thé YARD, as an example of how “offering multiple opportunities enables customers to experience a brand and build loyalty”.

Created by our very own training and development team, thé YARD brings a series of all-inclusive classes to our énergie Fitness gyms, transforming the way our members train and in turn significantly diversifying the énergie gym experience.

Designed as group sessions, thé YARD classes have been built perfectly to offer a style of workout you simply won’t find in other large budget gyms. As a result, thé YARD has become a hit with members and regular feature of our gyms’ social media content, with énergie gyms showcasing the diversity and inclusiveness of thé YARD classes and boosting its profile in their local market.

Thé YARD is a key differentiator in énergie’s offer and helps drive sales of our upper-tier WOW! membership,

which in turn increases the average membership yield and provides a greater revenue opportunity for énergie franchisees. It’s perhaps unsurprising therefore that LeisureDB’s report revealed énergie Fitness has the highest average membership yield of any of the top ten low-cost operators.

Multi-tier membership offers is another strategy given particular attention in this year’s report. In addition to entry-level classic membership providing unlimited gym access and old-school classes, énergie also offers members the opportunity to upgrade to a WOW! membership.

Thé YARD is just one component to WOW! memberships, however, which also includes friend passes, priority class booking, exclusive discounts and offers at local and national retailers, personalised fitness tracking with inconsole entertainment and reciprocal multi-club access. All of these are delivered through énergie’s technology platforms and mobile app.

The delivery of additional membership

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Fitness is perfect poised to move to the next level. Clearly, there’s never been a better time for you to join us.

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. benefits through technology frees up time for our franchisees’ staff to do what they do best – deliver world-class service the énergie way.

This focus on customer service is particularly important, especially given LeisureDB’s report outlines “operators need to provide more than just gyms; they must offer experiences to hold customer’s attention”. This is where Take the Stage comes in. Designed by our very own training team at énergie Central, Take the Stage was born with an objective of helping franchisees and club staff shine in their individual roles.

From the atmosphere and vibe to level of engagement and building of relationships throughout our gyms, everything plays a part in delivering an experience. Simply having a good

workout alone won’t put a smile on a member’s face for the rest of the day.

What will is franchisees staff teams doing what they do best – living and breathing their Take the Stage training every day on the gym floor to make meaningful connections and deliver memorable experiences.

2019 has been a great year for énergie Fitness so far. It saw the franchise shortlisted for the Brand Awareness & Innovation accolade at the bfa HSBC Franchise Awards and secure the number two spot in the Elite Franchise Top 100 franchises for 2019, ahead of franchising heavyweights such as McDonald’s.

Combine this with positive highlights from this year’s State of the UK Health and Fitness Report and 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

JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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24/06/2019 11:19

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Benefits of starting a business after suffering illness Battling the horrors of paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea helped Victoria Rothwell, MD of The Beautiful Method, create a close-knit franchise that sticks together whatever the weather

I

’ve suffered paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea (PND) and anxiety not once but twice. The first was after I gave birth to my son, which I have to say wasn’t the best experience. Having contracted sepsis it was pretty hard going but I powered on as I had a new child to raise. I put everything else to the back of my mind and pretended the affliction wasn’t happening – but times were still very tough.

Roll on three years and I gave birth to twin daughters. Like a ton of bricks my PND came back and this time there was no way of pretending – I had to face it head-on. But with a great support network and my circle of trust I came through. Our little family made it to the other side all intact and I have to say, as much a cliché as it may seem, I’m stronger,

braver and more determined than ever.

I’ve learned it’s ok to not be perfect all the time. It’s ok to ask for help, to not want to do everything all by yourself, which is why I absolutely love the franchising model and couldn’t resist launching The Beautiful Method.

After all, franchising is the best of both worlds – the perfect opportunity to do your own thing and run your own business but with the knowledge you have backup, a tribe going through the exact same experiences as you.

The Beautiful Method franchisees of all people know the power of the collective means answers to burning questions may already be available.

And if not, they can be found together with people to share wins with.

The Beautiful Method knows what it’s like to want to be brave and take that

next step to fulfil your desire, achieve your dreams and be that successful business owner. I also know what it means to be scared and fear the unknown – and this is where franchising comes into its own.

Franchising is the answer for someone who wants to achieve incredible feats with the support and guidance of a tried and tested model. The risk certainly isn’t as scary as going it alone – and you have a head start by investing in a franchise at The Beautiful Method.

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Join an industry worth 7.5 billion and reap the benefits straight away.

At The Strings Club, we provide award-winning musical experiences for children aged 4-11.

Since 2012, we have grown exponentially from one Holiday Camp of six children, to inspiring over 25,000 in 2018 through our range of programmes that inspire children through music.

Franchising with The Strings Club, you will never be alone. Our successful, tried and tested franchise package gives you the tools to offer a multi award-winning experience while operating an efficient, profitable and highly successful business.

GET IN TOUCH: 0121 296 9204 info@thestringsclub.org thestringsclub.org/elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Age is just a number Joseph Folwell loved being a teacher and the idea of being his own boss just as much. As a result, Tutor Doctor seemed like destiny

T

hree years ago, if you told Joseph Folwell he’d soon be running his own successful business – and be on the brink of substantial growth – he may well have laughed at you. But with his 30th birthday still way off he’s celebrating an exceptional two years with Tutor Doctor, complete with expanding his Hackney franchise into two more territories and ranking eighth best in the UK network. “Maybe I’m not your typical franchisee – I’d always wanted to be my own boss but I’m not from a family of self-employed, go-getting entrepreneurs,” Folwell says. Indeed, Bristol-born Folwell has always been driven to succeed and says his humble beginnings led to him being a highly motivated individual in all aspects of life. “[But] the one trait my family all possess is a hard-working mentality and a drive to be the best at anything we put our minds to,” he adds. “I’m not embarrassed to say I come from quite a poor background – I think that’s been a massive part of my drive and determination.”

After completing his biology degree at Imperial College London Folwell was offered a place on a teaching graduate programme. Here, his career path started falling into place. “I was a teacher for five years before I became a Tutor Doctor franchisee,” Folwell describes. However, an even greater ambition called. “I’d always dreamed of being my own boss but I found out doing it on your own isn’t that simple,” he continues. “Tutor Doctor wasn’t unfamiliar to me, having worked in private tuition, but I stumbled across the franchise opportunity quite by accident. I was at a conference and ended up sitting down for lunch with the other delegates – one of whom was Tim Morris, former director of global support at Tutor Doctor. I handed in my notice at the college a week later.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

“I was lucky enough to be offered a place on Tutor Doctor’s Young Entrepreneur Scholarship Programme,” Folwell says. “I felt completely reassured they believed in me enough, as well as their own business model, to accept me. It’s yet another reason why I’ve been determined to succeed and make everyone proud.”

Thanks to his planning, proven development and great relationship with his franchisor, Folwell was able to expand to two adjoining territories just six months after his initial launch.

“My business has grown quickly but it’s been well managed,” he explains.

“Because I could see the growth in the entire UK network, and that lots of new franchisees were coming into the business, I decided I wanted to secure additional territories and expand.”

Folwell is the youngest franchisee in the Tutor Doctor network but he doesn’t let that stop him from going for gold. “Far from seeing my age as a handicap, I think it’s a positive that I started young,” Folwell says. “I’m glad

I haven’t waited before deciding to act. I wanted my dream life now – not when I’m middle-aged. I actually think my age makes me more driven to succeed, I’ve got a bit of something to prove.”

Folwell’s results speak for themselves and he doesn’t show signs of stopping anytime soon. “In 2018 I had over 120 active clients and plan to nearly double that to 200 over the course of 2019,” he says. “I was the top new franchisee for lead generation with an average of 40 per month and an average conversion rate of 37%. I employ two members of staff that help support over 55 families in the area, as well as maintain our relationship with the area’s largest secondary school. I hope to reach a sales figure of £250,000 when the year is over.

“My plan is to maximise the output in my existing territories and then expand again,” Folwell describes. “Strategically, I plan to have four territories by the time I reach my five-year anniversary.

My marketing is currently generating so many leads that my projected growth looks like it’s going to be outperformed by actual numbers.”

In closing, Folwell draws from his own youth when thinking about the future of the industry. “I wish more young people knew about franchising – imagine how many more young business owners there would be,” he concludes.

JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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24/06/2019 09:51

Buy a coffee franchise.

Coffee is big business: 2.2 billion coffee cups are consumed every year in coffee shops.

It makes lots of money: Industry turnover is approx. £7.9 billion and sales have increased 10% since 2015.

And it’s growing: Analysts predict the coffee shop sector will exceed 30,000 outlets and produce £15 billion turnover by 2025.

Visit FranchiseSales.com to find out more about buying a coffee franchise – and more!

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Do you need certain

qualifications to own a franchise?

Franchising often invites people to own businesses in industries they have little experience in. In fact, even when qualifications are demanded there are many ways to substitute them

M

any find franchise opportunities are faster and much more accessible routes to business success, as well as a little less risky. However, depending on the sector some franchisors just can’t ignore absent qualifications – but there are multiple ways to substitute them.

Absorb training and support When considering if a franchise is right for you always check the level, nature and duration of support offered. In each case franchisors will state what kind of people they’re looking for, sometimes meaning certain skills, hobbies and interests. But in many situations a certain attitude is most important.

The core thing to understand about franchising is it’s a tried-and-tested business idea that works and is known to be profitable. Not needing to create and refine the model yourself usually makes it much easier for those without specific qualifications to operate the business. Even so, if taking on a franchise means significant departure from your current skills and knowledge make certain you prepare for the learning curve and effort required during the early days.

Moreover, if you’re a novice to the business sector you plan to enter a complete training package becomes even more important. Besides basic training you may need to undergo,

ask about ongoing learning support.

Do you have quick access to a team of experts and troubleshooters with specialist skills and advice? And do you have ongoing support from a mentor or franchise buddy who has trod the same path as you and understands what it’s like to be a greenhorn?

When exploring the prospect of franchises you lack experience in, make sure you can contact an existing franchisee who started in the same position. You’ll get to hear first-hand how easy or difficult your plan is and a frank account of how useful training and support really was.

Passion is everything Although franchisors will be pleased to

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hear you’re keen to be your own boss with desire to make lots of money, it’s unlikely the main thing they seek.

Above all, they want to be sure you have passion for the business itself.

A franchise will, or certainly should, have an established brand reputation. But the franchisor must be persuaded you‘re genuinely committed to enhancing that reputation. From your own perspective you must be very sure you’re happy sticking with that business template in the days, months and years to come. If so, you already have many of the attributes franchisors look for. But if you have any doubts at all, ask more questions and give yourself more

time to think things through before making your final decision.

What can’t you do?

There will always be franchise opportunities demanding specific skills, licences or qualifications from the outset. Although in some instances franchisors will still help train or at least point you in the right direction to study the prerequisites.

Specialist franchises typically demanding initial qualifications, training or experience include medical and healthcare sectors, as well as businesses overseeing young children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups. In these circumstances you could gain the necessary qualifying

knowledge and training by working as an employee for someone else while learning the ropes.

At the end of the day, thanks to the networking and support franchising lends itself to, there are more ways to prove you’re qualified for franchise ownership than a piece of paper.

Find your franchise at www.FranchiseSales.co.uk Browse hundreds of opportunities to suit all interests and passions

JuLY 2019 | elitefranchise

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24/06/2019 11:32

Van franchising for dummies

How to make your

van franchise a success There are things you have to know before launching a van franchise

A

ccording to the latest bfa Natwest Franchise Survey, van franchises make up 14% of all UK franchise systems. You can find van franchises in almost every industry and sector. With so much choice, it’s important to really do your research and consider the nuances that come with van-based systems. Snap-on Tools is one of the largest van franchises in the country and as national franchise manager, I’ve worked with hundreds of franchisees over the last decade.

I find myself hearing the same questions and giving the same advice, time and time again. Here are the top things you should consider when investing in a van-franchise.

Being a lone driver doesn’t mean being on your own Far from feeling lonely, van franchisees often say that one of the things they enjoy most is getting to meet and interact with different people every day as they travel from customer to customer. A good franchisor will organise regional and national events for its franchisees to get together and train and socialise.

You’ll have access to a community of likeminded individuals who understand the business and can offer support. As well as your fellow franchisees, your head office support team will be in regular contact with you from day one.

It’s not a 9-5 job If you want a job, you shouldn’t be investing in a franchise. Whilst on the surface, operating a van franchise may appear to start and finish each day with the turn of a key, it’s important to understand that’s not the case. You’ll also need to complete your back-office admin as well as stock control and general upkeep of your vehicle. When considering van franchises, if working hours is a priority for you, be sure to ask to speak to existing franchisees for a true understanding of what’s normal for the business. We insist that all our prospects take two to three van rides with existing franchisees for a real hands-on look at what being a Snap-on franchisee is really like.

You don’t need to be a pushy sales person Sales experience may be an advantage but building great relationships is key.

People buy from people, so the most important thing is to be passionate about what you do and offer the best customer experience to keep people coming back and recommending you to others.

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LISA LAW National FRANCHISE MANAGER Snap-On Tools

There are no best kept secrets associated with a profitable van franchise Costs worth considering Initial costs will include the purchase of your vehicle – something many prospects don’t actually realise. To keep costs down, look for a franchise system that has support processes in place to help with vehicle purchases.

Still, remember to factor in insurance, fuel and of course provision for the maintenance and general upkeep of your vehicle.

There’s plenty of scope for growth As with any franchise, you’re limited only by your own ambitions and determination to succeed. In fact, a third of all franchisees in the UK own multiple units. Most van franchises are designed to be owner operated and

run very successfully in this manner.

Equally, most have scope for expansion and growth through a multi-van model. This means buying a second van and employing someone to run it for you within the same territory if the market will allow. Alternatively, you could invest in a second territory and run a second van there, again with an employed assistant. The structures in place to achieving a multi-van franchise will vary from franchisor to franchisor so, be sure to discuss what strategies and support is in place during your due diligence process.

Check your driving licence Most franchisors will want you to have a clean licence if you’re going

to join the team. But there’s more to consider. Check what category of licence you need for the type of vehicle you’ll be driving and any costs associated with taking further tests. And don’t forget, how you drive outside of working hours in your car is just as important – lose your licence and face losing your ability to work.

You can’t always keep your van at home This is usually down to insurance considerations and limitations. Often, van franchisees carry expensive stock and therefore, franchisors and insurers may stipulate that you have to have a secure lock-up in which to store your vehicle overnight. It’s actually a great way to separate business and home life.

Whether you want to be an owneroperator or build a multi-unit franchise, there are plenty of van-based opportunities that you can explore. There are no best kept secrets associated with a profitable van franchise – thorough due diligence and simple hard work are the keys to success.

JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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25/06/2019 09:21

Join the UK’s first Membership-Based Massage Business

What makes The Massage Company different?

•

Business operates from purpose-built premises.

•

Highly trained massage therapists deliver a consistently high-quality service.

•

Provide good value for money with massage treatments at a reasonable and affordable rate.

•

Make it easier for massage to become a routine part of people’s lives rather than simply an irregular and often expensive ‘treat’.

•

Provide their services from locations and at times that were convenient to their customers.

•

Their vision was simple: they would bring highquality massage to the mainstream.

•

They wanted people to see that massage could become a vital and routine part of a better and balanced quality of life.

•

Above all else, they were determined to make a difference to the nation’s health and well-being.

web www.massagecompanyfranchise.co.uk email pam@thefranchisingcentre.uk

A simple product offering delivered exceptionally well.

An opportunity that mirrors one of the most rapidly growing business sectors in the US.

The UK market is huge with an average single centre in the largest network generating equivalent annual revenues of over £900,000 & Annual Net Profits (EBITDA) in excess of £105,000.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

If franchises lack USPs, don’t bother After nearly 30 years consulting franchises, Paul Davies can spot those blending into the crowd from a mile away

W

hen prospective franchisees search through the myriad of franchises for sale out there, he or she is looking for something of personal and professional interest – as well as something affordable, viable and accessible. The next phase of a typical search involves looking for elements standing out from that shortlist. This is where a unique selling point (USP) becomes vital. For instance, when individuals want to buy quick-service restaurants (QSR) – and believe me, there’s much choice – the question at the top of minds is ‘Which of these have something that stands apart from the rest?’

Nearly all franchises claim they’re unique. But in my 30 years experience, many just repeat one another. They offer training, help with funding and operational support and so on – but nothing stand out. Many think claiming a unique approach is enough but it certainly isn’t. With over 900 franchises out there, this is challenging – but not impossible.

My company is a bfa-accredited business called Brand Mark Franchising, the franchising consultancy. And after nearly three decades in the industry I can safely state it’s worth every minute of a buyer’s time to search out the few franchises that really can claim a USP and make an investment worthwhile.

Take a client of mine, Veeno, the authentic Italian wine café. All its produce, food and alcohol is sourced directly from Italy. Founder and director Nino Caruso has a large family winery in Sicily which provides much of the excellent

Veeno wine offering – even his grandmother’s own recipe is used for some of the desserts. Now that’s a genuine USP and I challenge readers to find a worthy comparison.

That being said, how does this benefit Veeno’s wouldbe franchisees? Well, the buyer can take comfort that, properly marketed, this brand stands out from the crowd to consumers. After all, there are many faux-Italian brands populating high streets and retail parks with Mediterranean names – but little else.

Veeno has the upper hand from the fact it’s the real McCoy and can’t be replicated. With that benefit, and in a world where much can be, and is, replicated at the first sign of success, this is a true USP worthy of the title.

If you’re out there looking for a franchise, think long term.

And consider whether in the years to come the brand you’re buying into will likely remain unique and viable.

Email: franchising@theveenocompany.com or visit theveenocompany.com

JuLY 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Decontamination franchises seldom stand still Innovation is a crucial ingredient when combatting the likes of E-Coli, Swine Flu and Norovirus – just look at this franchise’s methods

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iven Sanondaf provides disinfection and decontamination treatments with advanced fogging and electrostatic spray techniques, it goes without saying this franchise’s process is highly innovative. It’s designed to kill 99.99% of viruses, bacteria, fungi and mould and has mass-market potential with a limited number of competitors. In fact, Sanondaf provided disinfection services for the accommodation providers of the European Athletics Championships held in Glasgow in August 2018.

Sanondaf’s process has been successful at treating the likes of Norovirus, Swine Flu, E-Coli, Salmonella, MRSA and the increasing range of multi-drug resistant organisms. At the other end of the spectrum everyday infections can be just as dangerous if they’re allowed to spread without an immediate response, with an increasing number of infections being reported around the healthcare sector.

In the last 12 months Sanondaf has carried out treatments and

secured contracts in hospitals, laboratories, universities, nurseries, nursing homes, schools, fitness centres and offices. This is down to the public becoming more aware immediate action must be taken when an infection occurs, as the environments in which they live and work can be a big source of infection with risk of transmission to others.

As antibiotic use and effectiveness continues to diminish, environmental decontamination can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively to battle infections. It makes for an attractive solution and essential service for public health to give confidence that an environment is safe.

Sanondaf UK commenced operations in 2014 and since then has established presence in 25 territories across the UK and Ireland, providing disinfection expertise to all sectors and businesses.

You don’t require premises to operate a Sanondaf franchise and will receive full training, technical

and marketing support and the ability to join a system with other successful franchisees sharing experiences and knowledge.

Sanondaf also attends a number of large exhibitions in the sector, giving franchisees access to clients involved with Infection Control and Prevention decisions in both human and animal sectors.

Contact Sanondaf now on info@sanondaf.co.uk or visit www.sanondaf.co.uk to find out more about this exciting opportunity and become a disinfection and decontamination expert in your local area.

JuLY 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Don’t write off smaller fish While many franchisees gun to work under a big brand, less established franchises bring a heap of unique benefits

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uying a franchise is one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make – and the model you decide to invest in is almost always dictated by your level of investment. So when making such a life-defining decision, it’s crucial you buy into the franchise offering you as a franchisee the greatest chance of success for the money you’re prepared to invest.

While many will tell you to avoid industries or sectors either overcrowded or underpopulated, the most important questions to ask are is the brand established with a proven track record of success and is there enough support to help you and your site succeed?

More widely established franchises naturally bring less risk. However, this shouldn’t stop you choosing a smaller, less known brand with a proven concept, as they often represent greater margins of success. If you choose this avenue then speak to the franchisor and satisfy your curiosity over their business model, as it’s here their support network will initially show its worth.

A franchisor that believes in their product will be just as passionate as you about making your site a success. After all, they’re likely in a crowded market competing against industry powerhouses for your investment. As is often the case, you may enter a sector you have little to no

experience in. So support provided by the franchisor will make your investment a career change to remember.

Andrew Rayes, international sales and marketing director at HITIO, the gym franchise, shares his thoughts on the impact of a successful model and strong support network: “The decision for anyone to buy a franchise is a big one and it’s a given you must believe in the concept.

However, it’s our duty as a franchisor to work with you and instil confidence that your site is going to flourish.

“At HITIO, our franchisees benefit from a proven business model with the potential to be cash-flow positive within just months of trading alongside unrivalled support,” Rayes continues. “This includes a comprehensive training programme led by our central team in Oslo, as well as 30 years of industry experience at their disposal.”

To find out more contact franchise@hitio.com or visit www.hitiogym.com/franchise-opportunities

JuLY 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Inspiring children through music every school holiday

From 6 children to 30,000 in six years, musician and entrepreneur Amy saw a niche in the childcare market and now aims to inspire even more children through her multi award-winning Holiday Camps.

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he Strings Club was set up in 2012 with its first Holiday Camp of 6 children. At the end of the week, one parent asked “when is the next one?” and since then the company has grown organically to a further 7 locations across London and the Midlands. Founder Amy, a violin teacher and enthusiastic entrepreneur realised quite quickly there was a huge demand for childcare that was musicbased and that offered only the very best in childcare for children aged 4-11.

She also noticed that parents wanted flexible booking options - something that many childcare providers do not offer.

With 7 soon to be 10 Holiday Camps across the UK, Amy and her Head Office team aim for all their venues to offer similar activities for every child.

This includes their “Learn Together, Play Together” sessions in the morning where children have a go at playing an instrument including guitar, violin or ukulele. Afternoons offer a range of carefully-created workshops, all based on music and range from

Performarama (drama and music) to Sounds and Colours (art and music) to Sport Beat (sport and music).

To ensure The Strings Club Holiday Camps stand apart from the rest, Amy also created “Your Child’s Development is Key” that shows parents how their child will develop various skills (all linked with the EYFS) including: Musicianship, Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Physical Education.

The past year has seen Amy and her team franchise The Strings Club and demand for becoming a franchisee is huge. Not only because the childcare market is worth 7.5 billion but also what The Strings Club offer is a tried and tested model, ready for success from the offset.

If you’re interested in joining The Strings Club family, visit www. thestringsclub.org to download a free Franchise Pack or call 0121 296 9204 to book a free “Discovery Chat” today.

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X-Press the need to be your own boss.

Become a franchisee with the leaders in property searches.

X-Press Legal Services provides specialist property searches and reports as part of the conveyancing process.

And it could provide the ideal opportunity for you.

“X- Press gave me the opportunity to run my own business with the flexibility to care for my young family. I didn’t have experience in property searches, but with the excellent business model, on-going support and training, I have never looked back. ”

Our 25 franchisees are already trusted by over 500 legal practices nationwide. As a franchise that offers the flexibility and constant support you need to run a successful business, even from home, we could be just what you’re searching for!

Although you’ll work with legal professionals, you don’t need legal qualifications – in fact, our franchisees come from all walks of life. You simply need to be ambitious and tech-savvy with meticulous attention to detail.

Karen Underwood, X-Press Legal Services Thames Valley

Why X-Press Legal Services?

• • • • • •

Family-run business established in 1998 Opportunity to build a substantial business which you can start at home We deliver over 400,000 searches and reports every year Nearly 50% of franchisees have been with X-Press since year one No legal experience needed Head office provides full training and on-going support

If you’re looking for independence and a better work/life balance, your search is over. Call today to find out about our seven available territories. Please contact Dave or Julie, we would love to talk to you.

xpresslegal.co.uk/become-a-franchisee

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01925 393 333

25/06/2019 09:33

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Have confidence in your franchise partner’s support The franchise model’s biggest advantage is access to an unrivalled support network – something unavailable to many independent businesses.

So, ensure your franchisor is offering the help you need

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t’s not until you start your own business you come to realise just how valuable good support is. You don’t want a franchisor who promises the earth but you can never get hold of. Instead, you need people who understand and appreciate the importance of what you’re setting out to do as a franchisee. Starting a business is new, exciting, terrifying and empowering in equal measure.

Franchisors need to be aware of the rollercoaster you’re currently riding and provide helpful solutions to deliver on their support promises.

At spa810 we recognise the importance of partnership because we’ve been through the learnings ourselves. We can provide the support needed to successfully kick-start your business.

For example, in the last ten years the medispa industry has exploded, with people more invested in their health, beauty and overall wellbeing. Another exciting trend is the onset of men becoming increasingly body and image-conscious than ever before. This presents a further growth market for spa810.

With an ever-ageing population and new generations who have grown up frequenting spas, this dramatic market expansion is expected to continue for decades.

Unique in the franchise market, spa810 offers a medispa concept with high-quality, results-driven aesthetic facials and injectables, laser hair removal, body sculpting, massage and reflexology. All these treatments use high-calibre, FDA-approved, medicallycertified machines and devices. spa810 provides reassurance that, when starting your journey into business ownership, you’re confident knowing the available systems are tried and tested. This includes finance software integrating with your point of sale system – the heartbeat of your business – HR documentation onboarding new team members, marketing collateral, training materials and a cost-effective fit-out of a stunning spa location all helping ensure you get the best possible start.

What does spa810 seek from you? Commitment to value and manage a team, willingness to continually grow your business’ revenue, willingness to promote and sell your business and treatments to your local market and a proactive approach to working with your franchise support team, who can help and guide on what to focus on to ensure ongoing success.

Now’s the time to learn more about the spa810 franchise – it’s all about the results. Visit www.spa810.co.uk, contact Duncan Berry on 01423 595810 or email duncanberry@spa810.co.uk

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24/06/2019 09:59

With over 20 years of experience in franchising and more than 40 franchised coffee shops in the UK, Puccino’s have developed a business model that ensures our Franchisees achieve their goals.

To further our expansion plans, we are looking for new Franchise Partners who have personality, experience, are not afraid of hard work and have a desire to invest and develop their business with our Brand.

Our shared goal with each Franchise Partner will be to open at least three stores within a five-year period. We will work with you to find locations, prepare for the shop-fit works and see the projects through to opening.

You and your team will receive full training, and we will provide you with ongoing support throughout your franchise term.

Start your journey with us today!

Visit us at www.puccinosworldwide.com/franchising/apply for more information or Call us on: +44 (0) 845 872 4699 adverts.indd 3

10/05/2019 11:55

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Supportive franchise networks

give the best of both worlds The freedom of being your own boss without the risk of going it alone is the promised land for many – and it’s infinitely possible with the right franchise opportunity

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orking independently with the support of a strong network, as well as great training and professional development, is a recipe for business success. X-Press Legal Services, the legal services provider, which supplies specialist property searches and reports to the legal sector, does just that. It offers ambitious, tech-savvy people from a wide range of backgrounds to start a low-risk, potentially high-reward businesses from the comfort of their homes.

Recently, the entire X-Press Legal Services network got together for its national conference. Many attendees began their careers as franchisees working from home.

And with support from X-Press Legal’s ongoing training and mentoring, many have gone on to move into office spaces and employ a team of staff. “We love the national conference,” said Lynne Lister, director of X-Press Legal Services. “It’s an opportunity to get all our franchisees together and celebrate how far they’ve come. Over half of X-Press franchisees have been with us since we first franchised the business in 2005 and they have all gone on to run profitable businesses. We all work together to build the brand and existing owners are invaluable as examples and mentors to newer franchisees.

“I am very proud when I see our X-Press Legal family freely sharing best practice and actively helping each other to succeed,” Lister continues. “We celebrate those

successes together as well at the awards dinner following the conference, where we not only have a great time but acknowledge achievements.”

Delivering over 400,000 property searches per year, X-Press Legal Services is trusted by more than 500 legal practices to play an essential part in the conveyancing process. Franchisees hail from all walks of life. For example, Russell Brown, this year’s winner of X-Press Legal’s Franchisee of the Year award, is a former project engineer and international sales manager. James and Liz Ferguson, joint winners of the Brand Builder of the Year award, hail from corporate backgrounds as a trading systems operations manager and logistics manager respectively.

While winner of the Business Development award, Tom Mannion, began his franchise just a couple of years after completing an undergraduate degree in classics.

If you’d like support to build a lucrative business with X-Press Legal Services, contact Dave or Julie on 01925 393333 to learn about current franchise opportunities or visit xpresslegal.co.uk/become-a-franchisee

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ENCOURAGING WOMEN INTO FRANCHISING

PASSIONATE ABOUT WOMEN IN FRANCHISING? Why not join our community of members?

As a not for profit organisation run entirely by volunteers, we rely on our members for support and to carry out our mission to educate, inspire and empower more women into franchising.

Are you passionate about encouraging more women into franchising? Could you be our next member?

What do I get as a member?

Growth and Support Exclusive member offers Advice & guidance Mentoring

Discounted exhibition space Educational content to encourage more women into your franchise

Marketing AND PR Website profile page Speaking opportunities PR opportunities Member logo

News & case study promotion Volunteering opportunities Member certificate Member lapel badge

M em be rs hi p 00 w or th ov er £10 in be n ef it s an d

EWIF Community

di sc ou n ts .

Network with like-minded people at free Regional Meetings Join EWIF’s online community, Franchisor Mastermind Free Annual Conference (with recommended ticket donation of £30)

Find out more about becoming an EWIF member today!

Visit ewif.org/ewif-member-benefits

Together we EDUCATE | INSPIRE | EMPOWER women into franchising

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20/06/2019 15:21

Summer lovin’

Will your franchise shine this summer?

By James Thomas, Commercial Manager, d&t

It takes a lot to make your summer a franchising success. Luckily, James Thomas of D&T has enough tips to turn up the heat

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ooking forward to the summer? Let’s face it, there is no better place to be than in the UK during a fabulous, long, hot, English summer. But what does the sunniest of seasons mean for franchised businesses?

Interestingly, if we look purely from a financial perspective, even the least obvious franchise model is likely to experience seasonal peaks and troughs. The key to success is understanding and planning for these recurrent variations.

Here it’s important to have upto-date accounts and analyse the performance of previous years to see if there’s any indication of patterns which may be replicated.

Let the numbers do the talking rather than a vague feeling of what you think happened last year.

Looking at the facts in this way can reveal surprising insights and this information helps with planning and ensuring you know where your business needs to be by certain key dates or milestones.

Marketing For some franchises – such as gelato, milkshake or even certain lesiure activities – the summer is the busiest time. This is where these franchises need to aim to make their money for the rest of the year. Planning ahead when it comes to strategic marketing campaings, seasonal staff recruitment and managing holiday cover will all help maximise the potential increase in business sales. Visibility and concise business planning is key.

Using key dates in the calendar can help anchor marketing campaigns and create calls to action to motivate customers. I used to be part of the operations team for Safeclean, a leading UK carpet and upholstery cleaning franchise. Perhaps not the most obvious contender for regular seasonal marketing promotions.

However, we had success with get ready for your summer party and spring clean campaigns, so with a little imagination, any franchise can use a seasonal marketing message to push their products and services.

New product launches can also be timed to take advantage of seasonal themes. Similarly, tie-ins with summer communities or sporting events can just give franchises the edge over their competition to get noticed where they need to be seen. It really all comes down to planning ahead and making hay while the sun shines.

Recruitment and training Generally, staff recruitment trends tend to peak in the spring following New Year’s resolutions to improve career prospects often traditionally combined with new recruitment budgets being available at the start of the financial year. Franchisee recruitment often follows a similar pattern. By analysing and understanding franchisee recruitment patterns over time, it’s possible to arrange recruitment pushes at the appropriate time of year. Training for both new and exising franchisees can then be arranged in quieter times, freeing up the busiest months for the day-to-day sales work.

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Summer lovin’

Interestingly, if we look purely from a financial perspective, even the least obvious franchise model is likely to experience seasonal peaks and troughs.

How seasons affect business The seasons can affect businesses negativly too. It’s worth looking at how holiday traffic might affect patterns for route planning for example or how staff holidays could reduce resources at key times. If a little effort is spent considering how our summer season and corresponding timetable can influence business both negativly and positivly you can be ready to maximise what the best of British weather can offer. Sometimes encouraging a flexible approach can result in franchisees working early or late to avoid peak traffic times and improving productivity. Similarly, holidays may reduce staff cover but students may be able to provide temporary cover formany tasks to take the pressure off.

This, for the majority of companies, is in April. The approach of a new year equating to a new strategy ready for a strong summer’s trading is a good one and can ensure the team is motivated ready for the busiest time of the year.

Conferences The summer is often the time when franchisors organise their franchise conferences. It’s a time to motivate franchisees and reward those that have excelled in the previous year.

It’s a time to offer advice and show best practice to help franchisees grow and succeed. However, an alternative might be to arrange the franchise conference shortly after year end.

Regardless if your franchise is seasonal or not, keeping a keen eye on your accounts, particularly your break-even point will mean you have a firm grip on what you need to achieve this summer. Be clear about your unique selling points, try some seasonal promotional campaigns, plan for resources to manage peak times and then be ready to let your franchise shine this summer.

Awards The bfa HSBC Franchise Awards are held at the end of June each year. Being nominated or winning an award is both motivating for franchisees and great for business. However, planning and entering the awards occurs much earlier in the year. If you haven’t been nominated for an award, it will be too late for this year but have a think how being involved in the bfa awards could really kick-start your summer trading for 2020.

JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Canmeans you put your Brexit business? carers at the heart of what you do?

Many companies have already faced their fair share of hardships during Britain’s uncoupling from the EU – but this franchise has experienced the exact opposite

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ith thousands of European find care staff because working for this makes staffing harder for our citizens working in the care Visiting Angels is an attractive and competitors which is actually good sector, many may assume lucrative alternative to working for our news for us. For example, in my South uncertainty over Brexit would be a competitors. We also find as many as Yorkshire franchise we’re winning particularly big problem for Dan Archer, 50% of our caregivers are new to care business from other care companies Our mission to become the UKworking Care Sector’s of Choice bya2022.

MD of Visiting Angels, the home care andiswouldn’t consider for a Employer because we have solution to the Join our mission and change the way care businesses are run. franchise. However, he explains this typical home care provider.” staffing problem.” couldn’t be further from the truth.

Archer understands the European At Visiting Angels, if you can to say “Many home care providers staffing model yes to a new care client when your At Visitingstaff Angelsfrom we understand that tobusiness be a successful care well, having Join a worldwide network of 600+ franchisees the European Union,”franchisee he recognises. previously runstaff a care competitors can’t then Brexit presents you need to put the interests of your at theprovider to running a care business “But our business is very different to We arerecruiting from and old A new approach an opportunity, not a tragedy. heart of your business. one of the UK’s firstPoland Carer-Centric Specifically addresses the challenge of recruitment the majority of homefranchise care providers.

Eastern Bloc countries. However, he businesses.

Model proven over 20 years “For instance, it’s common for admits Brexit uncertainty is putting For more information on joining If you want to be successful working in your community, if you home care businesses to complete European workers off from coming a very different care franchise Reduced franchise fees for development franchisees call want to make a difference to caregivers, clients and families, contracts for local authority care to the UK. “Since Brexit 01144333000 or visit required of circa £30,000 if you want to smile because you are changing lives and beingthere hasLiquid capital packages where charge rates are decline in the number of www.visitingangelsfranchise.co.uk commercially successful - callbeen VisitingaAngels today. low and as a result pay rates have people willing to come to the UK to to be low,” Archer continues. “But provide care,” Archer comments. “This Learn client more about one of the world’sbecause largest carethey franchises our business is a private home is partly don’t know by speaking to Dan Archer care provider, meaning we charge whether they’ll be able to stay and more and can afford to pay more. partly because they feel less welcome As a result we don’t www.visitingangelsfranchise.co.uk struggle to than Ithey used to. However, we find darcher@visiting-angels.co.uk

on 0114 433 3000 or 07584 178 458

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Equivalenza,

the BRAND that makes SENSE out of SCENTS

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erfume is a expensive novelty luxury product which has now been made affordable and accessible by all. Join the Equivalenza revolution with nearly 800 stores worldwide.

A bottle of Creed can now set you back £180, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, one of the most popular perfumes on the market, is £49 for 35ml – which may last six months if used sparingly or a month if used on a daily basis.

For that reason, we’re all a little nervous about trying new brands in case we don’t like them when they’ve been worn for a few hours.

That’s why many of us stick to what we know. But how boring is that?

Now a cheeky young upstart in the perfumery business is challenging the big boys with a new concept.

The secret is in the name of this Spanish company, which has a

number of stores in the UK and is now recruiting new franchisees.

Equivalenza means equivalence in English and provides consumers with high quality fragrance, cosmetic and aroma products at a fraction of the cost by creating emotions and unique experiences.

Equivalenza has revolutionised the perfume industry by making it affordable for the everyday user whether it be for day or night, work or personal, sport use or even a gift.

The brand has catered for all with savings up to 70% of your favourite perfumes. By eliminating the cost incurred by heavy marketing, packaging, fancy bottle, celebrity endorsements the brand is able to price competitively without compromising the quality and durability of the fragrance.

The brands master perfumers carefully select the most exquisite

notes that are best suited to each persons personality and perfume preferences and the occasion.

Equivalenza promotes a refill system to minimise their impact on the environment and products are carefully prepared with high quality essences and vegetable alcohol in accordance with the standards set by the Vegan Society and are cruelty free.

JOIN THE NEW PERFUME REVOLUTION FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME Contact Ali on: tabasam.ali@equivalenzapartners.com for further information.

July 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Good leadership is the key to success

During troubled times on the high street and with many well-known brands sadly closing their doors, amongst several other factors for success good and effective leadership is one of the big ones.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

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t Heavenly Desserts, strong leadership has been one of the key ingredients of our success since launching our first store back in 2008. Now, good leadership doesn’t go very far without having the right team besides you, we’ve all heard the saying “teamwork makes the dream work” and that’s so very true.

Leading your teams with courage and confidence in the current climate can be tough going therefore relationships are also a key piece in this jigsaw. As leaders, it’s ever so important that our teams feel motivated and inspired by us and if the passion you have at the top of the management tree doesn’t reach the shop floors, then something isn’t quite right. Hardworking and passionate team members will keep your business alive and well.

There are several key traits all leaders should possess, and we at Heavenly Desserts certainly strive to follow these on a daily basis.

Honesty & Integrity Of course this is a given and probably the the most important piece of the building good relationships bit. Your teams will value your feedback and embrace this culture in their day to day business.

team on the ground is very key and most importantly will make them feel valued.

Accountability Accountability at all levels within an organisation is another key area for us. Holding everybody in the organisation accountable will contribute to the overall success and keep everybody performing to their optimum Clear communication Clearly communicating the company’s vision and strategy to execute is vital, there is nothing worse than loose or grey communication. Get this bit right and you are every closer to achieving better results.

2019 will be a tricky year for most operators on the high street and beyond and the uncertainty with Brexit doesn’t help. Keeping focused on your goals and strategy will take us through the wavy waters ahead. This is certainly working for us.

Listening Often this doesn’t happen enough in organisations as they’re scaling and important feedback, suggestions and solutions from the team members who serve our customers go unheard. Taking regular feedback from your JULY 2019 | elitefranchise

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Be a hero, not a cowboy

So-called cowboy builders aren’t just ruining people’s lives with botch jobs and false promises but the entire home renovation industry. Now, simply being a trustworthy tradesperson has become incredibly desirable and lucrative

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

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wo words strike fear into the hearts of any homeowner: cowboy builder. We’ve all heard the horror stories: Work left unfinished and half done, homes abandoned like messy construction sites for months while owners are fobbed off with false promises. You even hear of horrific collateral damage from botch jobs like cracked walls and leaking roofs, the worst cases leaving buildings unsafe and practically unliveable. It’s because finding tradesmen to carry out work has never been easier – a simple internet search will yield dozens of local results.

But getting someone trustworthy and reliable is harder than ever.

With a growing market shift towards renovating rather than relocating, home improvement is a huge investment for owners. It’s often the culmination of years of planning and saving and the thought of squandering it on someone actually ruining your home is a terrifying prospect.

There’s a good chance most have fallen victim to this at some stage, or at least know someone who has. At best it’s an expensive mistake putting months or even years on your project.

At worst, it’s the death of someone’s dream and beginning of a downward spiral of overspending and stress.

After all, it can take years to recover from hiring the wrong person to do the job – if ever – and have catastrophic impact on people’s lives, yet alone the value of their homes.

The damage such rogues do to the industry is even more frightening. Fear of hiring a dodgy tradesman, perhaps one that’s not only going to produce

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substandard work but actually cause significant property damage, dissuades 32% of Brits from spending on their homes according to The Federation of Master Builders (FMB), the trade association. That amounts to a staggering £10bn loss for the UK economy every year.

In other words, there’s a huge market out there just waiting to be tapped by companies able to rebuild a culture of trust and inspire confidence in their prospective clients. As Brian Berry, chief executive of FMB, puts it: “If we were able to unlock this pent-up demand from fearful consumers, the benefit to jobs and growth would be enormous. We need to end the cowboy builders’ reign of terror so we can give all homeowners the confidence they need to invest their cash in building work. “ The problem is many of these “cowboy builders” are very convincing.

They may not be master builders but have certainly mastered the art of selling services. Anyone can have a website these days and it’s easy to put up a professional front – and cowboy builders sure can talk the talk. In fact, they specialise in telling homeowners exactly what they want to hear, making all sorts of promises that, sadly, turn out empty.

The rise of online review sites and aggregated customer feedback does a lot to make choosing a builder easier for homeowners – but there’s still a lot of guesswork involved. For those with little or no prior experience of home improvement, it’s a real minefield.

So how can true professionals stand

out from the crowd and tap into this enormous potential? How can they show themselves to be heroes, not cowboys? Refresh Renovations, the design-and-build home renovation franchise, has the solution. Its philosophy focusses on making consumer experiences the best they can be by creating a culture of openness and transparency standing against this widespread lack of trust.

A national and international brand and industry leader, Refresh Renovations is transforming the market for the better by giving homeowners confidence to proceed with their renovation projects devoid of cowboy builders.

There’s massive untapped potential out there for those who can give clients a much-needed peace of mind.

And joining this franchise gives the power to instil confidence in your own clients by trading under an established and trusted brand. One with a proven track record of delivering the highest possible quality of renovation work on time, on budget and meeting customers’ desired outcomes.

If you’d like to be part of unlocking this potential £10bn per year renovation revenue, Refresh Renovations could be the partner for you. Find out more and visit refreshrenovationsfranchise.co.uk, email robert@thefranchisingcentre. uk or call/text Rob on 07789 176045

24/06/2019 10:16

Could you bring Value Through Insight?

Use your experience and our expertise to build a successful b2b consulting franchise Expense Reduction Analysts is the world’s number one franchise in overhead cost optimization and supply management; for 25 years our franchise partners have enabled businesses to improve profit and gain greater financial scope by reducing business expenditure.

Together our Franchise Partners save UK businesses millions of pounds per year – come and share in our success!

Discovery Day Dates: 6th June – Newbury 18th July – Canary Wharf 1st August – Manchester 22nd August – Newbury 26th September - Newbury

To reserve your place or for more information, please contact: Matt O’Neil Head of Franchise Recruitment 07753 966651 moneil@expensereduction.com

erafranchise.co.uk

backdrop for half ad.pdf

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• Franchise Recruitment Platform: linking franchisors and franchisee together

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• Keep up-to-date with industry news

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• Newest and best UK franchise opportunities

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• Expert in-house teams and partners

75,000

MONTHLY TRAFFIC

180,000

MONTHLY PAGE VIEWS

55,000

UNIQUE USERS *Traffic sources: Similar Web, AHREF – March/April 2018

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03/06/2019 17:29

CONVENIENCE STORES

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RESTAURANTS

GYMS

20/06/2019 14:56

DISCOVERY DAYS

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?

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

78 elitefranchise | JuLY 2019

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FRANCHISE FOCUS

FranchiseFocus CLEANING

FOOD & DRINK

PROPERTY

SPORT & FITNESS

ActionCOACH

Betterclean Services

Auntie Anne’s

Century 21

Anytime Fitness

£: 27,000+

£: 19,600+

£: n/a

£: 23,500

£: 110,000

actioncoach.co.uk

bettercleanfranchise.co.uk

auntieannesfranchising.co.uk/

century21franchise.co.uk

anytimefitness.co.uk

Expense Reduction Analysts

Fantastic Services

Cup the Cake

VeriSmart

Energie Fitness

£: 39,900

£: n/a

£: 377+

£: 9,000+VAT

£: 95,000

erafranchise.net

joinfantastic.com

cupthecake.com

verismart.biz

energiefranchise.com

Platinum Business Partners

Sanodaf

Harpers

£: 30,000+VAT

£: n/a

£: POA

platinumbusinesspartners.co.uk

sanondaf.co.uk/sanondaf-franchise/

harpersfranchise.co.uk

X-Press Legal Services

The Beautiful Method

Heavenly Desserts

Antal

9Round

£: POA

£: n/a

£: 17,500

£: POA

£: 115,000+

xpresslegal.co.uk/become-a-franchisee

thebeautifulmethod.co.uk

https://heavenlydesserts.co.uk/

antalfranchising.com

9round.co.uk/own-a-franchise

Puccinos

Clark James

£: 75,000

£: POA

puccinosworldwide.com/

clarkjames.co.uk

BUSINESS

CARE

CHILDREN

HITIO UK

RECRUITMENT

£:POA hitiogym.com

Spa & Wellbeing

Caremark

CYCLEme Tots

Riverford

£: 100,000

£:POA

£: n/a

caremarkfranchises.com

cyclemetots.com

riverford.co.uk/franchise

Heritage Healthcare

Puddle Ducks

Veeno

£: 29,995+VAT

£: 18,975

£: n/a

heritagehealthcarefranchising.co.uk

puddleducks.com/franchising

theveenocompany.com

Promedica24

The Strings Club

£:£20,000 + VAT

£: POA

franchise.promedica24.co.uk/

thestringsclub.org/

Visiting Angels

Tutor Doctor

Refresh Renovations

Scentlogy LTD

The Tailoring Team LTD

£:POA

£: 49,700

£: POA

£:n/a

£:n/a

visiting-angels.co.uk

franchise.tutordoctor.co.uk

refreshrenovationsfranchise.co.uk

www.equivalenza.com

http://suitthecity.com/

sponsored by

Spa 810

RETAIL

£: POA spa810.com/franchise

Easy Living Mobility £: n/a easylivingmobility.co.uk

The Massage Company £: POA massagecompany.co.uk

KG Professional HOME IMPROVEMENT

£: n/a

Tailoring

kgsalons.com

www.franchisesales.com JuLY 2019 | elitefranchise

Discovery Days/ Focus July 19.indd 2

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ANYONE CAN BE THERE OWN BOSS THROUGH FRANCHISING WWW.FRANCHISESUPERMARKET.CO.UK

Franchise Supermarket.indd 1

20/06/2019 15:27

DAVID GLOVER managing director CAREMARK

Leadership for franchise success

The franchisor’s leadership is one of the benefits of buying a franchise. David Glover of Caremark reflects on the different ways leadership can influence your success JuLY 2019 | elitefranchise

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There are plenty of books on leadership and how it brings business success but I think leadership qualities are plain to see in our daily lives

W

e’re lucky every event we hold with our franchisees mixes hard work and professional development with a fun social aspect.

This June in London, I joined a panel discussion for some of our franchisees on how to grow your business. Our regional development managers nominated franchisees who would benefit from the day’s content which was led by a top performing franchisee.

Prior to the session, challenges to business growth were put forward so strategies and solutions could be discussed. Whilst our regional development managers are trained to work with our franchisees on a oneto-one basis, franchisees often find it more appealing to spend time with their peers to get to the nitty-gritty on challenging subjects. In short, they look to the network for leadership as much as they do to me or the franchise team at head office, which is exactly what we want to happen.

We’re the facilitators because we have the wide view of where particular skills and expertise lie within the network.

Leadership is about motivating others to be the best they can be, not sending rules down the line from head office.

We actively encourage sharing of best practice and provide regular opportunities for our franchisees to take the leadership role.

In my first job as a trainee solicitor at the age of 22, the senior partner was someone I looked up to as a leader because of his business management and people skills. Even today, if I have a staffing or management issue, part of me thinks “What would Don do?”

The key thing I learned from him was that a strong work ethic was essential but, when the work day was done, encouraging social activities could really support delivering a bond – one that increases employee engagement.

In the case of Caremark, the combination of leadership and

relaxation time creates a close-knit, supportive relationship between head office, our franchisees and their care workers. Our franchisees are driven to take on their own leadership roles and ensure that same balance of work and reward - you only have to look at the spa days our franchisee runs for his staff at Caremark Winchester & Eastleigh to see the benefits.

There are plenty of books on leadership and how it brings business success but I think leadership qualities are plain to see in our daily lives. You clearly notice when people are inspired to take action. If you share some of that inspiration along with solid experience and practical examples, the results can take on an exponential growth. Whilst we have regional development sessions scheduled throughout 2019, I’m already looking forward to our mid-summer event which combines an educational dementia virtual tour with our annual summer party .

82 elitefranchise | juLY 2019

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25/06/2019 09:23

A N I D E T S E R E INT Y? T I N U T R O P P O E S I H C N A R F TASTY Artisan chocolate brownies served at festivals and events near you!

Low Investment • Great Returns • Brownies Supplied (you just sell!)

Areas available: Somerset • Devon • Wiltshire • Oxfordshire • Hampshire • Other areas available soon!

100% SENSATIONAL!

Handmade & baked

E: greg@chockshop.co.uk T: 07885 697139

www.ChockShop.co.uk

FIND OUT MORE...

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10/05/2019 11:35