Elite Franchise Magazine December 2017 by Elite Business Magazine

elitefranchisemagazine.co.uk

Junk Hunters

Harsha Rathnayake is not afraid of getting his hands dirty to make the franchise a success

DECEMBER 2017 ÂŁ4.50

Quest Apartment Hotels

This franchise from down under is turning the UK hotel sector on its head

Christmas parties

Have you thought everything through for your franchiseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s big night out?

Outside the box Not content with topping off Papa Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s network by strengthening its base in Europe, Gareth Davies is helping the pizza franchise to jettison the junk from its menu and introduce healthier ingredients Cover.indd 1

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Come and talk to us at one of our Insight Days in 2018: 5th January, University of Warwick 19th January, Elstree 2nd February, Bristol 2nd March, Manchester 23rd March, York 20th April. Cranfield Management Centre 11th May, Edinburgh 25th May, Aston Business School 22nd June, Manchester 7th September, Bristol 21st September, Milton Keynes 19th October, Leicester 9th November, York Register your attendance at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/franchising

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Be your own boss and benefit from the support of a proven brand with more than 25 years experience. Share in our growth as the acclaimed technology and entertainment exchange store with worldwide operations. We’re so confident that you’ll be delighted with your CeX franchise that we offer a Buy Back Guarantee if you’re not. Act now to secure your location.

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EARNING A CRUST 18

Having acquired an appetite for franchising at an early age, Gareth Davies is now sinking his teeth into the challenge of baking the best pizzas and franchise experiences possible with Papa Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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contents 12.17

REGULARS

9 Welcome & contributors 11 News & events 97 Franchise diaries

COLUMNS 13 Pip Wilkins 15 Sussanne Chambers 29 Frank Milner 33 Nigel Toplis 37 Tony Bowman

FEATURES 40 One man's treasure

Harsha Rathnayake is making a fortune collecting othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rubbish with Junk Hunters

46 Embarking on a quest

Quest Apartment Hotels challenges the UK hotel market

58 All present and accounted for

Protect your finances with accountancy technology

66 The future of franchise marketing

How will the way you recruit franchisees change in 2018?

74 The season to be jolly

Avoid your Christmas party turning into an HR nightmare

78 Coming full circle

Joining Select Appointments was just the challenge Caroline Deutsch needed

A complex endeavour Why unspecific endeavours clauses can be a huge risk for franchises DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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Backing your ambition We’re committed to supporting British business. We have local relationship managers and sector specialists who are backed by a full range of products and services and will work closely with you, offering guidance that’s focused on your business vision. We’ve also been voted Business Bank of the Year for the 13th year running. It all adds up to experience you can trust. Find out how we can help. Suki Dehal, Franchise Development Manager on 07780338656 or at Franchising@lloydsbanking.com

lloydsbank.com/business

For your next step Calls may be monitored or recorded. Please note that any data sent via e-mail is not secure and could be read by others. FDs’ Excellence Awards supported by Real Business. For more information visit lloydsbank.com/bankoftheyear

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welcome Volume 05 Issue 12 / 2017 EDITORIAL Josh Russell – Editor josh.russell@cemedia.co.uk Eric Johansson - Feature Writer eric.johansson@cemedia.co.uk

A slice of success

DESIGN/PRODUCTION Leona Connor – Head Designer leona.connor@cemedia.co.uk Jenny Allen – Designer jenny.allen@cemedia.co.uk Chris England – Intern Designer chris.england@cemedia.co.uk Dan Lecount – Web Development Manager dan@cemedia.co.uk

ranchising brings many benefits for those working in the industry. However, perhaps the most important thing is how it affords entrepreneurs and business leaders an excellent model to achieve success. And we have plenty of examples of that this month. From operating a single truck in London, Harsha Rathnayake has used franchising to grow his rubbish-collection franchise far outside of the capital. Meanwhile, having had decades of experience helping purveyors of pizza reach punters, vice president of UK & Ireland and western Europe Gareth Davies has played a pivotal role in helping Papa John’s expand beyond Britain and into Europe. But Junk Hunters and Papa John’s aren’t the only ones getting to savour their success this month. I’m also pleased to share the Elite Franchise 100 2018 with you, our inaugural annual ranking of the best and brightest franchises Britain has to offer. While it has been a tough contest, the quality of applications was astounding so I hope you enjoy it and I offer my sincerest congratulations to all the winners.

SALES & MARKETING Gemma Campion – Head of Sales & Marketing gemma.campion@cemedia.co.uk Jemma Tonge – Senior Account Manager jemma.tonge@cemedia.co.uk Jordan Banes Account Manager jordan.banes@cemedia.co.uk Taylor Blayney – Account Executive taylor.blayney@cemedia.co.uk Natalie Mawdsley – Media Assistant natalie.mawdsley@cemedia.co.uk CIRCULATION Paul Kirby – Circulation & Data Manager paul.kirby@cemedia.co.uk ACCOUNTS Sally Stoker – Finance Manager sally.stoker@cemedia.co.uk DIRECTOR Scott English – Director scott.english@cemedia.co.uk Circulation enquiries: CE Media Call: 0124 567 3700 Elite Franchise is published by CE Media, 1st Floor, Regency House, 16 Victoria Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1NZ Copyright 2017. 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 CE Media Limited cannot be held responsible for such variation. cemedia.co.uk

elitefranchisemagazine.co.uk

■ Josh Russell - Editor

Contributors

Frank Milner

Pip Wilkins

Sussanne Chambers

Nigel Toplis

Glocal is one of those business buzzwords that most of us never use. However, Milner believes franchises have an advantage when it comes to being both global and local.

While some may think it’s a sign of weakness to ask for help, the bfa’s chief executive argues that it would be silly of franchisees not to use the support their families offer.

No matter what sector you’re thinking of joining, the founder of HomeXperts advises you to always make sure you pick a franchisor that will support you through your journey.

Fresh back from a 540km charity cycle trek from Ho Chi Minh City to Angkor Wat, the founder of The Bardon Group reveals why endurance events are just like franchising.

DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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Thinking about starting your own business? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thrive on a challenge and have always wanted to run my own business and be ultimately responsible. The franchise route offers that opportunity, but also the safety net of a well-established and successful brand, along with the support and training to grow that success.â&#x20AC;? Sally Garrett, Kumon Instructor

Apply now to find out more about running your own Kumon Maths and English Study Centre.

Call 0800 988 6579 or visit kumon.co.uk today.

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news The McDemolishing

Events Franchise Now Sheffield January 17 Ponds Forge ISC, Sheaf Street, Sheffield, S1 1AA bfa Prospective Franchisor Seminar Oxford January 18 bfa Office, 85f Park Drive, Milton Park, Abingdon, OX14 4RY EWIF South Regional Meeting January 24 Canon (UK), Woodhatch, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 8BF The Franchise Show 2018 February 16 - 17 ExCel, London Borough of Newham, London, E16 1XL The National Franchise Exhibition February 16 - 17 NEC, Halls, Marston Green, Birmingham, B40 1NT The British & International Franchise Exhibition March 9 - 10 Olympia, Kensington, London, W14 0NE

Celebrate good times, come on Recognising the impact inspiring franchises have on the UK’s economy, the Elite Franchise 100 2018 ranking aims to celebrate Britain’s greatest companies. And the panel of experienced judges certainly had their work cut out for them. But in the end Home Instead Senior Care, the homecare franchise, took home the top gong after impressing the judges with its far-reaching

franchisee support, dedication to innovation and commitment to improving the life of the elderly around Britain. Commenting on the award, Josh Russell, editor of Elite Franchise and one of the judges, said: “Elite Franchise 100 is our way of recognising the businesses we feel are the true engine room of the economy.” We hope you join us in celebrating everyone who made the list.

When Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines in 1955, it marked the beginning of a new era of franchising. However, this milestone in franchising history is now under threat of being demolished once and for all. In November McDonald’s decided to knock down the building, believing flooding damages and costs would prevent it from ever reopening. Fortunately, it seems as there may still be hope to save the restaurant. The Volo Auto Museum has reached out to McDonald’s enquiring about the possibility of relocating the building to the car museum’s lot. While it’s still unclear whether or not McDonald’s shares the museum’s excitement, it’s great to see this eagerness to preserve this important landmark of modern franchising.

BY ERIC JOHANSSON

Streets ahead Having netted big headlines in national newspapers when it opened its first British restaurant in June, Tim Hortons’ jump across the pond hasn’t gone unnoticed. And now the Canadian coffee chain's UK expansion is stepping up a gear by opening a drive-through. The option to be served in your car will be available at

a new restaurant in Manchester that will also house Tim Hortons’ regional training academy. The franchise also plans to open more restaurants around Manchester over the next month. It certainly seems as if the coffee space has become particularly hot for budding franchisees looking to serve up a warm brew. DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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At Home Instead Senior Care we specialise in delivering quality care to older people in their own homes. Given the market opportunity an ageing population presents, a Home Instead franchise offers a wise investment to build a market leading, profitable business while helping people live a better quality of life. Over 190 franchise offices in the UK First class training and support for owners and their teams A proven management franchise model Award winning support

Each Home Instead Senior CareÂŽ franchise office is independently owned and operated. Copyright ÂŠ Home Instead 2017.

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Pip Wilkins chief executive bfa

Take advantage of the support on offer Buying a franchise can be daunting but you can get by with a little help from your friends

ome say that raising a child takes a whole community and the same could be said about buying a franchise. Your budding enterprise will require a significant amount of time, financial investment and help to get it from a startup to an established operation. Nevertheless, the support you receive will be vital to ensure your enterprise is a successful one. Much of the assistance you receive will come from personal supporters such as family and friends. However, this can be a difficult pill to swallow for your loved-ones as it initially may require a pass from domestic duties, family responsibilities or social engagements. Making sure that your spouse or partner fully supports you is the reason why many franchisors will encourage you to bring them to initial meetings before investing in their franchise. They can only be expected to do this if they understand what you will be doing and the time commitment you are taking on. Not only does it maximise the support on offer to you, it also reduces the risk that personal pressures will negatively impact your investment. A feature of franchising that is attractive to many prospective franchisees is the initial training that the franchisor will offer you. Receiving in-depth initial training means that you do not have to invest in a sector you have worked in before. As a result, you can learn first-hand from an experienced franchisor in a sector you

feel passionately about. This allows for fantastic flexibility within the franchise industry, allowing those with the drive and skills required to run their own business in a brand new field. The franchisor will also often have procedures and a support team onhand to help you through the early days and to then subsequently grow your business. Remember that this support is one of the big benefits of joining a franchise as opposed to starting a business on your own. This support and advice is a distillation of the experience the franchisors accumulated through the early days of establishing the brand. Asking for help and taking advantage of the resources on offer is not a sign of weakness but a sensible business decision to maximise your chances of success. Additionally, if you’re struggling and don’t reach out for advice you can appear disengaged and unwilling to put in the effort. Making the most of your franchisor’s experience will show that you endeavour to build a successful operation. And don't forget that as a franchisee you are a part of a larger network of small-business owners, which is an incredible source of knowledge and experience. While it can be easy to fall into the trap of considering the rest of

the network your competitors, bear in mind that they are in the same position as you: small-business owners building a reputation within their designated territory. Recogninsing the strength of their networks, many franchisors encourage franchisees to build relationships with each other through brand events such as annual conferences or regional networking opportunities. Even though the franchisor can provide an incredible amount of support, fellow franchisees understand any struggles from a hands-on franchisee perspective and as such they are a fantastic support system to engage with. Don’t forget to take a moment once in a while to appreciate the support you have to hand. Not only does this ensure you are consciously aware of the people you can lean on, it also means you are more likely to show your appreciation for the support you receive. Everyone loves to feel appreciated and this will ensure that your supporters stay on your side. December 2017 | elitefranchise

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Expense Reduction Analysts UK are proud to be recognised as the winner of the bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Bronze Award, for the second year running. ERAUK is a B2B management consultancy. We recruit experienced, capable men and women and teach you how to build a sustainable business. “For more than 20 years I’ve been able to use my previous experience to grow a successful business while enjoying watching my children grow up. I have consistently earned well in excess of £150,000 per year. My son Neil was 6yrs old when I invested in ERAUK. Now 20 years later, he works with me in the business and I have left a legacy for him to take over when I retire.” Brian Pinner, ERAUK Franchise Partner since 1997

10.30am - 3.30pm December 14th

To reserve your place on our next Discovery Day, or for more information, please contact us:

on 023 8082 9737 or email franchiseteam@erauk.net Leaders in Cost Management and Procurement Consultancy

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EXPE003

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Sussanne Chambers founder and managing director HomeXperts

Finding a franchisor that’s a pillar of support One of the most valuable things you purchase when buying into a franchise is its support system. That’s why it’s important to ensure you’re getting value for money

When you’re asking questions, the contract is a good place for you to start. It should outline the basic level of support that you will receive and give you a very good insight into what you can expect down the line. As a result it’s essential you make sure that you read and understand this important legal document. Next, check what training you will get. Training will be split into initial and ongoing training. The initial training may last days or weeks dependening on the complexity ncreasingly franchisors’ offerings are being of the franchise chosen so look wrapped in glossy packaging designed to how the length of the course As part of your atcompares tempt and excite potential franchisees. Despite to other businesses. due diligence, Ask if you can you take the fact it can be a heady time choosing a franchise brand to work with, it pays to remember that this cosmetic lift of your management you should members only goes skin deep. As part of your due diligence, you team and check whether the look at the franchisor will train new staff. should look at the support you will receive once you have signed on the dotted line. support you If so, will there be an additional Questioning the franchisor about the level of support attached? will receive cost they will deliver is important. I know that the level of When it comes to ongoing support varies hugely in my industry. While I have a training, ensure you ask team of 20 central-office support staff, some of my questions about the content and the frequency at which competitors have three. Clearly the support you receive it will be delivered. In particular, it’s useful to know what can differ enormously. So how can you find out what is in form the training will take. It could be online tutorials and store for you once a deal has been struck? webinars, in person on a one-to-one basis or in group training sessions. Most franchisors will also provide you with an on-the-road member of the support team who will help you launch your business and be your go-to person throughout your franchise journey. Because of this, it’s important to know how many franchisees the development manager supports, plus the geographical area they cover. Other support provided as part of the package will often include marketing as the franchisor will want you to place advertising to grow your business. Most franchisors will also have a collective marketing fund, which all franchisees contribute to. When you are conducting your due diligence and talking to other franchisees, ask them if they are happy with the level of support they are receiving. Starting a new business is always going to be tough. As a result, ensuring you know what support you're going to receive is an important part of the decisionmaking process. Great support can add so much to your business and cement a positive relationship with your franchisor.

DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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A GREAT PLACE TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS We are looking to expand and share the goodness and quality of SFC through a select group of new Franchisees.

WHY HAS SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL? COULD IT BE:

The attention to detail that ensures only the very best is acceptable? Using succulent real fresh chicken, marinated to give flavour the whole way through, coated in breading made from a unique blend of herbs and spices and our exclusive Lemon Pepper Flavour, pressure-fried to perfection, giving a deliciously crisp and moist product.

COULD IT BE:

That seasonings and packaging are purchased through SFC ensuring uniformity worldwide? Giving the same great SFC taste across the world.

COULD IT BE:

The menu that satisfies all tastes and palates? Offering five flavours ranging from mild to wild. Our extensive menu includes real fresh chicken, succulent burgers, buckets and wraps, prepared in our signature fried method or grilled to juicy perfection.

OR IS IT JUST:

That we offer one of the most comprehensive packages in global franchising, with ongoing design, essential support, flexible local supply options and, of course, training- with nearly 40 yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Real fresh chicken, prepared in a good, honest way, producing the best-tasting chicken every time.â&#x20AC;?

Our franchised restaurants work as independent businesses under the SFC brand all over the world. We support and help our franchisees develop with autonomy to make decisions on lots of day to day activities and are always there to advise them. If you register on the intelligence level as genius, have the heart of a lion, strength of a bull and you can live by our values - then we would love to hear from you if you think that our franchise might just be the right one for you. Contact: Andrew McNair +44 (0) 7887 663552 Email: franchising@ffsbrands.co.uk Website: www.southernfriedchicken.com FFSB001

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Earning

a crust BY josh russell / photography by emilie sandy

Thanks to a lifetime spent adding a little sauce to large-scale pizza brands, Gareth Davies is the perfect person to ensure Papa John’s franchisees in the UK and western Europe are seeing their businesses thrive

erhaps it’s no surprise that Gareth Davies came to play such a pivotal role in helping Papa John’s franchisees thrive and the American pizza giant reach consumers across western Europe. After all, having worked in kitchens since he was a teenager and having spent decades helping rising brands firm up their franchising, Davies is one of Britain’s true pizza pros and the perfect man to help spread ‘Papa’ John Schnatter’s franchise even further. Born in Leamington Spa, Davies spent much of his young life moving from place to place because of his father’s catering career, something he feels gave him a good grounding in the entrepreneurial mindset. “Obviously moving around and changing schools on a regular basis gives you the opportunity to learn to be flexible and adaptable in different circumstances,” he says. However, this doesn’t mean that Davies wasn’t raised with a consistent work ethic: from around the age of ten, he worked back of house in his parents’ restaurant, making him Britain’s

youngest kitchen porter at the time. But while his father was a fantastic chef, Davies learnt as much from his failures as his successes: Davies senior struggled to systematise the business, ultimately leading to the company folding. And this is a lesson that Davies makes sure he imparts to franchisees to this day by helping them access robust systems. Having whet his appetite for business at such a young age, it wasn’t surprising that Davies felt more at home in a kitchen than a classroom. “I confess I was never the most academic of individuals,” he says. “I was always attracted to action and so academia was never really the right environment for me.” Leaving school at 16, Davies signed up for a computing course at a local college in Stratford-upon-Avon and took a part-time job working at the local McDonald’s just to make ends meet. But while his keenness to study coding quickly ebbed away – in 1985 much of computing was still driven by impenetrable maths – before long he found he thrived in the process-driven world of food franchising. “What I found at McDonald’s was working with people was my great passion,” says Davies. “Additionally the structured environment was something I could really relate to: there’s a very clear definition of DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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I’m either the most indecisive person in the world or I found my calling by accident

what a good job looks like and if you follow the rules you get a strong positive outcome.” Developing a taste for this combo of people and processes, Davies was soon sold on the world of food service, meaning that when the time came to move on from McDonald’s he decided to join another brand that was very much on the rise. “There was a Pizza Hut opening up in the town and some of my pals and I decided that we would get a job there while we thought about what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives,” he says. But while Davies may have initially viewed working for the pizza brand as a stop-gap, it quickly became his vocation: he soon worked his way up from the kitchen team to area manager. “I remained employed by Pizza Hut for the next 20 years,” he says. “So I’m either the most indecisive person in the world or I found my calling by accident.” But while pizza became Davies’ passion, he didn’t make his first foray into the world of franchising until 2000, when he was offered the chance to help Pizza Hut’s master franchisee expand his operation in the Emerald Isle. And this experience confirmed to him how important it is in business to blend careful organisation with ambition and vision. “Eddie Johnston who was the master franchisee for Northern Ireland at the time was very entrepreneurial,” he says. “We ended up creating a very good partnership where we combined my functional skills and his entrepreneurial spirit.” Over the following four years, their complimentary skill sets enabled Davies and Johnston to triple the size of the Irish network. And Davies feels this experience working on the other side of the fence has proven invaluable. “For me that was a very transformational step in my experience as a leader,” he

says. “It really taught me the need for shared goals and ambition between franchisee and franchisor.” And without a doubt this was insight that Pizza Hut sorely needed. With Davies’ eldest daughter set to begin high school, his family decided to move back to the UK and, after a stint helping to reinvigorate Pizza Hut’s Express food-court concept, he was brought in to help roll out the brand’s domestic franchising operation. “Quite honestly the business didn’t really know what to make of these franchisees,” he says. “We were used to making decisions in a very top-down fashion, whereas of course in franchising the absolute key is respect for the goals of the franchisee.” Working more closely with franchisees that had recently joined the network, Davies began tweaking Pizza Hut’s franchise model to more closely align the franchisor’s interests with theirs. “It was about being the bridge between what the franchisee and franchisor were hoping to achieve,” he says. “I needed to guide them in those areas where they had limited insight but also learn from the fresh energy, ideas and challenges they brought into the business.” While this kickstarted significant growth in Pizza Hut’s franchise operations, the company had begun to receive some stiff competition from a new entrant into the market: Papa John’s. A recent migrant from the States, the brand had begun its life decades before, when a 15-year-old Schnatter landed a job at local pizza restaurant Rocky's Sub Pub. “While he started working as a pot washer, he worked his way across onto the pizza production line and found something he felt very passionate about,” says Davies. And this meant that in 1984, upon discovering that his father’s tavern, Mick’s Lounge, was on the brink of bankruptcy, Schnatter had the perfect plan to help the business up its game. “He thought ‘actually if I could sell some pizza from here, this would be a great opportunity to increase the turnover in the bar’,” Davies says. “So the bar’s broom closet was knocked down, an oven was installed and the first Papa John’s pizza outlet was created.” Not only did the launch of Papa John’s help reverse the fortunes of Mick’s Lounge

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Gareth Davies

but Schnatter’s enthusiasm for fresh ingredients clearly tickled Kentuckians’ tastebuds. “John’s passion was to be able to deliver a pizza that he’d be proud to serve to his family and friends: that was his driving force,” says Davies. “And obviously that meant it snowballed pretty quickly.” However, in order to capitalise on the business’s momentum and rapidly expand, Schnatter knew he would need some outside help. Fortunately franchising provided the perfect way to bring people on board. “John’s a very ambitious person and, realising the potential of a pizza-delivery business, he was keen to keep growing,” Davies says. “Ultimately you either have deep pockets and a large amount of capital to grow or you bring in business partners and franchisees as a way of expanding.” Signing franchisees up in earnest, Papa John’s growth skyrocketed: by 1998 it had nearly 2,000 stores across the US, meaning Schnatter decided the time was right to take his pizza to the world. And after expanding into Mexico and Puerto Rico, one location really stood out as a candidate. “Clearly the UK and the US have many links and similarities,” Davies says. “The decision was made to buy an existing business so they purchased Perfect Pizza.” At that time, the thriving pizza brand had around 200 stores across Britain, meaning that once Papa John’s had converted the stores to its brand, it would have a sizeable network to build upon. However, this plan stalled when resistance from Perfect Pizza's franchisees put the kibosh on the rebrand and its sizeable network began to atrophy: suddenly finding itself running two separate networks concurrently, Papa John’s decided to sell off the brand’s stores, allowing it to refocus on its own rapidly growing network. “There were maybe 90 Papa John’s stores at that point,” says Davies. “That was really the start point for our current success and growth.”

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By this time, Davies had begun to feel like his progress within the Pizza Hut brand had plateaued. “There was a period of stagnation and I was keen to move on,” he says. “Fortunately, there was a great opportunity to further my impact in a small business with Perfect Pizza.” Joining the brand as operations director, Davies became responsible for turning round its remaining network of 112 franchised pizza-delivery stores. But while he helped up Perfect Pizza’s system sales to £18m during his tenure

there, after a year and a half working in the business, he began to feel that he was caught in the crossfire between its two main groups of stakeholders. “It became quite clear there was a gap between the ambitions and objectives of the franchisees and those of the franchisor that I certainly didn’t have the capacity in my role to close,” he says. “I wasn’t comfortable working in a business where the two fundamental partners in the business had such divergent goals.”

We run clean-label initiatives to remove nasty things from that pizza and make sure that everything in it is going to be wholesome and natural

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Gareth Davies

As luck would have it though, a new opportunity presented itself. While developing Pizza Hut’s food-court offering, Davies had worked alongside Jack Swaysland, who had gone on to become the ops director of Papa John’s. Given Davies’s past relationship with Swaysland and his work turning round its former acquisition, joining the brand was a no brainer. “So nine years ago I made the move across to Papa John’s,” he says. Entering the culture that Schnatter had built, Davies found he felt a real affinity for the Papa John’s approach, partly because of its focus on uniting the interests of its franchisees with its own. “How we do business is as important as the business we do,” he says. “We have an acronym that outlines our core values: FASPAC, which is focus, accountability, superiority, PAPA – or ‘people are priority always’ – attitude and constant improvement.” And this focus on individuals’ interests and increasing their agency is threaded throughout the business. “In our cultural and behavioural training programme Go Left, there are four or five individual modules that all talk about leadership and behavioural training,” Davies says. “That helps people understand that how they go about doing business has an impact on the performance of the people they employ and their customers.” But this isn’t the only secret sauce that sets Schnatter’s business apart: Papa John’s commitment to serving pizza he is proud of survives to this day. “We run a huge number of clean-label initiatives to remove nasty things from that pizza and make sure that everything in it is going to be wholesome and natural,” Davies says. In fact, Papa John’s is so serious about jettisoning junk from its menus that its US business has appointed perhaps the restaurant industry’s first chief ingredients officer. Not only did this see it strip artificial

colours and flavours, preservatives and sweeteners from its pizzas but it has also launched a quality guarantee for its ingredients that promises to replace any pizza consumers don’t love. “And to date, three years into making that promise, we’re still in the low 100s of pizzas that we’ve redeemed as replacements,” says Davies. “So that’s a promise we’ve kept.” After a stint first as franchise-business manager, Davies quickly found himself being asked to get hands on with the network as its operations director. “The business was growing and the team was looking for people with enough experience,” he says. “There were about 120 to 125 stores and I was in a position to help those franchisees again with some structure.” And as the business has grown, Davies has continued to step up, first becoming VP of the UK and Ireland before adding regional VP for western Europe to his remit. This has meant that along with adding between 35 and 45 stores a year in Britain, he is now responsible for guiding Papa John’s growth on the continent. “We’re getting increasing numbers of enquiries from France, the Netherlands and Spain to say ‘we like what Papa John’s is doing’,” he says. “When the right partners came along, we worked with them to help establish the right opportunities and the right way forward.” Evidently Papa John’s has some significant growth ahead of it. “We will end this year on just short of 390 stores in the UK and our ambition is to continue to grow at an even faster rate for the foreseeable future,” he says. “There are lots of consumers out there that like pizza and lots of opportunities out there for us to service them better.” But it’s not solely about the numbers for Davies: just as important is seeing the purveyors of Papa John’s pizzas themselves get the best out of the partnership. “My great pleasure is seeing people achieve their aims and, as the years have gone on, seeing people around me grow and be successful,” he says. “Being part of that growth is part of the joy I take from this job.” And with Schnatter at the helm, Davies knows Papa John’s will continue to put itself in the shoes of those running its restaurants. “When John comes into a restaurant, the first thing he’ll do – after washing his hands – is make his way to the make line, talk to the guys, slap the dough and get involved in making pizza because fundamentally that’s who he is: Papa John the pizza maker,” he says. “Working for a business that is led by its founder, that has a sense of purpose and a shared commitment to success for its investors and franchisees is very valuable to me.”

22 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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11/12/2017 17:51

The mark of excellent care

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

You can become the next Caremark homecare franchise success story. for more information speak to David Glover on 01903 266392

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CARE001

07/12/2017 10:46 29/09/2017 11:38 25/01/2017 11:47

Low Low overheads overheads andand high high margins; margins; achieve achieve financial financial success success through through an online an online business business Why Why an ecommerce an ecommerce business business couldcould be be the perfect the perfect opportunity opportunity for you for you You can You start canwith starta with low level a lowoflevel start-up of start-up capitalcapital Work where Work where you want, you when want, you when want you want No need Notoneed storetoorstore handle or handle products products yourselfyourself

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platinumbusinesspartners.co.uk platinumbusinesspartners.co.uk dps.indd 1

06/12/2017 09:41

CASE STUDY: Nigel & Glenn

Pet Supplies

April ‘16

£3,500

CATEGORY

DATE JOINED

MONTHLY NET PROFIT

“

Brothers, Nigel and Glenn Chilcott, are no strangers to working together. For the past two years, they’ve been building a property business together after leaving their corporate IT careers in London. But they needed another income stream, and joining an online retail franchise seemed the perfect way to do it and keep them away from the typical nine-to-five existence.

Despite not having any direct experience of the ecommerce world, other than from a consumer perspective, Nigel and Glenn believed they had some valuable transferable skills that would benefit their business. In addition, they both had the enthusiasm and determination to make it work. They decided to join Platinum Business Partners in April 2016. Nigel commented: “We realised that you could probably do this on your own, but that it would take a lot longer, not only to get started but to become profitable too. Being taught by mentors who have been there, done it and made the mistakes, as well as being part of a support network, is hugely beneficial. We like the way that Platinum operates with integrity and in the medium to long-term, the franchise fee will become a very cost-effective investment.”

Our focus now is on increasing our sales to 100+ units per day at a minimum of a 20% net profit margin. We also have plans to sell our current brand by December 2018 and develop another two.

“

Low start-up costs and unlimited potential made this online retail business a ‘no-brainer’

Glenn and Nigel sold their first product on Amazon on18th September 2016. Within nine months of trading, they’ve achieved a six-figure sales revenue and last month’s net profit was more than £3,500.

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06/12/2017 09:41

ADVERTISING FEATURE

The four best-rated franchises in the UK Only four franchises have achieved Smith & Henderson’s coveted 5-Star Franchisee Satisfaction Status five times: ActionCOACH, Puddle Ducks, Right at Home and TaxAssist Accountants

f you’re looking to join a franchise, you could start off worse than looking at the four top winners. Increasingly, choosing a product, service or business is about reviews and ratings as opposed to old-school advertising and promotion. It’s often how you choose your hotel and which restaurant to eat at. When it comes to 5-Star status, the Smith & Henderson award matters because it is driven by what the networks of franchisees across the UK think of their franchise. Achieving 5-Star status means the franchise is rated above the average of more than one hundred franchises ranked in key areas

like training, support, value and rewards. Over the last three years, Smith & Henderson has put together a panel of judges to evaluate the top three low-priced, mid-priced and high-priced franchises and find a winner. The judges and Smith & Henderson have completed hours of research and evaluation and there has only been one winner of The UK’s Best Mid-Priced franchise: ActionCOACH.

For a prospective franchisee, this provides a great starting point when you begin to look for the perfect network to join. An elite company Additionally, joining one of these networks mean that you’ll join a network in high spirits following these impressive accolades. “These awards mean the most to our team because they are based on our franchisees’ feelings about our franchise,” says Ian Christelow, co-founder of ActionCOACH UK. “No matter how great your system is, if your franchisees aren’t happy, then

Ian Christelow and Julie Wagstaff, ActionCOACH UK co-founders

26 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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29/11/2017 13:41

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Mitali Chopra helping others to succeed whilst finding success herself

growth is not possible. We consider our franchisees to be our business partners. We work hard to provide the best support and opportunities for growth. Their anonymous feedback gives us confidence we’re on the right track but we’ll never become complacent. We’re also very proud to be one of just four franchises with 25 stars to our name.” Join a rewarding profession The estimated total revenue generated by professional coaching in western Europe was $898m in 2015, according to the 2016 Global Coaching Study*. More than ever before, there is a huge need for business coaches to help budding companies secure meaningful growth and achieve their goals. Business services are often a ‘need’ rather than a ‘want’ purchase and the only question for a customer is which supplier to choose. But Christelow argues that this isn’t the case when people chose to use ActionCOACH’s services. “The biggest motivation for our franchisees comes from their clients,” he says. “When you hire a lawyer or accountant, you do so because you have to. But when you hire an action coach, it’s because you want to and the results are life-changing.” Kevin Stansfield has been an ActionCOACH franchisee since 2006 and couldn’t agree more. “I’m giving people their life back – they’re working for their business and have no worklife balance or no head space to grow their companies,” he says. For

instance Stansfield had one client in the electronics sector who had been crippled by their workload for over five years. Fortunately, Stansfield helped him find more spare time within only nine months. Stansfield also ensured that another client who had been running a sailing school from his attic for almost 24/7 could find more time off. Similarly, he’s also helped the owner of a children’s nursery get out of the daily running of the business and concentrate on growing it instead, enabling her to grow from running five to having ten nurseries. These stories are echoed across the network because all ActionCOACH franchisees are able to couple their existing skills with a service that millions of people need. Franchisees enjoy the satisfaction of turning their clients into big winners by helping them grow their corporate earnings. The basic entry level investment for an ActionCOACH franchise is £27,000 and some of the UK franchisees have already achieved revenues in excess of £1m a year. However, according to the franchisees the biggest returns are the personal thank you they receive from their clients. What’s more, the recognition ActionCOACH franchisees get for the difference they make in their local economy is also a massive bonus, as business growth fuels more jobs, time, security and financial freedom for families. This was just what convinced Mitali Chopra to join the network in 2016.

“I chose ActionCOACH because I wanted the opportunity to build my own business and create impact in peoples’ lives, both in business and personally,” Chopra says. “Within eight weeks of launching my ActionCOACH business, I had signed up five oneto-one coaching clients bringing in a monthly income that was close to eclipsing my previous corporate salary. The work I do is life-changing for my clients. They understand their business better, improve profitability, enjoy work more and can see the possibility of more growth and financial freedom in the future. ActionCOACH gives me the flexibility to have a work-life balance. Whilst I work, I can still make time for my family. I am proud to be an action coach because of the wonderful team who support me and the powerful vision which drives me.” If you enjoy helping other people succeed, love learning and have a genuine interest in the business of business, the chances are you will enjoy ActionCOACH – visit actioncoach.co.uk to review their 6-minute video and decide if ActionCOACH merits further evaluation for you. * Commissioned by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and carried out by PwC

DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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29/11/2017 13:42

We want YOU to join the UK’s No1 Dry carpet, upholstery

nce

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A Zerodrytime franchise gives hard working franchisees the opportunity to earn in excess of £50,000 per year

4 great earning solutions

If you’re looking for an exciting career change

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the constraints of working for someone else, a zerodrytime franchise could be the right choice for you.

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Full training & support On job training in customers homes

Domestics & commercial Man in a van or management roles Great earning potential Repeat customers

ZERO001 05/12/2017 18/07/2017 11:58 14:17

Frank Milner CEO Tutor Doctor

How franchises think global and act local In effective franchise networks, franchisees can focus on the micro-market because franchisors should take care of the macro-market

n the franchising relationship, it’s the responsibility of the franchisor to look at the bigger picture. They monitor, influence and translate what’s happening in the wider industry for the protection and benefit of their franchisees. And with good reason. A franchisor must continually work to improve the model, modify the system and keep up to date with, if not ahead of, legislation and trends as a matter of future-proofing. Whether you’re a franchisor or a franchisee, you should notice that the best franchisors will concern themselves with things that could affect the entire network. For example, they will focus on changes and updates to regulations, economic forecasts and potential political or social events that are likely to have an impact on either provision or supply of goods and services. In addition, they will

identify opportunities to update and implement new technologies in line with needs and trends to advance the business as a whole. Franchisors can ensure knowledge of their marketplace remains up to date and relevant by being front and centre. By way of example, Tim Morris, director of global franchise support at Tutor Doctor, sits on the board of The Tutors Association. This helps us shape policies for best practice and tailor the tools franchisees need to succeed based on emerging developments and key messages. In most, if not all, franchise agreements, you’ll find some reference to this overarching responsibility of the franchisor. It’s a great question for prospective franchisees to ask: ‘what do you, as my franchisor, do to keep up to date with the industry and ensure the model is always at the very least fit for purpose, if not a leader in the market?’

With an effective franchisor taking care of wider considerations, franchisees are free to focus on their local market. But it’s important to remember that this is where the responsibility flips. It’s absolutely your responsibility as a franchisee to work on understanding and leveraging the local market, from geographic or demographic nuances in marketing messages to specific price variations linked to the micro socialeconomic climate. Safe in the knowledge that the franchisor is on top of industry regulations and economic trends, franchisees can concentrate on making the most impact for the brand on a local level. This means franchisors must continually research new and existing customers, analyse the local competition and undertake profileraising activities and PR for themselves and their business. Combine a franchisor that is active on a macro level with a franchisee who is engaged in their own microclimate and the beauty of franchising really becomes apparent. A franchisor’s ability to hold position, influence and be involved in their industry’s future direction is increased, ultimately benefitting and strengthening the brand and model for every franchisee. A franchisee who has been able to focus on their local community will build a better business with greater brand presence and awareness, the benefits of which will resonate through the entire franchise. By working together, a franchise network is more than the sum of its parts. DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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11/12/2017 15:46

ADVERTISING FEATURE

How Betterclean Services can help you build a successful business With a Betterclean franchise you have the chance to become are a real business owner and not simply someone who manages customers and employees for the franchisor

hen the Betterclean Services franchise was set up five years ago it was with the expressed intention of allowing people to join a network allowing them to develop and grow their own company and be involved in every element of running a business, safe in the knowledge that they are supported by a team of experts. This approach allows our franchisees to be true business owners rather than glorified managers, which we believe sets us apart from much of the competition.

Growing your own business involves a lot of learning and often an amount of trial and error. Fortunately, buying in to an established franchise reduces this risk because the franchisor has already developed a proven business model and all the franchisees have to do is follow it. However, we realise that franchisees join our network with very different skill sets and the needs of each individual differ greatly, so as a franchisor we provide a flexible support structure tailored to the needs of each individual.

This flexibility starts from day one when one of our mentors will sit down with you and map out the growth plan for your business, identify all of the key milestones along the way and the support that you’ll require to build your business. The mentoring doesn’t stop there; we’ll continue to have regular telephone and in-territory catch ups with you to ensure you’re on track to achieving your goals and to identify and remove any potential stumbling blocks before they become a problem. Regular communication is key because people new to business don’t know what gaps in their knowledge they have and it’s therefore our job to guide you through the lifecycle of running and building your business. This support and understanding allows our franchisees to grow successful businesses that not only generate a great income but become an attractive asset that can be sold in the future. The support Betterclean Services provides includes recruitment and

If you believe you would make a good Betterclean franchisee, we would really like to talk to you 30 ELITEFRANCHISE | DECEMBER 2017

ADVERTISING FEATURE

human resources support that cover things like employment law guidance and advise, health a safety guidance, advice and all necessary documentation, office administration and IT support, operational support and business development and marketing. The majority of the support structures we have in place are provided by our head office team, but our external partners also provide additional support and expert knowledge where needed. Business development has always been at the forefront of the support services we offer to our franchisees, both in the early stages of developing their business and ongoing, but we have now gone one step further by offering a guaranteedbusiness-development scheme allowing franchisees to invest money on business development with guaranteed results. Every franchisee has the option to decide how much to invest on business development based on their aspirations and financial resources, and rest assured that our dedicated and highly experienced head-office-business-development team will guarantee to reach a pre-determined level of turnover and profit within a set time frame, at a pace that works for them. This business-development support allows you to focus more on running your company, safe in the knowledge that our highly experienced team are continuing to grow your business through our proven marketing and sales activities. Additional investment into the business-development scheme can happen at any point throughout your business ownership journey, giving you even more opportunities to tailor the business growth to your aspirations. Not everyone will be a successful Betterclean Services franchisee and we appoint people who we are confident will further build the success of the brand through their own individual achievements with our help.

Successful candidates will need to meet the criteria that we consider to be essential in owning and managing a successful Betterclean Services franchise. You will need the confidence and ability to sell, the ability to recruit and manage a team. Good communication skills are important as you will also need to be a client relationship builder who is committed to following the tried and tested Betterclean Services systems. A basic level of computer literacy is critical as well as being highly motivated with plenty of selfdiscipline whilst being committed and determined to succeed. A professional and well-organised approach to business is always a great factor that will aid you in your candidacy. Contact Mike our Franchise Manager on 0800 772 0810 or email franchise@bettercleanservices.co.uk for more details. Investment: from £19,600 +vat Dan van Kuyk – MD and Founder

DECEMBER 2017 | ELITEFRANCHISE

What will you be doing this time next month? Still wishing you had a new job? Still wishing you’d started your own business? Still wishing you could do something more rewarding?

With a Mathnasium Learning Centre franchise you have the opportunity to build your own business, be your own boss and make a great living whilst making a difference. • No maths or teaching experience necessary • Simple, effective and proven system • Extensive training and ongoing support • Over 800 franchised centres worldwide • Low investment, great returns

It could be the most rewarding move you ever make!

Remember – nothing happens until you MAKE it happen

Find out more at mathnasium.co.uk or call Mathnasium UK – 0161 791 0686 Standard call charges apply

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MATH001 15/06/2017 09:30

Nigel Toplis managing director The Bardon Group

From endurance challenge to enduring business Whether you’re cycling through monsoons for charity or aiming for franchise success, preparation, people and processes are vital if you plan to go the distance

eople often talk about life imitating art. However, I recently found life imitating business or – to be more precise – franchising. I was taking part in a 540km charity cycle trek from Ho Chi Minh City – formerly Saigon – to Angkor Wat. It’s a challenging ride that demands buckets of personal resilience and team collaboration. And this isn’t the only thing it shared in common with franchising. A strong start Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, our first task was to get acquainted with our bikes. An experienced ground crew explained that we needed to optimise them carefully, position the seat properly and ensure the handlebars were at the right height. Every night during the trek we were advised to wash our bikes down, oil them and check them over. As in business, it’s important to invest in the best tools you can afford and keep them in pristine condition. We then had a team meeting to discuss the plan for our first ride – an introductory 50km. Good communication was critical. The crew kept it pertinent, clear and simple, ensuring everyone listened and understood. The core message at this first meeting was “we’ve been doing this for years, so if you want to complete the challenge do what we say”. This is also the crux of good franchising: having good systems and processes and encouraging franchisees to follow them.

A team effort Good franchising is a marriage between franchisor and franchisee: it works best when both parties work together. Similarly, while the trek wasn’t all plain sailing, when the going got really tough, the cyclists and the crew got together to make sure that everyone achieved their goal. We had one particularly difficult moment when we were stuck some 10km from our finishing point for the day in thundery monsoon showers. We’d already completed 90km that day and faced a dilemma: should we take the support coach or continue the ride? It was certainly tempting but we all agreed that, in life, achievement rarely comes without effort. We decided to go for it. The weather was atrocious but the camaraderie was inspirational. And, as a result, every single rider made it. Ready to roll When you take on a franchise, you should feel confident when things get tough – and they will – that your franchisor will provide continuous support. A 540km bike ride doesn’t just happen. Neither does business success. In either, preparation is vital. Clearly, you need to put in the effort and train. You also need a good crew that not only understands the route and offers guidance but quickly gets to grips with team dynamics and the individual nature of each rider. A good franchisor understands that each franchisee is an individual, with ambitions and skills unique to them. Thirdly, you need to communicate and regularly review your plan – something that happened every day on the cycle challenge. I am proud to have successfully completed the Ho Chi Minh City to Angkor Wat challenge. And I am proud to have raised almost £7,000 for the charity Well Child with the support of friends, colleagues and suppliers. More than that though, I am proud to be a franchisor. December 2017 | elitefranchise

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11/12/2017 15:44

ADVERTISING FEATURE

No need to reinvent the triangle Cleaning ovens is only one of three sides

t goes without saying that most franchises will provide their franchisees with practical training before they start trading. For Ovenu, comprehensive oven-cleaning training is provided as part of starting up the franchise to ensure their franchisees deliver astonishing results to their clients time after time. Ovenu’s market leading valeting practices have developed and enhanced over time to become the best in the business. Over 4,500 five-star delighted client reviews from across the UK can’t be wrong.. But what’s not emphasised enough sometimes in franchise media is the attention to how important the other two sides of the business triangle are. Providing a first class service to clients is one side of it, but to do this is impossible without getting work in and looking after what you’ve got.

That’s why Ovenu spend time with new franchisees to run through and break down how to run the Ovenu business in the most efficient way possible. They use proven methods and strategies to ensure franchisees know how to generate turnover and make profits from the start and throughout their Ovenu journey. This is done in a unique way for each territory in the UK as one size doesn’t fit all. Advertising, marketing, promotion and client retention are just a few of the areas covered. Ovenu’s business model is in operation in over 150 worldwide locations and it’s been replicated by many since 1994. It’s stood the test of time and has been tried, tested and trusted by hundreds of satisfied franchisees globally. It’s strong, safe, dependable and profitable. The best bit? You don’t need to have experience in any of these aspects

at all. From start to finish, Ovenu’s support team will teach you everything you need to know to successfully operate an Ovenu Franchise in your exclusive territory. Ovenu urges its network to take full advantage of the experienced support team and exploit the knowledge they have gained over 25 years in this unique industry. Even though experience isn’t key, to be successful you need ambition, will, discipline and drive to follow Ovenu’s proven plan and implement its methods. You can trust that you will be replicating what so many others have already done and are doing, and making serious money from. Do this and you will thrive. Whilst you’re being guided by Ovenu, you will still be running and be in control of your own business. Ovenu’ll just give you the best methods on the market to do it successfully.

Tried, tested and trusted by hundereds

If you can picture yourself working alongside us and building a solid local business, controlling your own working hours and achieving great client and job satisfaction under the security of our reliable Ovenu brand then don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can email us on enquiries@ovenufranchise.co.uk or give us a call on 01189 743 911.

34 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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TUTO001

Helping organisations improve their bottom lines ERA UK is B2B management consultancy franchise, specialising in reducing overheads by improving processes and supplier relationships. Our people gain huge satisfaction from using their experience and expertise â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and that of our powerful network â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to help their clients.

Discover more about the benefits of an ERA UK franchise at a FREE Discovery Day.

tel: 023 8082 9737 web: erafranchise.co.uk email: franchiseteam@erauk.net

EXPE003

Due to increased demand for arts & crafts classes, parties and events, the award-winning Creation Station are looking for proactive and friendly people to run their own successful franchise.

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Would you love to be your own boss, doing something you love with the backing of an established, tried and trusted brand? Request your free information pack today.

Over 120 people already enjoy running their own rewarding franchise.To check if your area is available and for more info call Maggie today on 01395 29700.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wanted something more flexible, rewarding and fulfilling. I was so pleased my area was still available as The Creation Station really ticks all the boxes for me and my family.â&#x20AC;?

Fariyal Shariff Inspiring imaginations in North Watford, Hertfordshire

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07/12/2017 10:51

Tony Bowman managing director etyres

How an effective operations manual keeps a franchise on track Keeping your operations manual updated will help you ensure the success of your franchise

ranchising revolves entirely around the idea of replicability. Usually, the franchisor has developed a successful business system that franchisees can replicate by following the guidelines in the operations manual. Unfortunately, while every franchise has one, too often it's not updated when small changes are made to the system. And given the fast pace at which businesses change nowadays, it doesn’t take long before the manual risks becoming out of date and irrelevant. When that happens franchisees stop referring to the manual, thinking that it’s no longer pertinent to the running of their franchised business. This is especially common if they’ve run their

business for a long time and have some routine doing so. But surely updating the manual can wait if the franchisor has more important things to attend to? Why does it matter? Well, it absolutely matters. For instance, if a franchised branch changes owners in a resale, then the solicitors involved will want to see the operations manual. Similarly, when recruiting new franchisees to join the network, it’s important that the prospective franchisee can see the manual before making a commitment to join. Naturally enough, a non-disclosure agreement is usually involved in these cases. But it’s just not when new franchisees join the company that it becomes

important that the manual is up to date. It could also cause issues if the franchisor wants to sell the business because whoever purchases it will also want to see it. And if there is a dispute within the franchise, it will be a central part of how it will be resolved because the franchise agreements will contain many cross references to the manual. Additionally, if there is an employment issue within a franchised branch the manual is sure to be needed. As an example of how it can be done, etyres recently updated our operations manual to include addendums like how to obtain customer reviews and identifying where orders are lost and how to avoid these scenarios. To ensure our franchisees were up to date, we added every new addendum to the Contents of Addendums page and, once updated, we re-issued it. We send out a notification of each new addendum together with a new index. This way we can keep promulgating new information that affects the business, allowing us to keep sharing best practice, improving techniques and maintaining legal compliance. In summary, the operations manual is a vital part of all properly run franchised businesses. It’s a hallmark of the quality of the franchise and a very effective barometer of how the business is being managed. I would strongly recommend that all prospective franchisees inspect the manual of the franchise that they are thinking of joining. Similarly I stress to all franchisors that it is vital to keep this important document up to date and relevant to the business. Whether you are a franchisee or a franchisor, your engagement together does not end when the business hits the road. It is an ongoing journey that needs constant navigation and the operations manual – at least if it's updated – is an excellent road map. DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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11/12/2017 15:42

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Join the property industry through franchising Tap into an established industry by offering a fresh approach to estate and letting agency

ver wondered how you could get involved in the lucrative property industry? How about franchising? There is an array of property based franchises for you to explore. They have the systems, support and packages to allow you to enter an established industry, without previous experience. So which area of property should you franchise in? You could explore property management or even property maintenance. However, one of the most successful forms of property franchising is estate and letting agency. Estate and letting agencies offer you a chance to bring your personality into your business. You can meet your clients and guide them through the sale or let of their property. It’s about building relationships with clients to win referrals and gain the trust of your local community. Anyone

with the ability to care for a client can open a successful estate and letting agency with the support and training of the right franchisor. One of those franchisors exploiting a gap in the estate and letting agency market is HomeXperts. HomeXperts provides a complete service to those looking to pursue a business career in property. They understand it can be challenging starting out on your own, which is why they have developed a comprehensive package including everything you need. Your package includes; An equipment package, which includes an iPad and a DSLR Camera, membership to the leading estate and letting agency professional bodies, a stationary & signage package, including car signage for your vehicle, the HomeXperts

marketing package, your franchise software package and your personal website and online package. In addition to your franchise package, you will receive complete training so that you can truly become a property Xpert. Most property franchises offer three to four days of training but the HomeXperts Training Academy has been developed to include two weeks of content. Middleton Franchisee and former estate agent Jack Howard said: “The whole model makes it clear and easy to be an estate agent. We get to learn inside out what is the right thing to do. We get the training, ending with an industry qualification. So now, when I get out in the field, I have the knowledge to back up my service.” HomeXperts also support the ongoing development of franchisees skills like boosting SEO and Digital marketing training and even training sessions at the headquarters of Zoopla and Rightmove. Once you have finished your training you will benefit from the dedicated support of HomeXperts’ central support staff. This includes monthly one to one business reviews with our industry experienced business development managers, a central office call centre, to take calls when you can’t, Back office lettings administration, to remove time consuming paper work, An in-house graphic designer, And access to our award-winning 24/7 HomeXperts franchise hub with over 1,000 training documents. Property franchising offers a great avenue for you to start a business. People will always need a place to live, therefore there is always an opportunity for business. So, if you think you could become the trusted agent in your area, the earning potential is lucrative. If you’d like to learn more about HomeXperts, contact us via the details below. Our Franchise Recruitment Team are happy to answer any question you may have. 01905 678850 franchise@homexpertsuk.com www.home-xperts.co.uk

38 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

Home Xperts adv.indd 1

07/12/2017 16:45

Join a National-Award-Winning Property Franchise Join a National-Award-Winning Property Franchise Join a National-Award-Winning Property Franchise Join a National-Award-Winning Franchise Deliver exceptional customer serviceProperty to your clients whilst Join a National-Award-Winning Property Franchise Deliver exceptional customer service to your clients whilst Join a National-Award-Winning Property Franchise enjoying the customer rewards ofservice working yourself Deliver exceptional to for your clients whilst Join a National-Award-Winning Property Franchise enjoying the rewards of working for yourself Deliver exceptional customer service to your clients whilst Join Join a National-Award-Winning aexceptional National-Award-Winning Property Franchise Franchise enjoying the customer rewards ofservice working for yourself Deliver toProperty your clients whilst the customer rewards ofservice working yourself Deliverenjoying exceptional to for your clients whilst the customer rewards ofservice working yourself Deliverenjoying exceptional to for your clients whilst enjoying thecustomer rewards of working for yourself Deliver Deliver exceptional exceptional customer service service to for your to your clients clients whilst whilst Jason & Gaya chose HomeXperts their enjoying the Jason rewards of working & Gaya chose HomeXperts forfor theiryourself support and training... enjoying enjoying the the rewards rewards of working of working for yourself for yourself Jason & Gaya chose HomeXperts for their support and training... “There are a number of reasons why I chose HomeXperts. I have Jason & Gaya choseforHomeXperts for their support and training... worked in estate agency approximately years and enjoyed “There are a number of reasons why I chose17 HomeXperts. I have Jason & Gaya chose HomeXperts for their have support and training... building a good name, contacts and market awareness. workedare in estate agency for approximately years and Ienjoyed “There a number of reasons why I chose17 HomeXperts. I have Jason & Gaya chose HomeXperts for their support and training... also been a landlord and let property for over 10 years. building good name, and awareness. have worked ina estate agency for approximately years and Ienjoyed “There are a number ofcontacts reasons whymarket I chose17 HomeXperts. I have Jason &good Gaya chose for their support and training... also been landlord and letHomeXperts property for over 10 years. building name, and market awareness. have worked ina aestate agency for approximately 17 years and Ienjoyed “There are a number ofcontacts reasons whyme I chose HomeXperts. I in have The HomeXperts franchise enabled to continue working the Jason & Jason Gaya & chose Gaya HomeXperts chose HomeXperts for their for their support and training... also been a landlord and let property for over 10 years. building good name, contacts and market awareness. Ienjoyed have worked inaIestate agency forenabled approximately 17 years and area that have great and contacts while offering me “There are a number ofknowledge reasons why I chose HomeXperts. I in have The HomeXperts franchise me to continue working the Jason & Gaya Barnett, support support training... and training... also been landlord and let property for over 10 years. building good name, contacts and market awareness. Ienjoyed have greater flexibility running my business working from home. As I worked inaand agency for approximately 17 years and areaHomeXperts that Iaestate have great and contacts while offering me “There are a number ofknowledge reasons why I chose HomeXperts. I in have The franchise enabled me to continue working the

HomeXperts Jason & GayaWorcester Barnett, also landlord and let property for over 10 years. enterbeen myflexibility year my business is market healthy, growing at Ienjoyed ahave rate building good contacts and awareness. greater my business working from home. Asme IofI have worked inaasecond agency for approximately years and area that Iaestate have great knowledge and contacts while offering “There are “There number arename, arunning of number reasons of why reasons I me chose why HomeXperts. I17 chose HomeXperts. I have The HomeXperts franchise enabled to continue working in the knotsbeen and Igood have established abusiness reputation forawareness. excellent customer HomeXperts Worcester Jason & Gaya Barnett, also a landlord and let property for over 10 years. enter my second year my business is healthy, growing at a rate of building a name, contacts and market I have greater flexibility running my working from home. As I worked in worked estate in agency estate for agency approximately for and approximately 17 years 17 and years enjoyed and enjoyed areaHomeXperts that I have great knowledge while offering The franchise enabled mecontacts toreferral continue working in me the service which is creating some excellent business knots and have established acontacts reputation for excellent customer HomeXperts Jason & GayaWorcester Barnett, also aIhave landlord and let property for over 10while years. enterbeen my second year my business is healthy, growing at afor rate of building building a good name, a good contacts name, and market and awareness. market awareness. I have have greater flexibility running my business working from home. As I area that I great knowledge and contacts offering me The HomeXperts franchise enabled me toreferral continue working in the HomeXperts. service which is creating some excellent business for knots and Ibeen have established abusiness reputation for10 excellent customer HomeXperts Worcester Jason & Gaya Barnett, also been also a landlord a landlord and let property and let property for over for years. over 10 years. enter my second year my business is healthy, growing at a rate of greater flexibility running my working from home. 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HomeXperts Worcester Jason & Gaya Barnett, enter my second year my business is healthy, growing at a rate of It scares me now that I may have missed out this greater flexibility running my working from home. As I area thatarea I have that great I have knowledge great knowledge and contacts and contacts while offering while me offering me HomeXperts. service which isnot creating some excellent business for But with the support of the amazing team at on the Central knots and I have established a courage reputation for excellent customer opportunity by having the toreferral branch out on my own. Worcester Gaya & Barnett, Gaya Barnett, enter my second year my business isbusiness healthy, growing at aSupport It scares me now that I may have missed out this amazing greater flexibility greater flexibility running my running business my working working from home. from Asrate home. I of Jason AsHomeXperts I &Jason Sussanne Chambers, Managing Director and Founder, HomeXperts. Office my dreams are coming service which isyear creating some excellent business forown. But with the support of the amazing team at the Central Support knots and I have established atrue.” reputation for excellent opportunity by not having the courage toreferral branch out on my displaying the awards HomeXperts have received. Including The enter HomeXperts Worcester Worcester my enter second my second my business my business ismissed healthy, isout healthy, growing growing at acustomer rate at ofa rate of HomeXperts It scares me now that I year may have on this amazing Sussanne Chambers, Managing Director and Founder, Sunday Times’ Gold award for Best Estate Agency Franchise. HomeXperts. Office my dreams are coming true.” service which is creating some excellent referral business forown. But with the support of the amazing team at the Central Support and knots I have and established I have established a reputation a reputation for excellent for excellent customer customer opportunity by not having the courage to branch out on my displaying the awards HomeXperts have received. Including The knots It scares me now that I may have missed out on this amazing Sussanne Chambers, Managing Director and Founder, Sunday Times’ Gold award for Best Estate Agency Franchise. HomeXperts. Office mythe dreams are coming true.” which service which creating isof some excellent some excellent referral business referral business for for But with support thethe amazing team at on the Central Support opportunity by not having courage toout branch outamazing on my own. displaying the awards HomeXperts have received. Including The service It scares meisnow that Icreating may have missed this Sussanne Chambers, Managing Director and Founder, Sunday Times’ Gold award for Best Estate Agency Franchise. HomeXperts. HomeXperts. Office mythe dreams are coming true.” But with support of the amazing team at the Central Support opportunity by not having the courage to branch out on my own. displaying the awards HomeXperts have received. Including The n Our top franchisees become members of the It scares me now that I may have missed out on this amazing Sussanne Chambers, Managing Director and Founder, Sunday Times’ Gold award for Best Estate Agency Franchise. Office mythe dreams coming true.” But with support of the amazing team at the Central Support opportunity by notare having the courage to branch out on my own. displaying the awards HomeXperts have received. Including The It scares n that Our top franchisees become members of thethan It me scares now that me now I may have I may missed have out missed on this out amazing on this amazing HomeXperts ‘Altitude Club’ by earning more HomeXperts received a rating of 88% in the Lloyds Sussanne Chambers, Managing Director and Founder, nSunday Times’ Gold award for Best Estate Agency Franchise. Office mythe dreams are coming true.” But with the amazing team at the Central Support opportunity by support not having by of not the having courage thefranchisees courage to abranch toout branch on my out own. onby myearning own. displaying the awards HomeXperts have received. Including The opportunity n Our top become members of thethan HomeXperts ‘Altitude Club’ more HomeXperts received a rating of 88% in the Lloyds £25,000 in month in invoiced commissions. Sussanne Chambers, Managing Director and Founder, nSunday TSB Franchise Benchmark Satisfaction Survey, the Times’ Gold award for Best Estate Agency Franchise. Office my coming thedreams with support theare of support the amazing of true.” the team at‘Altitude the team Central at become theSupport Central Support displaying the awards HomeXperts have received. Including The But withBut n Our topamazing franchisees members of thethan HomeXperts by earning more HomeXperts received aAgency rating 88%Office in the Lloyds £25,000 in a month in Club’ invoiced commissions. Sussanne Chambers, Sussanne Managing Chambers, Director Managing and Director Founder, andof Founder, nSunday TSB Franchise Benchmark Satisfaction Survey, the highest rating for any Franchise. Times’ Gold award for Best Estateproperty Franchise. myOffice dreams myare dreams coming true.” coming true.” Clever marketing has helped our franchisees to n are displaying the displaying awards the HomeXperts awards HomeXperts have received. haveIncluding received.The Including The

Happy Franchisees Happy Franchisees Happy Franchisees Happy Franchisees Happy Franchisees n Our top franchisees become members of thethan HomeXperts ‘Altitude Club’ by earning more HomeXperts received a Estate rating ofFranchise. 88% in the Lloyds £25,000 in a month in invoiced commissions. n TSB Franchise Benchmark Satisfaction Survey, the highest rating for any property Sunday Times’ Sunday GoldTimes’ awardGold for Best award Estate for Best Agency Franchise. AgencyFranchise. Clever marketing hasin helped our franchisees to n achieve profitability and sustainable businesses. Happy Franchisees n HomeXperts Our top franchisees become members of thethan ‘Altitude Club’ by earning more HomeXperts received a rating of 88% in the Lloyds £25,000 in a month invoiced commissions. n TSB Franchise Benchmark Satisfaction Survey, the highest rating for any property Franchise. marketing has helped our franchisees to n Clever achieve profitability and sustainable businesses. Happy Franchisees n Our top franchisees become members of the HomeXperts ‘Altitude by earning more than a rating ofFranchise. 88% in the Lloyds £25,000 in a month in Club’ invoiced commissions. n HomeXperts TSB Franchise Benchmark Satisfaction Survey, the highest ratingreceived for any property Clever marketing has helped franchisees tothe n achieve profitability and sustainable businesses. Happy Happy Franchisees Franchisees n topOur franchisees top franchisees become become members members ofmore the ofthan HomeXperts ‘Altitude Club’ byour earning a rating ofFranchise. 88% in the Lloyds £25,000 in a month in invoiced commissions. n HomeXperts TSB Franchise Benchmark Satisfaction Survey, the n nnOur highest ratingreceived for any property Our intensive training academy trains to National Impressive Training Clever marketing has helped our franchisees to achieve profitability and sustainable businesses. HomeXperts ‘Altitude Club’ by Club’ earning by earning more than more than HomeXperts received received a property rating a of rating 88% ofin88% the Lloyds in the £25,000 in a‘Altitude month in invoiced commissions. n HomeXperts n Franchise TSB Benchmark Satisfaction Survey, theLloydsnnHomeXperts highest rating Franchise. Our intensive academy trains to National Training Federation of training Property Professional (NFOPP) Clever marketing helped our franchisees to HomeXperts isfor theany only property franchise n Impressive achieve sustainable businesses. £25,000 inprofitability a month in a has month in and invoiced in invoiced commissions. commissions. TSB Franchise TSBrating Franchise Benchmark Benchmark Satisfaction Satisfaction Survey,Survey, the thenn£25,000 highest for any property Franchise. Our intensive training academy trains to National Impressive Training Federation of Property Professional (NFOPP) Clever marketing hasand helped our franchisees to the only property franchise standards. n HomeXperts achieve profitability sustainable businesses. delivering an isindustry-leading monthly programme highest highest rating for rating anyfor property any property Franchise. Franchise. Our training academy trains to National Training Federation of Property Professional Clever marketing marketing has helped has helped our franchisees our(NFOPP) franchisees to to n intensive HomeXperts isindustry-leading the only property franchise standards. n Impressive achieve profitability and sustainable businesses. delivering anProfessional monthly programme n nnClever of Continual Development. 12 weeks Kick Start programme to guide new Our intensive training academy trains to National Training nachieve Federation of Property Professional (NFOPP) HomeXperts is the only property franchise standards. n Impressive achieve profitability profitability and sustainable and sustainable businesses. businesses. delivering an industry-leading monthly programme of Continual Professional Development. weeks Kick Start programme to guide new n 12 franchisees through their business set upNational process. intensive training academy trains to Training Federation of Property Professional (NFOPP) HomeXperts isindustry-leading the only property franchise standards. n Impressive delivering anProfessional monthly programme nn Our of Continual Development. 12 weeks Kick Start programme to guide new franchisees through their business set up process. Our intensive training academy trains to National Impressive Training n Federation of Property Professional (NFOPP) is the only property franchise standards. n HomeXperts delivering an industry-leading monthly programme of Continual Professional Development. 12 weeks Kick Start programme to guide new nOur franchisees through their business set up process. intensive Our intensive training training academy academy trains to trains National to National Impressive Impressive Training Training n n Federation of Property Professional (NFOPP) HomeXperts is the only property franchise n delivering anProfessional industry-leading monthly programme n standards. of Continual Development. Serious Franchisee Support 12 weeks Kick Start programme to(NFOPP) guide new franchisees through their business set up(NFOPP) process. Federation Federation of Property of Property Professional Professional HomeXperts is the only is the property only property franchise franchise standards. n HomeXperts n delivering an industry-leading monthly programme of Professional Development. Franchisee Support 12 weeks Kick Start programme to guide AnContinual individual launch marketing plan and marketing nstandards. n Serious Each franchisee has an On-boarding Manager to franchisees through their business set upnew process. standards. delivering delivering anFranchisee industry-leading an industry-leading monthly monthly programme programme of Continual Professional Development. Support 12 weeks Start programme to guide An individual launch marketing and marketing n Each n Serious franchisee has an On-boarding Manager franchisees through their business set upnew process. campaign enable franchisees toplan hit the ground guide themKick through the launch processes and to ofAn Continual of Continual Professional Professional Development. Development. Franchisee Support weeks weeks Kick Start Kick programme Start programme toprocesses guide toup new guide individual launch marketing plan andground marketing n n12Each n 12 n Serious franchisee has an On-boarding Manager to franchisees through their business set process. campaign enable franchisees to hit the guide them through the launch and new running. business development. Franchisee Support n An individual launch marketing plan and marketing n Serious Each franchisee has an On-boarding Manager franchisees franchisees through through their business their business set up set process. upto process. campaign enable franchisees to hit the ground guide them through the launch processes and running. business development. Franchisee Support n We work with youfranchisees tomarketing make your business a success. nn Monthly business reviews to discuss your progress. An individual launch andground marketing n Serious Each franchisee has an Manager campaign enable toplan hit the guide them through theOn-boarding launch processes and to running. business development. Franchisee Support n We work with youfranchisees tomarketing make your business a success. nn Each Monthly business reviews to discuss your progress. An individual launch andground marketing n Serious franchisee has an Manager campaign enable toplan hit the guide them through theOn-boarding launch processes and to running. business development. Serious Serious Franchisee Franchisee Support Support n We work with you to make your business a success. nn Monthly business reviews to discuss your progress. An individual launch marketing plan and marketing n campaign Each franchisee has an Manager guide them through theOn-boarding launch processes and to running. enable franchisees to hit the ground business development. To register to attend a Discovery Meeting near you,

To join HomeXperts call us on

n Monthly with youfranchisees to make your business a success. business reviews discuss yourManager progress. nfranchisee AnWe individual An individual launch launch marketing marketing plan and plan marketing and marketing nn n work Each franchisee has an has On-boarding antoOn-boarding to to campaign enable to hit the ground guide them through the launch processes and running. business development. To register to attend Discovery Meeting you, n nEach To joinreviews HomeXperts callManager us on progress. visit www.home-xperts.co.uk oranear n We work with you to amake your business success. Monthly business to discuss your

01905 678850 01905 678850 01905 678850 01905 678850 01905 678850 01905 678850 01905 678850 01905 01905 678850 678850

campaign campaign enable enable franchisees franchisees to hit Meeting the to hit ground the ground them guidedevelopment. through them through the launch the launch processes processes and running. business To register to Discovery you, nguide To join HomeXperts call us onand visit www.home-xperts.co.uk oranear email at usattend at franchise@homexpertsuk.com We work with you to amake your business success. Monthly business reviews to discuss your progress. running. running. business business development. development. To register to attend a Discovery Meeting near you, To join HomeXperts call us on visit www.home-xperts.co.uk or email at us at franchise@homexpertsuk.com n We work with you to make your business a success. n Monthly business reviews to discuss your progress. Tonregister to attend a Discovery Meeting nearayou, Tobusiness join HomeXperts call us onprogress. visit www.home-xperts.co.uk email at us at to franchise@homexpertsuk.com n We work n Monthly n Monthly Wewith work you with you make toyour makebusiness your business aorsuccess. success. business reviews reviews to discuss to discuss your your progress. To register to a Discovery Meeting To join HomeXperts call us on visit www.home-xperts.co.uk ornear you, email at usattend at franchise@homexpertsuk.com To register to a Discovery Meeting To join HomeXperts call us on visit www.home-xperts.co.uk ornear you, email at usattend at franchise@homexpertsuk.com To register To register to attend attend a Discovery a2016 Discovery Meeting Meeting near you, near you, To joinTo HomeXperts join HomeXperts call us call on us on visit www.home-xperts.co.uk or email at us attofranchise@homexpertsuk.com 2016 www.home-xperts.co.uk visit www.home-xperts.co.uk or or emailvisit at us at franchise@homexpertsuk.com 2016 email at email us atatfranchise@homexpertsuk.com us at franchise@homexpertsuk.com n

BRONZE

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BRONZE

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2016

Elite Franchise Advert January 2017.indd 1

02/02/2017 16:14:10

Elite Franchise Advert January 2017.indd 1 Elite Franchise Advert January 2017.indd 1 Elite Franchise Advert January 2017.indd 1 Elite Franchise Advert January 2017.indd 1

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Elite Franchise Advert January 2017.indd 1

02/02/2017 16:14:10

HOME003

02/02/2017 16:14:10 02/02/2017 16:14:10 02/02/2017 16:14:10

02/02/2017 16:39 02/02/2017 16:14:10

JUNK HUNTERS

Another man’s treasure Having worked triple-shifts to get Junk Hunters off the ground, Harsha Rathnayake is now determined to grow the business across Britain BY ERIC JOHANSSON

arsha Rathnayake is a man of impressively singular focus. For instance, when he first arrived in London from Sri Lanka in 2004 he barely spoke the language. But not only did he teach himself English by watching YouTube tutorials and taking a few online courses but he also used these skills to launch his own business. And now he’s bringing the same attitude into making his company a success. “My plan is to make Junk Hunters the UK’s largest garbage-collecting company,” he says. And it’s safe to say that his grit has already served him in good stead. For instance, when Rathnayake needed money to afford his studies at Kingston University, he happened upon an

40 ELITEFRANCHISE | DECEMBER 2017

opportunity that would help set him on the path to become an entrepreneur. “I found a part-time job as a driver at a garbage-removal company,” he says. The job didn’t just give him a dependable revenue stream but would also prove essential for his future enterprise. “When I graduated in 2009 the man who owned the company was closing it down to go back to India,” Rathnayake says. “He offered me an old Ford Transit garbage truck instead of my last month’s wages.” Realising that having the vehicle and his personal relationship with some of the customers would enable him set up his own business, Rathnayake accepted the offer and launched London Junk, the embryo of what would eventually become Junk Hunters.

But access to equipment and a nascent customer base aren’t enough to get a startup off the launchpad; you also need money. Unfortunately, Rathnayake only had £160 in savings when he kicked off his enterprise. To make things even more challenging, no investors were willing to bet on the young entrepreneur. “The banks wouldn’t give me a loan because I didn’t have enough financial security,” he says. But rather than abandoning his pursuit, Rathnayake found two part-time jobs that fit around his daily efforts to grow London Junk – one delivering newspapers in the mornings and one as a takeaway driver at an Indian restaurant in the evenings. “On average I had about four hours’ sleep,” he says. “I didn’t have time to watch the news and only knew if it was the weekend because the newspapers I delivered came with weekend magazines.”

Nevertheless, the insane working schedule didn’t stop him from growing his customer base. And fortunately he had a few tricks up his sleeve. “I found this online company that sold business numbers for £10 a month,” Rathnayake says. “I bought a number from them because I wanted people to think that I ran a big business and wasn’t just some lonely guy driving around answering on his Bluetooth.” Having also set up a website, he used a £75 voucher from Google to buy a pay-per-click campaign. And when he wasn’t busy delivering newspapers and chicken tikka masala or picking up rubbish, he spent days handing out leaflets. Slowly but steadily, these efforts paid off. “After one year I had enough money to employ someone as a part-time driver and to buy a second truck,” he says. “This enabled me to quit my newspaper-delivery job and then, three weeks later, my takeaway job as well.” From there on London Junk steadily grew across the British capital until the company had a fleet of five trucks, leaving Rathnayake considering ways to grow the business across DECEMBER 2017 | ELITEFRANCHISE

Junk Hunters

Britain. “I had to choose between two options to expand the business: [I either had to branch] out to other [cities myself or go down] the franchising route,” he says. However, in the end it was no competition. Not only would franchising enable him to grow London Junk faster and more cost-effectively but it would also mean higher profits. “Franchising is more effective than hiring managers to run the individual branches in other cities as people will always make an extra effort if it’s their own business,” Rathnayake says. With his heart set on franchising, the budding franchisor began to

prepare for the business’s next step. “The first thing I did was to look at different franchise models in the UK and in the US,” he says. Rathnayake also attended a lot of franchise exhibitions to better understand the workings of the franchising industry and to find a consultant that could help him develop the model. While these efforts would build a strong foundation for the network, the biggest difference for outsiders was more cosmetic. “The name London Junk wouldn’t work in Birmingham or on the other side of the country,” says Rathnayake. “So we changed it to Junk Hunters.”

I wanted people to think that I ran a big business and wasn’t just some lonely guy driving around answering on his Bluetooth

Recognising that no franchise is complete without franchisees, he began to search for people to man the business. However, he didn’t have to look far to find candidates. “The moment my friends from university heard that I had become a franchisor they immediately wanted to know more and wanted to sign up,” Rathnayake says. But while enthusiasm is definitely a big plus, he’s also looking for people with the right soft skills. “They need to be able to put a smile on their face because that’s how you make money,” says Rathnayake. “We’re looking for passionate people who take care of customers, have a great work ethic and who aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty.” If aspiring franchisees can demonstrate these qualities, Junk Hunter’s founder is more than happy to take them under his wing. And, having cut his teeth working triple-shifts with no one to help him, Rathnayake definitely understands the importance of supporting his franchisees. “If they’ve never run a business before we train them to do things on the business end,” he says. “We also train them how to do the job, speak with customers, do local marketing, deal with staff and operate the sales system.” But while the training goes on for weeks, the support doesn’t end there. Junk Hunters also helps franchisees build their customer base, answers calls from all over the nation and is always on hand to offer advice. “We keep them close and I want them to know that we can help them no matter what support they need,” he says. Given the work Rathnayake has put into the model, it’s hardly surprising that his recruitment efforts have paid off. “We already have two franchisees signed up,” he says. “One is in Birmingham and one is in Surrey.” The new additions are currently being trained and will launch their operations at the beginning of 2018. And they won’t be the only franchisees for long. “My goal is to have 20 franchisees over the next five years,” he says. It certainly seems as if Rathnayake is making good on his plans to make Junk Hunters Britain’s most recognisable rubbishcollecting business.

42 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

One to watch.indd 3

11/12/2017 15:40

why OSCAR... Call now for a FREE Information pack 0800 068 1106 discover@oscars.co.uk www.oscar.co.uk

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

www.suitfranchise.com

01494 880790 SUIT001

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06/12/2017 12:25

Car Medic is an established brand leaders in the SMART repair market and has continued to grow despite the economic uncertainty of the last few years. With a stable and probably improving economy it is TIME TO INVEST in a Car Medic franchise.

We provide comprehensive training that gives you a recognised SMART repair industry qualification, ensuring that you can deliver quality repairs from your first day out on the road. Unlike many other franchises we do not have “sales commission fees” where the more you earn the more you pay, nor do we make additional charges for management services. Our fixed monthly fee ensures you keep more of your hard earned money and are not penalised for your success! If you are interested in finding out more about Car Medic please contact us, and we will send you the full information pack.

www.carmedic.co.uk/car-repair-franchise

08080 37 37 37

franchise@carmedic.co.uk

YORK002

JOIN A COMMUNITY OF BUSINESS OWNERS WHO CARE WITH RIGHT AT HOME

Our franchisees build more than just a business, they build a care team dedicated to going the extra mile. With 6.5 million seniors requiring daily assistance, Right at Home offers exceptional home-based care, aimed at making a difference every day. With or without previous care experience, you can build a truly rewarding business Our RightStart training programme guides you every step of the way Be part of a unique caring culture of driven business owners With the support of a strong head office team, deliver the highest standard of care If you share our franchisees’ passion to make a valuable difference to your local community, find out whether our award-winning management franchise could be for you. Meet us at our next Discovery Day. Get the conversation started! Contact Kate Dilworth 0151 305 0755 franchising@rightathomeuk.com www.rightathomefranchising.co.uk

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26/07/2017 14:52

Embarking on a quest BY JOSH RUSSELL

It’s hard for a single individual to launch their own adventure in the accommodation sector. Fortunately they have a powerful ally in Quest Apartment Hotels

Cracking the serviced accommodation market takes a brave heart, not to mention considerable resources. However, having built up a considerable brand presence on the other side of the world, Quest Apartment Hotels is making it easier for franchisees to own and run their own aparthotels business here in the UK. Born from founder Paul Constantinou’s extensive experience in the hospitality and hotelmanagement space, Quest Apartment Hotels began life in Melbourne in 1998 – albeit in a rather different form. “The first Quest wasn’t a franchise: it was basically a partnership between him and a developer,” says Andrew Weisz, director of UK development at Quest. “So the developer was developing out a site with Paul as the operator.” The next few aparthotels were run on the same basis, until Constantinou began to realise if he began to bring on board other stakeholders there was a broader opportunity he could capitalise upon. “He saw there was a gap in the marketplace for extended stay corporate travel, a gap which our style of accommodation met,” says Weisz. “But after opening three or four businesses, Paul realised he couldn’t run that volume by himself so he started to franchise.” However, as Constantinou developed Quest’s franchise model, he adopted a radically different model to other brands working in the space. “It’s not like the typical hospitality franchise you have here in the UK where basically someone owns the building, they appoint managers or the brand as a

manager and pay a franchise fee,” Weisz says. “We sign up the developer on the basis that it will be a Quest, which gives the developer their spending – say £10m, £20m or £30m – for developing an asset and the franchisee manages it but with the support of the Quest brand sitting behind it.” A massive benefit of this system is that it doesn’t restrict entrance into the hospitality sector purely to those with an extensive property portfolio or many assets to leverage. “If you wanted to run your own aparthotel, no one’s going to invest that sort of capital unless you’ve got a very strong balance sheet,” says Weisz. “We give them a path where other paths to owning a business of that scale don’t really exist.” Perhaps one of the biggest endorsements of the model Constantinou had hit upon was that many of his initial franchisees were his own members of staff. “We had a lot of people at Quest corporate offices sign up for a deal; a lot of the first businesses were owned by ex-corporate employees,” Weisz says. “They worked in the business so they knew the benefits of owning the franchise.” However, once its pool of initial franchisees hit ten, Quest decided the foundations were in place for significant growth and it started to actively court prospective franchisees through the franchise press and by holding seminars. And this helped validate Constantinou’s vision of effectively democratising ownership of aparthotel businesses. “It’s proven to be really successful because you get people who are not just from a hospitality background: you get people

46 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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Quest Apartment Hotels

who have worked as accountants, bankers or school teachers,” says Weisz. “There are myriad franchisees from different backgrounds out there.” And this is something Quest has actively leaned into: one of the things that really sets it apart from the competition is how the simplicity of the model lends itself to those who may not have as much industry-specific knowledge. “In, say, a beverage franchise, there are a lot of moving parts,” Weisz says. “Whereas with Quest’s model, the franchisee can focus on actually running their business, rather than all of the moving parts.” Thanks to technology platforms like the global distribution system, booking engines and relationships with online travel agents and direct booking channels, franchisees can focus on running their businesses, rather than getting bogged down with the nuts and bolts. “And because it is a full-format franchise system, we also have accounting platforms and field support managers that are there to provide additional support,” says Weisz. However, franchisees still receive comprehensive training and guidance, beginning even before they sign on the dotted line. “It starts off with their initial expression of interest: they’re introduced to their franchise-recruitment manager before progressing all the way up to meet the CEO,” Weisz says. “And once they are approved for a franchise, then we start advising them what franchise opportunities we have available.” Once their offer to buy the franchise has been accepted, franchisees are moved into the Quest academy, where they are trained on the ins and outs of running the business. “That includes classroom training, onsite training in an existing Quest franchise business and they

With Quest’s model, the franchisee can focus on actually running their business, rather than all of the moving parts

DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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Quest Apartment Hotels

also get training on-site at their own aparthotel property location prior to and post-opening,” says Weisz. Thanks to its diverse portfolio of franchisees and comprehensive training package, Quest quickly came to dominate in its domestic market: over the course of 30 years it came to add 127 sites around Australia. However, Constantinou wasn’t content with stopping there. “Paul never intended Quest to just be an Australian model: it was always intended to grow overseas,” he says. After entering New Zealand in 1998 and adding 35 sites, it was time for Quest to find a new international location and one country stood out as the obvious choice. “We selected the UK predominantly because Australia is part of the Commonwealth so the legislation around leasing property is very similar,” he says. “There’s a lot of synergy between the two locations.” But the regulatory resemblance between the two countries didn’t mean there haven’t been some cultural differences that Quest has had to acclimatise to. “The apartments are a little bit smaller than they are in Australia,” says Weisz. “That’s just a regional difference: people are used to a bit more space in Australia than they are here.” But Britons’ willingness to embrace cosier accommodation isn’t the only factor that Quest has had to get used to. Another cultural quirk Quest has had to take into account in the British market is the relative scarcity of aparthotels. While Australia’s biggest provider has some 10,000 aparthotels to its name, its largest British counterpart only has around 1,200. “That’s extremely small when you consider the Australian population is 23 million and in the UK it’s 65 million,” Weisz explains. “There isn’t the market depth and knowledge of aparthotels that there is in Australia

so one of the most challenging things is educating people about them.” Despite this, Quest has already made a considerable impact in the UK: at the beginning of November it attracted plenty of column inches in the property pages when it announced that it had signed its first site in Liverpool, an ambitious £10m development in the city centre. And there’s more where that came from. “We are targeting major regional cities and we’re in discussion over a number of sites,” Weisz says. “To give you an outline, the areas we’re looking at are Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh.” As you can probably tell, Quest’s focus is on regional cities to begin with, although Weisz does reveal that, in spite of central London’s high property prices, the brand does have

We selected the UK predominantly because we’re part of the Commonwealth: there’s a lot of synergy between the two locations

some specific boroughs in its sights. “Stratford there’s already a couple of examples up there, Croydon we think there’s opportunities, obviously Heathrow,” he says. “But London in general is a tougher market.” And Quest isn’t just restricting its horizons to the British market: there are plenty of places on the continent crying out for its services. “No one wants to take on old office space but it needs to be converted and repositioned as an asset for the next 25 years,” says Weisz. “That’s not just true of the UK: it’s happening throughout Europe.” Fortunately, Quest has an ally in this: in July this year international servicedresidence provider The Ascott bought a majority stake in Quest, offering up some valuable brand partnership opportunities. “They already have an existing brand Citadines, which now has 42 properties predominantly in France,” Weisz says. “Its presence there provides us a stepping stone to get into Europe, as well as enabling us to leverage their market knowledge of the continent.” Without a doubt, Quest has some bold plans for its future. “You can talk about it for as long as you like but eventually you’ve got to make the leap,” concludes Weisz. “We’re taking the chance.”

48 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Thinking of buying a franchise? Choosing a franchise can be a great opportunity if a little daunting. Fortunately, there are three areas to consider that can make your decision easier to grow and expand. MagiKats Maths and English costs will be about 12% of your turnover. What’s more, the London School of Economics estimates that the global private tutoring market will be worth $102.8bn by 2018.

hoose a franchise with a strong foundation and a proven business model. Check how long it’s been operating and ask the owners for testimonials. You also need to make sure the franchise has a robust support system that will help you develop as a business and support you in supplying the service you’ve chosen. Finally, look for a franchise with an experienced team who’ll provide advice, professional development, mentoring and on-site visits if needed. MagiKats Maths and English have been successfully running for over ten

years and we have over 21 franchises across the globe. But we remain a family-owned company who are passionate about MagiKats Maths and English and treat all of our franchisees as part of the family. Our franchisees have ongoing access to our operating and management systems, our bespoke computer software, marketing materials and comprehensive training. In fact, in a recent survey, 100% of our franchisees said we take our systems and standards very seriously and they’re proud to be part of MagiKats Maths and English.

100% of our franchisees said we take our systems and standards very seriously and they’re proud to be part of MagiKats Maths and English

The sector Consider whether you’ll need any experience. With a MagiKats Maths and English franchise, no experience is required but you do need enthusiasm, energy and passion. You should also look for a franchise with low overheads but the potential

You – the franchisee Your personality can be the make or break factor. If you want independence and to be your own boss but you’re not a risk taker and would still welcome the support of a strong brand umbrella, a MagiKats Maths and English franchise could be perfect for you. A MagiKats Maths and English franchise offers a good living and a flexible lifestyle, allowing you to be as hands on as you choose. Still, you do have to be prepared to work hard to launch your franchise and ensure it runs successfully. And unlike many other franchises, MagiKats Maths and English will also give you a unique chance to make a meaningful contribution to your community. MagiKats Maths and English offers you a great opportunity, with lots of support. Please contact the team at enquiries@magikats.co.uk or visit our website www.educationalfranchise.co.uk to find out more.

DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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Extra Help

A rewarding franchise opportunity with all the support you need to succeed

Flexible Hours * A Rapidly Growing Market * High Earning Potential * Simple to Manage * Immense Job Satisfaction Extra Help is a national home-help and domestic cleaning franchise network that provides assistance with a variety of day-to-day tasks, such as cleaning, gardening, dog-walking, meal preparation and mother’s help services.

If you’re serious about running your own, profitable business, backed by an unsurpassed level of support, please contact our franchise team today.

Extra Help

Home-help and domestic cleaning services

Web: www.extra-help.co.uk Email: info@extra-help.co.uk EXTRA HELP Phone: 0845 618 2904 a helping hand TM

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Do you dream of owning your own Tearooms? Fulll your dream of owning a Tearooms with a Beatons franchise. Beatons seeks franchisees who are hard-working, dedicated and capable. Do you have the sparkle and passion needed to turn your dream of owning a tearoom into a reality? You’ll relish being part of a group which makes you the hub of your community. If this has aroused your curiosity, and you want to take a cautious lrst step, a video and an enquiry form are available at: www.beatonstearooms.co.uk/franchise, give us a call on 01747 871819 opt.2 or email franchise@beatonstearooms.co.uk.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

A stylish take on a traditional business W

hen you think of tailoring, you probably imagine old men with paper patterns working in London basements. However, you couldn’t be more wrong. Suit the City has married innovation and technology with traditional British tailoring, creating the ideal opportunity for ambitious business developers. You probably didn’t wake up this morning thinking that you wanted to launch a tailoring business, but if you like fashion, enjoy variety and love meeting people, joining this business can mean producing six figure earnings. There is the opportunity for growth with

a small team working from a city-centre studio, with low overheads and no stock to worry about. You’ll have everything you need to run your business at you disposal. From the European factory that expertly make your client’s garments, to the database and ordering systems, measuring training and ongoing support with PR and marketing; everything is provided. While it might be something of a cliché to say every day is different in business, this ethos rings true thanks to the franchise’s people-focused nature. This is something Tony Carr, franchisee at Suit the City Guildford, agrees with.

“Whilst no two days need be the same it is important to get some structure to your week, ensure you get a good balance between working in and working on the business,” he says. “You need to find clients. For instance, I attend networking events each week, but after focusing on service for the four years, I get a high proportion of repeat business and plenty of referrals. “There’s nothing like delivering the finished garments to my clients. The quality is second to none and seeing their pleasure when they receive their deliveries is one of my favourite things about my business.” Mike Lane, franchisee at Suit the City Bath has also experienced this opportunity first-hand. “I do a lot of ‘business networking’,” he says. “I attend events run by the likes of the Chamber of Commerce in and around Bath. It’s been a whirlwind start to my new business and my studio is key to getting in front of as many people as possible, clients can come over for a coffee and browse, which often leads to sales.” Suit the City director Carol Rawson adds: “If you’re running your own business it should be fun, challenging, exciting and rewarding – both personally and financially. There’s nothing quite like being in charge of your own destiny and lifestyle, where you know that you’re the beneficiary of your own hard work. At Suit the City we offer a very different franchise in a rapidly growing market which can meet all of your personal needs.” w. www.suitfranchise.com t. 01494 880790

52 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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Bespoke Management Franchise Opportunity

Love fashion, live your passion Ambitious business developers - Join the market leader in stylish tailoring

Why join Suit the City? Benefit from a growing market, beating the current trends in retail High rate of repeat business and referrals- supply professional clients with ethically produced high quality, luxury products Low overheads - no stock, no waste and you can work from a low-cost studio Build your team of Consultant Tailors all trained by Suit the City You will never be sewing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that is the job of our expert tailors Full training and support is given during the first three months and then on an on-going basis Phone us now to book an appointment to discuss your next move.

01494 880790

Investment from: ÂŁ19,950+VAT Type of business: Management Franchise Franchise contact: Carol Rawson or Sallie Belton Email: Franchise@suitthecity.com

www.suitfranchise.com SUIT001

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

An OSCAR franchise provides the security of a strong brand and protected image that gives franchisees the benefit of running your own business to suit your time and circumstances within your exclusive territory

ccording to the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association, there are over 22 million pets in the UK. That equates to one in two households owning a pet. To cater for customer demand, OSCAR is inviting you to join its network and benefit from its vast range of experience in the pet food and accessories industry. At OSCAR we never take anything for granted. The pet food industry is ever changing and it’s our policy to ensure that our products and services continue to meet the standards required to satisfy the pet customers’ needs – concentrating on our extensive range of pet food, treats and accessories. OSCAR’s foods don’t compromise on quality, using only the finest human-

54 ELITEFRANCHISE | DECEMBER 2017

Your choice, your business, your franchise grade wholesome ingredients which are traceable and, for the most part, locally sourced. The foods are highly nutritious and tasty, which helps our fully trained nutritional advisors to ensure that every pet gains a wealth of nutritional benefits.

My business is everything I want it to be: flexible, with less stress; it is a pleasure to go to work. Results are very forthcoming Richard Hebden, Oscar Pet Foods - Flintshire

We have a strong network of franchisees representing the OSCAR complete pet care service around the UK and our motto for running a family business is achieving excellent results. By attracting new franchisees from a variety of backgrounds and skill sets, OSCAR has recognised the growing need to introduce a franchise package that is structured to suit individual business requirements. The OSCAR franchise package provides the fundamental necessities required to launch an OSCAR franchise. It then allows the franchisee to choose from a cross section of additional business development services, thus creating a package tailored to suit the individual and their personal skills. With continued advancement towards success, including training and support, OSCAR is adopting a more user friendly approach throughout. By using up-to-date technology, OSCAR is able to provide innovative training that allows its franchisees home access to an online resource centre, enabling more accessible learning. No previous experience is required to run an OSCAR franchise because there’s a team on hand to advise and guide franchisees throughout the years. Experts in nutrition, behaviour, marketing, accounting and general business needs are readily available to provide valuable information for franchisees and their customers.

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05/12/2017 22/09/2017 09:49 14:16

Is education your passion? lo ve Yo u’ll it h w g n i h teac ts Mag iKa

Maths & English Tuition Our franchise opportunity is for people who want to be part of a profitable business that makes a positive and lasting impact on the education of local children. We are… …an already successful operation with thousands of satisfied students …in one of the UK’s fastest-growing market sectors …a business with a comprehensive training and support programme …a business with low investment and potentially high returns

Business should be fulfilling

Find out how at: www.educationalfranchise.co.uk Email: enquiries@magikats.co.uk Tel: 0844 870 9896

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Accounting records

All present

and accounted for

Staying on top of your franchise’s accounting records can feel daunting. But ensuring your books are up to date is easier than ever thanks to technology BY Glen Murphy, client relationship manager, Dennis & Turnbull

aperwork is a necessary evil in business. Very few people in this world can honestly say that sorting out receipts, invoices and other paperwork is their idea of fun. But staying on top of your bookkeeping and compliance is vital, even for the smallest businesses. Being disorganised isn’t an option – unless you enjoy paying late penalties and fines. It’s important to know exactly what’s going on with your business’s finances for a variety of reasons. Maintaining a healthy cashflow, spotting trends and problems and working within your budget is vital for the health of your business. If you, like the vast majority of companies, hope to one day grow or sell your business, being able to give a clear picture of where you are will make it far more attractive to potential investors or buyers. And, in a franchise situation, where there are further recording necessities such as management service fees and cross-network performance to consider, keeping accurate records can be especially important. Many people consider keeping accounting records a daunting task but it’s much easier to keep financial records than you might think, particularly in today’s digital age. For a very small

number of businesses, it is technically still possible to satisfy HM Revenue & Customs manually by maintaining a cashbook or spreadsheet of your income and expenditure periodically. However, these are time-consuming and outdated processes that come with a high risk of error. There are far better options available. Save yourself time and effort: look for a solution for your business that allows you to record things quickly and easily whenever and wherever you are and also allows you to run reports so you can use your financial data to guide your business decisions. For most businesses, there’s no question that cloud-accounting software is a far better option and this is what I highly recommend. Usually paid for through a monthly subscription of around £30, cloud-accounting software allows you to use your time far more effectively, as there’s no need to be chained to a single desk or device. You can access your financial information on any compatible device – such as a phone, tablet or laptop – anywhere in the world, not just one desktop computer. Market leaders in cloud accounting software such as Xero and Quickbooks offer secure, easy-touse services that allow you to keep a full record of your banking activity,

58 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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sales and purchases. They allow you to run useful, realgovernment’s Making Tax Digital scheme, most time reports such as actual performance vs budget, profit businesses will be required to submit returns and loss accounts, balance sheets and detailed reports of online and unlike previously, where tax returns creditors and debtors. were an annual requirement, they will instead need At this point, it’s important to remember that organisation to be filed quarterly. The new system is designed and efficiency doesn’t just affect your business behind the to minimise tax inefficiencies and errors and will scenes – it can improve things throughout the entire franchise, require businesses to use some form of software to including customer service. You can use the software to raise keep digital records. invoices and track any stock that you hold, as well as use The current timeframe on these changes means a ‘bank feed’, meaning that your banking transactions are that businesses with a turnover above the VAT automatically imported straight into the cloud threshold will be required to keep accounting software, saving you the admin. digital records for VAT purposes Efficiency doesn’t from April 2019 and onwards. They often integrate with other packages such as CRM systems too, so you can minimise your Everyone else will need to follow just affect your time spent bookkeeping. These functions are suit from 2020. However, in this business behind made super easy and can genuinely transform digital age, it’s important to futurethe way your business runs. the scenes – it can proof your business’s finances and Desktop software packages, such as Sage, I recommend getting on top of improve service that you buy upfront and install on your online accounting now so that you computer are also still available. Some people across the entire are ready, familiar and prepared, use these very successfully and indeed they rather than switching in a rush franchise are powerful tools. However, if you’re making when it becomes compulsory to the switch to digital, I’d recommend clouddo so. accounting software as this is built to be user-friendly, It’s not just about being ready for the Making not just accountant-friendly. Generally desktop software Tax Digital changes either. Compared to manual is a bit more complex to use, plus you run the risk of your bookkeeping and accounting processes, cloudcomputer breaking for some reason. Cloud accounting accounting software will make life much easier for software is easy to use, comes with lots of support and you and your staff and improve efficiency in your completely avoids the risk of losing access, as the data is all business. Regardless of the size of your business, stored securely in the cloud. speak to an accountant that specialises in cloud Another reason to keep your records online is that it will software and they can get you set up and running soon become essential. Within a few years, UK businesses will on a system that suits you in no time. It’s much begin transitioning into a new online tax system. Under the easier than you think. DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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Join a lettings, PROPerty management & sales franchise with significant earning potential We at Almond property always strive to be at the forefront of the property letting market, and invest much time and effort in ensuring that we are fully up to date with ever changing tenancy law and government legislation. Your franchise package contains everything you need to get your business up and running:

We are looking to develop our existing operations through new strategic franchise partnerships with the right individuals. The Almond Property Management franchise will give individuals the potential to earn a significant income while providing a valuable service in their local area. We will provide you with support to build a successful business within your chosen territory. You will receive full initial and ongoing training, marketing and central and local websites so that you can hit the ground running.

• Trading under the Almond Property Management brand name • A large territory for you to trade in • Full training on all aspects of the business • Signwriting for vehicle • First year’s membership to the Property Ombudsmen • 10 letting boards • 10 ‘For Sale’ boards • Software to run the business (first three months paid for) • Processes, systems and templates to run the business • Central and local websites • Stationery starter pack

For more information about the Almond Property Management franchise, submit an enquiry TODAY!

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almond prop.indd 1

ALMO001 07/12/2017 14:10

Awarded GOLD bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year 2017 The UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading home care franchise

Caring for peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives is now the best investment in franchising

bluebirdcarefranchise.co.uk 07912771149 carole@bluebirdcare.co.uk Bluebird Care Franchises Ltd, Charles Street, Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 3EH

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Flying high O

wning your own home care business is like no other. Your business will thrive by valuing other people and keeping your clients at the heart of what you do each and every day. It brings together qualities such as empathy and caring for others, with the drive and desire to own and develop your own business. With our guidance and support our franchisees unlock the potential of the private domiciliary care market supporting elderly people who wish to remain living in their own homes. This market is thriving here in Britain with growth in the elderly population increasing year on year and a greater proportion of people who have to pay for their own care needs. This creates a huge opportunity for franchisees to position themselves as the private home care provider of choice in their local community.

This market is thriving here in Britain with growth in the elderly population increasing year on year

Our franchisees Jennie Bardrick and Lisa Cable are already achieving this in Havering, Essex where they have just won the prestigious Judges Award at the Thames Gateway business awards. Radfield Home Care is well established in the home care market - launching its first branch in 2008 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Radfield launched its franchise opportunity last year and the level of interest has been overwhelming. This is because out of all the home care franchises available - ours is the simplest. We are elderly care specialists and we offer our franchisees the best access to the UK private care marketplace. With an open network your preferred choice of territory is likely to be available and there are also enhanced opportunities for our early franchisees to become key influencers in the network and to expand their areas of operation into adjacent territories thereby creating a larger, more profitable business for themselves. When you become part of the Radfield Home Care family, you also join a social movement which drives a message that business is a force for good in the world. We are the first and only UK healthcare

company to have been awarded B Corp Certification which demonstrates to our employees, clients and franchisees that we are an ethical business that looks after its people and the planet. If you have a desire to work hard at your own business but also want to do something truly worthwhile that benefits your local community then we would love to talk with you.

Email: franchise@radfieldhomecare.co.uk Tel: 01743 548550 Web: www.radfieldhomecarefranchising.co.uk Contact: Dr Hannah MacKechnie National Office: Radfield House, Austin Friars, Stafford, ST17 4AP

64 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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NEW CAREER OPPORTUNITY FOR 2017

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FOR THE FIRST TIME, IT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO OPERATE YOUR OWN PART-TIME HELEN O’GRADY DRAMA ACADEMY BUSINESS (2/3 DAYS PER WEEK) FOR AN INITIAL OUTLAY OF ONLY £2,000. By becoming a franchisee in our organisation you would: * be your own boss * * teach our world famous drama programme * * work flexible hours - in school time only * * gain great job satisfaction * * earn an attractive income * * have an amazing amount of fun! * Territories are available across the UK and we are seeking energetic and enthusiastic people who have regularly worked with children.

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06/12/2017 14:19

The future of

franchise marketing By Paul Stafford, head of communications, Chantry

With 2018 just a few weeks away, Paul Stafford gets out his crystal ball and predicts what’s up ahead for advertising in the franchise sector Marketing communications have evolved at a furious pace in recent years and the next 12 months will further change how brands connect with their audiences. Of course, finding franchisees is a different animal to finding customers but looking at potential marketing trends in 2018 provides insight into how people find out about – and react to – new ideas and opportunities. So while franchisors might not see Siri as a franchise sales channel just yet, understanding the marketing concepts that prospects are exposed to is no less important now than it was when newspapers and magazines were the cornerstone of driving franchise enquiries. Here are some of the areas expected to shine next year. Content will continue to diversify In relative terms, we’ve barely just begun the age of blogging but the written word alone has long since ceased to be sufficient for the rapidly spinning wheel of content. Great visuals are at the centre of content marketing, whether that’s simple images, infographics, video or design itself. Yet, for many franchisors, visuals continue to be an afterthought and not a focus. There are still franchise sites out there without pictures on them, let alone videos – as crazy as that seems. That’s concerning because the next generation of marketing channels is set to take off in 2018 and 66 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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Marketing trends

beyond and franchising risks falling further behind wider trends. The rise and rise of voice-controlled digital assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant is inevitably leading to new styles of audio marketing. From Hellmann’s and Johnnie Walker to Buzzfeed and Disney, big brands are already supplying the content we’re asking our devices for. That’s just the start. Self-driving vehicles will no doubt surround us with marketing messages and as more appliances join the muchvaunted Internet of Things, the way in which companies reach their target markets is set to shift rapidly in coming years. AI is already allowing highly personalised advertising and that kind of technology will filter down to mid-size and then smaller companies too – automated chat functions on websites are an

increasingly common example. And VR and augmented reality are poised to become more mainstream which, while expensive for now, will offer serious opportunities to ambitious franchisors – imagine providing candidates with a direct virtual experience of life as a franchisee. Video will still be king – but live video has its eyes on the throne By 2019, video is predicted to account for a remarkable 80% of all consumer internet traffic. Video is said to generate up to 1,200% more audience interaction than text and images alone and 45% of people say they watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos each week. That’s nearly half of your prospective franchisees and the numbers continue to rise. Yes, you hate having photos taken, let alone appearing on camera – but your

Live video is engaging and highly interactive, so it’s no surprise that it’s increasingly in demand

audience demands it, so it’s time to get over this discomfort. The good news is that shorter is better when it comes to pre-recording: analysis of over 100 million Facebook videos by Buzzsumo, the website tracking social-media content, showed that the strongest audience engagement came from clips that are 60 to 90 seconds long – although sub-30-second videos had the lowest engagement levels of all. It also showed the intro text in a video post should be kept as short as possible to encourage viewers to “dive into the video”. The bad news if you’re camera-shy is that live video – broadcasting as you go on social media – is seen as being hugely significant over the next 12 months. A survey by Livestream, the video-streaming platform, revealed 80% of consumers saying they’d rather watch a live video than read a blog post. To a lover of the written word, that’s a little depressing. But, as a marketer, it’s an eye-opening statistic. Live video is engaging and highly interactive, so it’s no surprise that it’s increasingly in demand. Live video is barely used in UK franchising at the moment, so there’s a big opportunity to get ahead of your competition and differentiate DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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Marketing trends

your franchise. You could show off your events, host a Q&A, have franchisees showcase a slice of their day or any number of other things to bring your business to life. And being less than perfect on camera can be a big plus – when you’re not a mega-brand with a production team, you’re much more personal and authentic, which is exactly what your audience is looking for.

Franchisors have one of the best user-generated content production teams imaginable: their franchisees

Real voices will become more vital Fake news, fake ads, fake socialmedia accounts: it’s no surprise we have less faith in what we see and hear than we used to. In its latest influential Global Trust in Advertising report, research firm Nielsen showed that the two most trusted forms of advertising are ‘recommendations from people I know’ – which are trusted by 78% of people – and ‘consumer opinions posted online’ – trusted by 60%. Meanwhile online and mobile ads were the least trusted, which were both trusted by well under 30%. As consumers and buyers want to hear the opinion of others like them and not rely on the seller’s opinion, harnessing user-generated content has become powerful marketing fuel. Any regular on Instagram sees it all the time: Coca-Cola produced one of the best

examples in recent years simply by writing names on the sides of their cans and bottles. For franchisors, this is a very positive sign because they have one of the best user-generated-content production teams imaginable: their franchisees. Case studies, videos, testimonials, exhibitions, imagery, awards, quotes – make the people enjoying your franchise’s benefits more prominent in your content and you’ll pique more genuine interest in it. œFranchisors often say that franchisees won’t listen to them but will take the same message on board if it’s delivered by a third party. Remember that axiom in your marketing: let your franchisees speak for themselves and they’ll speak for you. Social-media costs will soar Successive algorithm changes by social-media behemoths have driven down organic engagement – and driven up profits. It’s now estimated that on Facebook, an average of 4% of your fans see one of your posts – unless you boost or sponsor it. It’s no different on LinkedIn, where one franchisee with over 15,000 followers recently told me that his beloved long-form articles stopped reaching even triple figures in readership. Instead it’s now all about sharing within your post. If you already have a large and engaged audience then these changes might matter less but if you’re trying to build up a following and attract more customers or good prospects, you’re going to need a budget. Unsurprisingly, research has shown social advertising costs are rising as more and more brands spend their marketing budget on such channels. The days of organic audience reach look numbered, so plan carefully when forming your strategy.

68 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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03/11/2017 12:24 16:29 05/12/2017

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Clean up with a Techclean franchise If you’re looking for a business opportunity that is affordable, offers flexibility and isn’t dependent on any one market sector then Techclean could be the ideal choice

ith an established pedigree in cleaning IT equipment dating back to the 1980s, Techclean provides a specialist cleaning service for workplace desktops, communication centres and computer data rooms. Current customers range from big names like EDF, Disney and Porsche to universities, hospitals and the Public Service Ombudsman in Wales. Research shows that there are 200 times more bacteria on a computer keyboard than on a regularly cleaned toilet seat – in fact in many offices you’d be better off working with pen and paper in the ladies or gents than at your own desk. Additionally, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that up to 80% of all infections are spread by hand contact with contaminated surfaces and direct human contact. According to the 2016 CIPD Absence Management Report, absenteeism costs British businesses an average of £522 per employee per year. That’s around 140 million days lost to sickness absence across the UK in 2015 with colds, flu and gastric illnesses topping the table of causes. If

you combine this with the statistic that says 33% of people with contagious symptoms struggle into work rather than stay at home, it’s easy to see why providing a hygienic workplace is so important to productivity. General office cleaners may flick a duster over the keyboards and wipe around the desk but they can rarely achieve the level of cleanliness that is essential to keep bugs at bay and extend the life of the equipment. It takes the skill of Techclean’s specialist service to properly clean and sanitise desktops, telephones and communal electronic equipment such as photocopiers and printers. No previous experience is necessary to become a Techclean franchisee as full training is given. You just need to be good with people and have an aptitude for sales and marketing. Philippe Lafon has been running Techclean mid-Anglia for over 20 years. After a career spent in sales traveling all over the country, he was looking for a job nearer to home that involved technology. He heard about Techclean, liked the sound of it and hasn’t looked back since. “I hadn’t even thought about a franchise but after visiting the

Techclean head office I could see the potential,” he says. “I found the team to be really down to earth people I could work with and trust so I signed up. Techclean territories are generous –each catchment area includes at least 10,000 business. No premises are needed, making the franchise a perfect business to run from a home office with minimal outlay. And a Techclean franchise can slot in at any stage of your working life. Former teacher and mother of four Susan Davies set up Techclean South Wales three years ago after her youngest child went to university. She was looking for a new challenge and wanted to grow a business that she could run from home but still get out and about to interact with others. “I just love the diversity of it and meeting different people,” she says. “It’s very satisfying work. We go into an office and in a just few hours we make such a big difference to the working environment. I have a small team of people working with me I call the ‘dream team’ – and customers are always delighted with the end results.” Costing just £19,500 plus VAT, a Techclean franchise stands head and shoulders above other low cost franchise opportunities. Techclean franchisees can expect to achieve a net profit margin of over 50% within the first year of trading. Contact: Emma Downes t: 01530 513300 e: edownes@techclean.co.uk Total Cost: £19,500 + VAT

70 elitefranchise | DECEMBER 2017

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Tech

Techclean are proud to provide a comprehensive range of specialist system cleaning solutions to a diverse range of customers from FTSE 100’s to government to local businesses, charities, schools and even medical establishments amongst others. Who does Techclean need? + ‘People people’ + Disciplined and well organised + Prepared to put in the hard work to build a business + Able and willing to follow a business system + Good communicators and enjoy building relationships with customers

Support includes: As your franchisor, we believe in supporting you fully in your marketing efforts, The Bardon Group have years of experience creating excellent marketing tools, programmes and collateral, that are effective and practical for franchise owners to follow – alongside the other demands of the business. This activity is backed up by regular email marketing, a comprehensive range brochure, product leaflets and other relevant collateral.

DETAILS: Investment level: £19,500 +VAT Business type: Specialist system hygiene Franchise contact: Emma Downes Techclean Unit 2, Cartwright Court, Cartwright Way, Forest Business Park, Bardon, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 1UE Tel: 01530 513300 Email: edownes@thebardongroup.co.uk Web: www.techclean.co.uk

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06/12/2017 14:24

The

season to be jolly BY ERIC JOHANSSON

Celebrating the end of the year with a Christmas party can boost morale and bring your staff closer together. However, be careful that the festivities donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t turn into an HR nightmare

People.indd 1

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Christmas parties

By now at least one of your colleagues has probably already cranked up the volume on their computer to blast Michael Bublé’s rendition of White Christmas across your workplace. Others may have found co-workers swapping their customary business-casual attire for snuggly jumpers with reindeer on them. And with the holiday cheer steadily increasing many franchisees find themselves planning a Christmas party for their employees. There’s good reason for employers to consider throwing their workers a good bash before the holidays. “Christmas parties can boost team morale, allow staff to celebrate the successes of the past year and encourage unity in the workplace,” says Chris Sam Greenhalgh, Birketts Meredith, CEO of London Offices, the office provider. And he’s certainly not alone in thinking that: 82% of managers believe Christmas parties can improve team bonding and 57% say the festivities raise personal wellbeing, according to research from the Institute of Leadership & Management. “Christmas parties also act as a great close to the year and as an opportunity for employers to thank their teams for all their hard work,” Meredith says. Undoubtedly, an end-of-the-year get-together to celebrate the success of your franchise can have many benefits. However, organising festivities before the holiday break isn’t without risks. Remember that

even though employees may be off the clock, employers could still be responsible if things go wrong during workrelated gatherings. “You don’t want to be a grinch and hold off the Christmas party out of fear of any liabilities,” says Sam Greenhalgh, associate specialising in employment law at Birketts, the law firm. “But at the same time you need to protect yourself as an employer.” Unfortunately, there are many things that can go wrong during a company’s celebrations: almost a fifth of UK workers have had a severe warning and about a tenth have been sacked due to their Christmas-party behaviour, according to research from Team Tactics, the corporate-events organiser. And this is something the team at Birketts knows all too well. “Typically, we find ourselves quite busy in January and February dealing with the legal issues regarding allegations about colleagues behaving inappropriately, harassing others or having had too much to drink and letting their mouths run away with them,” says Greenhalgh. While things going wrong is the exception rather than the rule, it’s important that franchisees know how to deal with employees behaving badly at Christmas parties. “You should take them aside and tell them to think about their behaviour,” says Stacey Mead, HR director at The HR Dept, the HR franchise. “Sure, it may ruin the atmosphere for somebody but you have a responsibility to have a word with them if you think that they are going too far.” Hopefully, a quick chat can help defuse the situation but depending on the severity of the employee’s actions, the franchisee should also consider whether or not to the worker should be sent home. “You should then follow up on it on Monday by calmly speaking with them, investigating

You don’t want to be a grinch and hold off the Christmas party out of fear of any liabilities

DECEMBER 2017 | elitefranchise

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Christmas parties

what happened and why they behaved the way they did and seeing if there can be any mitigation for it,” says Mead. Depending on the investigation’s results, the franchisee will have to decide whether an official disciplinary action is required and how severe any repercussions might be. Equally important as knowing how to deal with issues as they arise during the festivities is knowing what to consider when planning the party. “Communication is key,” says Mead. By openly engaging with employees beforehand about what behaviour the employer

It’s important to strike the right balance between being the office Scrooge and thinking of the wellbeing of employees Shelby Neat, Team Tactics

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expects, franchisees can ensure everyone feels included in the event and that they start off the evening on the same page. “If they were told beforehand to be mindful of their behaviour and the employee still completely ignored the advice, it gives the employer a stronger ability to manage the situation,” says Mead. And while franchisees are busy planning the event, they must also give some serious thought to how to avoid excessive drinking. “It’s important to strike the right balance between being the office Scrooge and thinking of the wellbeing of employees,” says Shelby Neat, marketing manager at Team Tactics. “Unfortunately, alcohol is the root of many Christmas party issues.” Indeed, having surveyed 2,002 UK workers, Drinkaware, the alcohol-education charity, found that 13% regretted drinking too much and passing out at a company Christmas party. Furthermore, while two-fifths started out intending to keep their alcohol consumption at a moderate level, 32% felt peer-pressured by colleagues to drink more. Given the unwanted consequences over-indulging can have, it’s important that franchisees ensure that drinking doesn’t get out of hand. For instance, they can avoid having an open bar. “It’s all about ensuring there is a safe environment for all attendees and that everyone has a good time,” says Neat. So make sure your employees are jolly but that they go easy on the egg nog. During the planning stages it’s also vital that the franchisee tells employees not to wear any clothes or uniforms with the company’s brand on them at the party. “According to most franchise agreements, franchisees have strong obligations to use the trademark and branding in a courteous and sober fashion,” says Vicki Mitman, associate specialising in franchising law at Birketts. Just as franchisees shouldn’t use their social-media channels to promote political views, they are advised to avoid combining their dancing shoes with their business uniform. “Otherwise they could potentially be in breach of their franchise agreement,” says Mitman. Finally, the most important thing for any franchisee aspiring to inspire great employee behaviour is to lead by example. “If you’re getting drunk and are rolling around with a hangover the next day, how do you expect staff not to do the same?” concludes Mead. “Behave in the way you want your staff to behave.” If you can do that then hopefully you’ll kick off 2018 with an energised team and without having to deal with any Christmas party fallout.

11/12/2017 15:49

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03/03/2017 17:34

BY ERIC JOHANSSON

Coming full circle

Having kicked off her career two decades ago working in recruitment, Caroline Deutsch has now gone full circle by becoming a Select Appointments franchisee

ost people wouldn’t invest the better part of two decades establishing a career in marketing only to give it all up. But, then again, Caroline Deutsch isn’t most people. “I like to feel passionate about what I do and I just felt myself beginning to lose that passion,” she says. Recognising that she wouldn’t be happy if she stayed in her current role, Deutsch began to look for opportunities to branch out on her own. “It was one of those now or never moments,” she says. And deciding to follow her heart has certainly stood her in good stead as she is now the awardwinning owner of Select Appointments St Albans, the recruitment franchise. However, while her decision to buy the franchise may seem odd after spending most of her professional life in marketing, Deutsch actually has first-hand experience of the sector. “My first ever job was actually working at a local recruitment agency in St Albans,” she says. “So it felt like I 78 ELITEFRANCHISE | DECEMBER 2017

was coming full circle.” Additionally, she liked the fact that returning to her roots would enable her to work closely with people. “It’s not about having a massive number of candidates but about establishing really good relationships,” she says. Having made up her mind to go back into the industry, it didn’t take long before Deutsch decided that Select Appointments was the franchise for her. “It was literally the first name that popped up when I googled recruitment franchises,” she laughs. While Deutsch did consider other brands, none of the other franchises offered the same opportunities to tailor a local business to her own

I wanted to push myself outside my comfort zone

CAROLINE DEUTSCH

preferences, which made her decision an easy one. “I wouldn’t say that I’m impulsive but if I know that something feels right then I don’t like to think too much about it,” Deutsch says. Nevertheless, her enthusiasm didn’t prevent her from doing her due diligence. “I wanted to find out as much as I could about this opportunity,” Deutsch says. Not only did this mean she made sure to talk with the franchisor but the budding business owner also made time to sit down with several franchisees. “They encouraged me to not look at it through rose-tinted glasses but told me that the franchise was very fair,” she says. “I would have to do a lot of hard work but the fact that they’d spent maybe five, ten or even 15 years in the business felt like a great indicator that it was working for them.”

Convinced that Select Appointments was the place for her, Deutsch didn’t rest on her laurels. “Before I launched I did a lot of socalled territory mapping, which meant that I walked around in the area to see what businesses there were, where I could advertise and what networking groups would be good to join,” she says. And once she launched her business in September 2014, Deutsch also benefited from the franchise’s operations manager coming in to give her hands-on instructions during her first six weeks. Additionally, she also enjoyed the advice of a franchisee who had already established businesses in neighbouring territories. “It was really good to have someone who was six months ahead of me in the process and find out what her challenges were,” she says. Furthermore, the assistance from the franchisor would prove instrumental in helping Deutsch find her first clients. “They had a database with thousands of local businesses,” she says. “So it was simply a case of me picking up the phone.” However, while this assistance certainly came in handy, Deutsch reveals that she almost missed the opportunity to sign up her first customer. “They sent me an email that went to my junk mail so I didn’t see it straight away,” she says. “When I found it I immediately called them up. Fortunately they still needed recruitment.” From there on the business grew steadily to the point where Deutsch is now spearheading a team of three. And the clients aren’t the only ones taking notice: in October she won the gong for Best Franchisee at the 2017 Best Business Women Award. “I entered because I wanted to push myself outside my comfort zone,” she says. “And because they wanted me to write 3,000 words about my business, it enabled me to actually sit down and write my business plan for the next five years. So if I didn’t win I’d at least have that.” Fortunately, there was no need for her to worry about not winning as the judges were impressed by her passion. “It was amazing,” Deutsch says. Three years have gone by since she first signed up to become a Select Appointments franchisee but she isn’t taking her foot off the pedal just yet. “The next thing for me to do is to look at taking over another area,” Deutsch says. And this expansion will serve another purpose aside from boosting her profits. “It’ll give my employees a chance to progress and become managers,” she says. Given her ambitions to take the franchise to the next step, it’s hardly surprising that Deutsch has no doubts about whether or not going back into recruitment was the right choice. “If anyone is thinking about whether they should buy a franchise or start their own business, I can only tell them that franchising has both pros and cons,” she concludes. “However, it’s worked really well for me and I love what I’m doing.”

I wouldn’t say that I’m impulsive but if I know that something feels right then I don’t like to think too much about it

DECEMBER 2017 | ELITEFRANCHISE

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ENDEAVOURS CLAUSES

A complex endeavour Although endeavours clauses can offer valuable wiggle room when trying to lay out a franchisee’s obligations for the future, a lack of specificity can end up doing more harm than good BY KATE LEGG, CEO, KOMERSE

have fond memories of being a girl guide. I spent many happy hours learning to bake fairy cakes in a biscuit tin over an open fire and building washing-up stands from sticks and string. When I became a guide, I made a promise that began with the words “I promise that I will do my best”. What does this trip down memory lane have to do with franchising, I hear you ask? It’s because franchisees also promise that they will do their best. In most cases, the franchise agreement imposes absolute obligations on the franchisee – in other words, the obligations will be framed so that the franchisee must do the things they say they’re going to. But sometimes, it’s not possible to guarantee that something can be done, only that the franchisee 82 ELITEFRANCHISE | DECEMBER 2017

Using endeavours clauses can create uncertainty, which is generally not a good thing in franchise agreements

ENDEAVOURS CLAUSES

will try their best to do it. This is where endeavours clauses come in. An endeavours clause is typically used where there are factors outside the party’s control: while they can’t guarantee a particular outcome, they effectively agree to try. A common example is a clause that the franchisee will use best endeavours to promote and extend the business in their territory. The franchisee can’t guarantee that they will be able to extend the business because there may be other market forces at work that mean that, despite every effort, the business doesn’t grow.

Endeavours clauses can also be useful where the parties aren’t able to predict or cover every eventuality. If it was possible to predict every situation that might arise, then the agreement could specify what action had to be taken in each of those situations. However, life often takes unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes all a party can do is to try their best to secure the desired outcome in spite of the fact that something unexpected has arisen. Where this starts to get interesting is deciding just how hard the party has to try in order to meet their obligation. Common contract wording includes using “best endeavours”, “reasonable endeavours” or a host of variations. It’s generally accepted that “best endeavours” is the highest standard and the closest to an absolute obligation; reasonable endeavours is the lowest standard, requiring only a reasonable attempt to do the desired thing. But what do these terms actually mean? This has been fruitful ground for litigation over the years. In 2011, Blackpool Airport found itself in dispute with Jet2 Airlines over its agreement to use best endeavours to promote Jet2’s low-cost flights and use all reasonable endeavours to provide a cost base that would facilitate them. For several years, Blackpool allowed Jet2 to operate outside its normal opening hours but the airport then changed its mind, forcing Jet2 to reschedule its flights at short notice, which the airline argued was a breach of the airport’s endeavours obligations. Blackpool lost the case even though allowing Jet2 to operate outside the airport’s normal opening hours involved the airport incurring substantial costs. The case illustrates that in pursuit of using best endeavours, the franchisee may have to do something that is against their own commercial interests or that involves incurring costs and losses. However, the judge in the Blackpool case also warned that this type of clause has to be interpreted according to the specific facts and circumstances of each case, so in a different situation best endeavours might mean something different.

In light of this, using endeavours clauses can create uncertainty, which is generally not a good thing in franchise agreements or in any commercial contract. One way around this is to set out the specific steps that a party is expected to take to try to achieve the desired outcome. For example, instead of an obligation for the franchisee to use best endeavours to promote the business in the territory, the agreement could specify that the franchisee is required to spend at least a certain amount on advertising each year. Alternatively, it could stipulate that they must carry out certain activity as a minimum – such as committing to a 10,000 household leaflet drop or taking out a given number of adverts in local press over a certain period of time. Another common example of this type of clause in franchise agreements is an obligation on the franchisee to use best endeavours to protect the reputation of the brand. Clearly the franchisee cannot guarantee to protect the brand because goodwill may be damaged by any number of things that the franchisee has no control over. However, establishing what exactly the franchisee has to do to discharge the obligation could be difficult. Compare this to the similar negative obligation that the franchisee doesn’t do anything that would damage the brand. As this relates to things that the franchisee does or doesn’t do, it is within the franchisee’s control and so can be an absolute obligation rather than an endeavours clause. As none of us can predict the future, using endeavours clauses rather than absolute obligations can be attractive. However, in light of the uncertainty that these clauses create, they are best avoided wherever possible. If endeavours clauses can’t be avoided, then it may be helpful to set out the steps that the party in question is required to take in pursuance of the objective. Leaving an endeavours clause without a clear explanation of what is required is a risky business. DECEMBER 2017 | ELITEFRANCHISE

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