12 minute read
HOME - FAMILY - COMMUNITY - BUSINESS
How could buying a franchise help you enjoy putting down roots in a new area?
Asurvey on the Franchise New Zealand website last year revealed that almost a third of franchise buyers would be prepared to move to another region to take up the right franchise opportunity. A franchise is also a popular option for recent immigrants.
Getting into a good franchise, with its brand, systems, buying power and training, clearly makes sense from a business point of view – but there’s more to it than that. Buying a franchise can also help you return to your family, or put down roots in a new region or country, by helping to make you a part of the local community.
And that could make taking some big life decisions a little bit easier.
When Anita Kingston’s boss, who already owned several Paper Plus stores in Auckland, suggested that they go into partnership to buy another one, she leapt at the chance. There was just one snag – the store for sale was in Gisborne, a city she had never even visited. But she and her husband Ashley were up for an adventure, so they packed up their home and three children and moved away from the city where they had grown up to start a new life.
Brave? Certainly. Foolhardy? Definitely not. The couple had previously lived in Perth for a number of years, so were used to being far from home, but having returned to Auckland they discovered that buying a house of their own was next to impossible. In addition, there was the traffic – Anita was sick and tired of commuting for two hours or more a day from their leased farmlet to Paper Plus in Meadowbank, so Gisborne sounded attractive.
‘We love a road trip, so we drove down to Gisborne for a long weekend,’ she recalls. ‘We stayed at a local campground with a swimming pool and a great playground. The beach was beautiful and close to the city centre, and everyone was so friendly that it just felt right. We looked at each other and said, “We can do this!” – so we did.
‘Four years on, we realise it was the best thing we could have done. We could afford our share of the business and a house, we love the place and the community, and as for the commute, well – at one point, I had to do a school run to three different schools every morning. It took me 15 minutes. Try doing that in Auckland!’
How did the kids adapt to their new life? ‘Nate and Tiana were at primary school, so that wasn’t too difficult, but Riley was in fourth form so it was a big change for her. We moved between terms and she spent the whole of the holidays saying how much she hated it. Then school started and within a week she was saying, “I love this!” She went on to become head girl, and now she is studying law in Wellington. Meanwhile, the younger ones are really thriving at local schools with great teachers and wonderful principals.’
Where we needed to be
For Luke and Brooke Mullinger, it was the chance to move closer to Brooke’s family that prompted their move from Palmerston North to Blenheim. With daughter Addison just a year old, the couple were already thinking about their options when Brooke’s father told them about a site that was becoming available on the front of a local car yard. As Luke worked for Streetwise Coffee, did he think they might be interested in the site for one of their permanent coffee carts?
‘We put down the phone and started talking,’ Luke recalls. ‘Then we listed our house for sale.’
It was a big decision. Luke was a Palmy boy through and through, and they had built their house themselves – ‘It was the house we had brought our daughter home to,’ says Brooke wistfully. Now they were starting their first business together, ‘Going into debt as a couple,’ as Luke says. ‘The bank wouldn’t have lent us the money if it hadn’t been a reputable franchise.’
They moved to Blenheim and lived with Brooke’s parents for three months, eventually buying their own house and opening their first Streetwise coffee cart – both within two busy weeks. ‘Although I knew the franchise well, we recognised that with a young family, we could only do it if we had on-theground support from Brooke’s family,’ Luke admits. ‘But once we were set up, it felt like home. We were where we needed to be.’
Feeling welcome
As these two examples show, buying a franchise can be a great way to get where you want to be in terms of your geographical location as well as your business and lifestyle goals. Being a business owner can also be a great way to establish yourself in your new community, as Anita points out.
‘Before we bought it, the Paper Plus in Gisborne had been a company store run by our support office,’ she recalls. ‘I think people thought it was just a big box corporate. But once we moved here and they realised that it was owned and run by local people, they really connected and we felt very welcome and included in the community. Gisborne is only about 40,000 people, so everyone knows everyone else and word soon gets around.
‘We know a lot of our customers by name, know their children and what their job is. You take the time to get to know people because there is more time – you’re not constantly rushing around trying to beat traffic.’
In Blenheim, Luke agrees. ‘Of course we are busy on the coffee cart, especially during morning drive times, and when we first opened it was crazy – I was working seven days a week initially. But the business was also my social time. I was often the first point of contact people had with another human being each day, and it’s amazing how quickly you get to know people and what you learn.
‘A local gym opened at the same time as us and we helped each other out as two new businesses in town. That brought us a lot of customers, and we got good friends out of it, too. I think that sort of thing happens more easily in smaller communities.’
It’s a business decision, too
At the same time, both Luke and Anita are very business-focused. Luke says, ‘When we opened, there was an article in the local paper surprised that we were going to be open 7 days – most businesses in Blenheim closed on Sundays. So we put a lot of effort into telling people we were here, doing social media with the kids (their son, Parker, was born after the move), letting people know who we are and looking to attract our target demographic.
‘We also embraced technology, offering ordering by text, which really paid off when Covid hit just six months after we opened. Before Covid, perhaps 5 percent of people pre-ordered; now 80 percent of orders come from text and online.
‘Blenheim may have only 28,000 people, but people here value their time like anywhere else, and our original coffee cart at Springlands is now one of the top performers in the franchise. It blows me away that Blenheim can achieve that. We have a great team of about 15 people now and rather than doing seven days, I now work Monday to Friday most weeks. I still start early, but I’m finished at lunchtime and spend the afternoon with the kids. It’s very different from my old life, when I was leaving home before Addison was awake and only getting back at bedtime.’
Luke’s success comes as no surprise to Daniel Cloete, the National Franchise Manager for Westpac. ‘Some of the most profitable outlets in many franchise systems are located in the regions rather than the major centres,’ he points out. ‘Lower rents, better staffing costs and less competition mean better returns, while the lower cost of living means franchisees don’t need to take as much out of the business – so they can reduce debt faster and re-invest as required.’
That’s exactly what Luke and Brooke have done, opening a second cart at the end of 2021. ‘Rather than waiting until we had paid off the first cart, we were able to re-invest sooner.’
You need to adapt
While franchisees in Gisborne and Blenheim might enjoy the same support as their big city counterparts, they need to be prepared to operate in different ways. ‘I thought in the first few months I’d have it all under control,’ laughs Anita. ‘I had worked in and run Paper Plus stores for many years, and I was going to bring all these brilliant ideas from Auckland. But as I settled in, I realised I had to slow down. I needed to become part of the community, change myself to fit, build rapport and win trust.
‘People are very loyal to local businesses and local owners – I think that Covid really boosted the “shop local” message, and we are locals now. We have a book club with about 25 members that meets in the shop every month; I’ve got to know the local Lego club people, so we’re building that involvement, and being a NZ Post mail centre all helps.
‘As Luke says, having kids helps you make connections, too. Our younger two will come into work after school – it’s not far, and there’s a skateboard park nearby. I find them little jobs to do, like breaking up boxes, and the customers have got to know them. It all helps us to put down roots.’
Spreading the risk
While Anita and Luke are running the businesses with support from their partners, they’ve been careful not to put all their eggs in one basket. Ashley is employed as an auto electrician, while Brooke is a qualified nurse, working five days a fortnight in addition to occasional shifts at Streetwise.
‘We did think about Ashley being self-employed, but decided that setting up two new businesses at once would be far too stressful,’ Anita says. ‘This way, we had the security of his regular income while we were getting our Paper Plus established. It also means he’s meeting different people all the time, they wave when they see us out in his ute, and then of course they come into the shop and he’s there too, sometimes.’
A sense of belonging
Above all, our two families have found a real sense of community in their new home towns.
Anita says, ‘The first Christmas in our new house, our next door neighbour summoned us for drinks and got all the neighbours round to meet us, too. Tiny is a Māori lady in her 80s and made us feel so welcome, so much a part of things, that it’s been wonderful. In fact, Ashley’s mother has moved here now – she came to help us with childcare originally, and once she got used to the lack of big shopping malls, she loved it, too. I think having that sense of community helps you re-evaluate what’s important in life.’
And while Brooke was returning to her roots in Blenheim, Luke has happily become a local. ‘People think that, because we own a business in Blenheim, we are both locals – and we are, now. Brooke’s old friends have become family friends, and the kids are growing up where she grew up.’
Brooke doesn’t underestimate the effort it takes to establish a new business, especially with two young children. ‘It was hard work, there were tears, and times when we almost weren’t talking to each other,’ she admits. ‘But we look back over the last four years and we love the lifestyle we have created. Moving home and being close to family made it possible for us to have both the business and the lifestyle we wanted.’
Closing thoughts
As Anita, Ashley, Luke and Brooke have found, buying a franchise means it is possible to have it all. The franchise provides the business model, the training and support you’ll need, as well as making it easier to find finance. It also gives you a role in the local community as a provider of services, an employer and, in many cases, a welcome point of contact. Use those advantages well and you’ll soon be making friends and fitting in.
That’s not to say that it will be easy. Starting your own business is hard work, and you need to be prepared to put in some long hours and face the inevitable ups and downs as you get established. But if you choose your franchise with care and take good legal and financial advice from experienced advisors, you can have confidence in making the move. Putting down roots in a new area can give you and your family the better future you’re looking for.
ASK YOURSELF ...
• What do I want to put into and get out of life?
• What does my family need and want for a good lifestyle?
• What would I need to pay to rent or buy a suitable home?
• How much capital could I release from my home to put into the business?
• Does the place I want to live have a suitable market for my chosen franchise?
• What is the competition? Is there much opportunity for growth?
• Is there the infrastructure we need for education, sport, leisure activities, culture?
• Are there work opportunities for family members if they are not involved in the new business?
• Do we have family members/ old friends nearby?
• Would we fit in the local community? How easily do we make new friends?
• Is this a good time for children to change schools?
• What opportunities are there for lifestyle changes – eg. less time commuting, more time for family or hobbies?
