Feed: Yorkshire Franchisee Case Studies on whichfranchise.com - AggScore: 47.9

 

 

When Phil and Erica joined Silverdaze in October 2007, they were no newcomers to the retail industry. Phil had racked up an incredible 37 years of working long hours, often leaving for work and returning home in the dark. Erica had worked in retail since the age of 16 and for the latter 7 years ran a successful bridal business. “We hardly got to see each other and thought there’s no point in carrying on like this!” So, in May 2007, Phil took early retirement from his position as Store Manager at House of Fraser and he and Erica began their search to find a business that would give them the freedom to do what they wanted.

“We looked at different things, we knew what we didn’t want to do!” Phil explains; “I mean we’d both already done clothing and we didn’t want to do anything food related, then we came across Silverdaze, which was by far the most impressive web site and here we are! “My parents had great plans for their retirement,” says Erica, “But then they died early…you never know what’s round the corner! Now we get to see more of each other, choose where and when we want to work and are able to take holidays together. We’ve been on a Caribbean cruise, to a wedding in Dubai and now that we’ve established ourselves we are even planning to take Christmas off, which would have been unheard of before.”

“We’re not playing about,” says Phil, “We knew we still needed to make a living. We gave ourselves a year to establish ourselves and it has taken that long, but people come back and ask for us now. We joined what we refer to as the craft fair circle and tour all the Yorkshire fairs, about 10 different indoor venues, which we visit at least once a month.” “I don’t do outdoors!” pipes up Erica. “Yes, we discuss everything,” replies Phil, “Until we come round to Erica’s way of thinking! Turning up on a regular basis means that we get regular trade. We’ve built up a real circle of friends on the circuit and get good advice about what works.”

 “It’s been a real eye opener,” adds Erica, “There are some curious, crazy craft people out there selling all sorts, including a tailor for teddy bears. It’s been great for networking and I’m even confident enough to stand on a friend’s Aloe Vera stall now. That’s the good thing about there being two of us, as one can go off for a break. We each have our own roles and know exactly what we’re doing and can be set up in half an hour and out in a quarter. And if customers don’t believe my compliments, they can always ask Phil for a second opinion.”

We constantly challenge and motivate each other and are always coming up with new ideas to improve our business. We run a monthly free draw competition for our customers and once we have their details can e-mail them to let them know where we’ll be and of any special events coming up. We do a lot of charity work and visit two local hospitals twice a month. We make a point of getting to know our customers, especially at the hospitals, it’s important to remember who’s had what operation and who’s waiting for what results. It’s equally important to remember who’s bought a present for an exam result, engagement, christening or other occasion.

“Our average turnover is about £400 per event,” states Phil. “This year we’re aiming to increase our turnover by 25%. We don’t restrict ourselves tightly to any one area and we keep at it until we reach the targets that we set ourselves.” “Because we’re so busy on the circuit we don’t do many parties, but when we do,” adds Erica, “they have a ball. I think the word ‘party’ is a bit off putting as people suspect it will be like the party plan schemes in the 80’s, but Silverdaze parties are just not like that! It’s very different now from in the days when I sold dried flowers as part of the party plan scheme.

 

John Fraser purchased Driver Hire’s Hull franchise from its previous owners in December 2006. An accountant by profession, the majority of John’s career was spent managing farm estates on behalf of large organisations – including the Castle Howard estate in North Yorkshire, made famous in TV’s ‘Brideshead Revisited’. He made the decision to start out in business by himself and when the opportunity arose to become a Driver Hire franchisee, John grasped it with both hands. 

 

Says John Warren, Driver Hire’s Franchise Sales Director, “ Although John took over an established territory it was one that had seen little growth for several years. He didn’t waste any time in transforming it. His first step was to relocate the business into new and larger premise and he then began a concentrated sales and recruitment programme.”

 

The results were outstanding – in John’s first year at the helm, year-on-year sales grew by 68% and the Hull franchise won Driver Hire’s Gold Award for sales revenue at their Annual Conference.  Then in 2008 one of his drivers, Colin Ramsden, won the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s ‘One in a Million’ award, making him the UK’s top temporary worker. This achievement speaks volumes about the quality of John’s business and reflects well on the whole of the Driver Hire network.

 

“There’s no doubt that franchising reduces the risk element of self employment,” says John. “You’re buying a business with a proven recipe for success and there’s a network of other franchisees to talk to before you make the decision to buy and once you’re running your franchise. Driver Hire provided all the support they promised. In fact I don’t think I’ve fully utilised all of it.”

 

Driver Hire’s Franchise Re-sales Director, John Warren adds, ”Self-motivation, energy and enthusiasm coupled with sound commercial judgment and the support provided by the franchisor have really paid dividends in Hull.  I’m confident that the Hull franchise will continue to go from strength to strength.”

0800 Handyman is pleased to announce the launch of its first new franchise operation outside the Greater London area.

 

Julian Henthorn has launched the latest branch in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Julian previously managed a tools and garage equipment franchise and was keen to continue being his own boss.

 

The business is owned by The Zockoll Group, whose Chairman, Jim Zockoll founded and developed Dyno-Rod, one of the UK's most successful franchised services. It started trading in 2001 and is already well established in the London area, where it is the leading player with a proven reputation for service excellence.

 

Now, with a highly experienced franchise management team, 0800 Handyman is expanding, creating exciting and rewarding business ownership opportunities based on a winning service formula.

 

Julian’s new business specialises in tackling the small DIY tasks and odd jobs that people don’t have the time, inclination or expertise to carry out themselves.

 

Julian tells us: “I discovered there was a real gap in my local area for a professional handyman service. While there are plenty of specialist contractors to deal with the bigger and more costly jobs, and many odd-job men around, there was no one offering a quality service for handling the multitude of little jobs that never seem to get done!”

 

Having spent 15 years running his own business, Julian was keen to continue being his own boss. He tells us: “Going into business with 0800 Handyman was the perfect fit for me.”

 

“I have the benefit of working in partnership with an established organisation with all the experience to help me run a successful business, but I’m still in control of my own destiny.”

 

Says Julian: “No task is too small, we’ll put up shelves, change light fittings, assemble furniture, mount plasma screens, change locks or repair a dripping tap.” In fact, Julian says he is a ‘man for all reasons’.

 

0800 Handyman understand their customers’ time is at a premium so specific appointment times are booked rather than morning or afternoon slots. Charges are sensibly based on half hour increments so that the amount invoiced is a more accurate reflection of the time the work takes.

 

All staff undergo strict vetting procedures, including police checks so clients can be assured of the highest levels of security. Their workmanship is backed by a no quibble guarantee and the company is fully insured.

 

Julian concludes: “Each day presents a new challenge and its great being out and about meeting people in my local community. People call me out because they have a specific task that they need help with, so I get great job satisfaction with each job, knowing that when I leave a clients’ property I’ve resolved a problem for them!”

 

Clive Smith, Managing Director, 0800 Handyman said: “We’re delighted to welcome Julian on board. He brings a wealth of valuable business management experience to the company and I have every confidence he will make a real success of his new venture in Wakefield.”

Champagne corks were popping at FASTSIGNS®  York when the company won an award less than two years after going into business.

 

Matthew and Kirsty Wilson, and Carl Smith opened FASTSIGNS York in August 2007 in Boroughbridge Road, York. They were previously in the pub and restaurant business.

 

Now they have won the FASTSIGNS award for Newcomer of the Year at the company’s UK National Convention and Awards Dinner.

 

FASTSIGNS offers a full range of custom signs and graphic products to businesses, including banners, posters and exterior and interior signage.

 

Matthew, Kirsty and Carl are overjoyed to be top of their game.

 

“We love running our own business and it’s great to be recognised – it was a big surprise to win an award,” said Matthew.  

 

“We’ve been going two years now and everything’s ticking along well. We beat our sales target in our second year, despite the recession. And we’re looking at moving to bigger premises already.”

 

Matthew thanked the FASTSIGNS ‘family’ for helping them to succeed: “We’ve got a FASTSIGNS online forum, and whenever we hit a problem, there’s always someone in the company who offers help,” he said.

 

The trio received their trophy at a glittering awards ceremony in Oxford, where FASTSIGNS’ UK Managing Director Garth Allison had nothing but praise for the York team.

 

“They’ve done really well, and have grown sales significantly in the last 12 months. We’re very proud to have them in the FASTSIGNS family,” said Garth.