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Richard Bennett took over the Card Connection territory of Croydon in 2007. Richard had retired from banking, having worked in large corporates for most of his life. He has recently renewed his franchise contract for a further five years.
“At the time, I was looking for something new!” Richard explains. “I wanted to run my own business but knew starting out alone would not be easy, so looked at franchising. I wanted to work from home and so after a series of elimination I narrowed the choice down to three greeting card companies. I visited two but it was clear Card Connection had put a lot of effort into their presentation to me as a potential franchisee and they stood out from the crowd. I was also impressed with the quality and range of the products which are constantly updated and have a broad appeal to both consumers and retailers alike. Once I had spoken to other franchises: it was not a difficult decision!”
Card Connection is a greeting card publisher and the leading greeting card franchisor in the UK and Ireland. A full member of the British Franchise Association, Card Connection’s network of franchisees use a proven system to place quality greeting cards and gifts in retail outlets. Richard now supplies around 200 retail stores in the Croydon area. More |
I bought my Norwich Papa John’s franchise in May 2012. Although I had no fast food experience, I think my previous business background has been helpful to guarantee the rapid start-up success experienced by the franchised store. This backed up by a strong brand and supportive Papa John’s management team and training programme has got the business off to a great start.
Before joining Papa John’s I was a director at PROview Accounting Ltd and a manager at Stratford College in Walthamstow for seven years before deciding to do something completely different, which resulted in a move to Norwich. Manzoor Hussain, a good friend and now business partner first inspired me with the Papa John’s concept. When Manzoor approached me about a potential Papa John’s franchise opportunity, I knew it was time to do some due diligence.
My research showed Papa John’s was a popular and rapidly growing brand. The business-minded side of me meant I liked the Papa John’s model, which has the opportunity to expand through setting up multiple outlets. I also liked the fact that it is a dynamic, positive company with a top quality product. Papa John’s is also about growth and growing and I liked that. More |
For 27 years I have worked in the family property building business. Office based my role as company secretary and administrator was becoming a solitary existence, which took some of the enjoyment out of my work. Deep down I really wanted to have a business of my own but I really didn’t know where to start - until I discovered OSCAR pet food.
It all began by chance when Jasper, my dog, and I joined a group of local dog walkers in the park. It was a social event among OSCAR customers, and before long I too became an OSCAR customer. I loved the concept of the complete pet care service – Jasper thrived on the food and Monty, my new puppy, has proved that the food has also provided their respective lifestyles with an all round balanced diet.
I then became aware that my local franchisee was advertising his business for sale and without hesitation I followed up with an enquiry. Clearly I could see that it offered me flexibility to work around my current commitments but ultimately the opportunity added to my passion for pets. I had found confidence in the product and service and that made the process of purchasing my OSCAR business easy. I was also very grateful to have an introduction to existing customers - it was a valuable experience as it gave me a direct opportunity to understand the function of the business and appreciate their needs. More |
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We had decided after very careful thought to go into business for ourselves, Dave had previously had his own business but always said if he went into business again it would be a franchise.
So we began the long task of looking at what was available. Having sought advice and read a lot that domestic cleaning was the thing to get into. Then it was a matter of deciding on which one!
We looked at Molly Maids, My Home, Merry Maids…etc etc..! and stumbled upon Maid2Clean at a franchise exhibition. We drove home from that exhibition thinking how easy and relaxed Maid2clean seemed to be and thought maybe it was too good to be true, as we had rejected the others for being too rigid and formal.
After a couple of weeks careful thought we decided to look more closely at Maid2Clean and rang Mike to make an appointment.
We arrived at the arranged meeting full of doubt and apprehension about what we may be getting into as £10,000 is a lot of money for us. We were made to feel very welcome at Mike and Elaine's home and felt very comfortable, also we got the impression that Mike and Elaine had nothing hidden from us and were very open and honest. (and the bacon sandwiches went down very well). More |
Jamie Hickson spent most of his working life in banking and finance before radically changing direction and joining Kare Plus, one of the UK’s leading medical
and domiciliary care franchise.
Now into his second year as a franchisee, Jamie’s business is growing strongly and he predicts that he will achieve turnover of£750,000 by the year-end with average profit
margins of 40 per cent. He says he’s never been so busy, but is loving being his own boss and enjoys a sense of satisfaction that makes the hard work well worthwhile.
“I have been staggered by the rate of growth – and delighted too, of course!” he admits. “I’ve found that there is huge demand for my services and I’m more
convinced than ever that the potential for this business is absolutely colossal!”
Jamie had always wanted to work for himself, but the trigger to focus on the care sector was an unhappy experience in his own life, when a close relative became ill and failed to receive the quality of support and
care the family expected.
“The clear need for high-quality care that I’d seen at first hand motivated me to look at setting up a company to provide these services,” he confirms. “I quickly realised
that going it alone would simply not be an option. The protocols and compliance requirements you need to even get through the door, let alone grow and succeed, are
just frightening.” More |
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