Karen Perkins - Suffolk
 Karen Perkins |
Karen is 40 and before becoming a franchisee in Suffolk worked in financial services. She currently runs 22 classes a week and has 3 employees.
"As a Business Development Manager, I had a good job, with excellent prospects, a company car and all the perks, but there was lots of pressure and I was working a rigid and long working day. I decided to get out and do something for myself which would be much more people oriented that would suit my lifestyle. I didn't want to spend from 7am-7pm working; I wanted to find a career that could offer me flexibility. "
"Leaving a good job to set up my own business was a risk but it really has paid off. Ever since I started the franchise in 1996, it has never felt like work – it's so rewarding. Helping people to lose weight is just the best thing. I have a husband and wife who joined my classes in 1996 and they're still coming. My son Lewis was born 7 years ago and I've managed to fit in looking after him whilst successfully running the business. I get to spend far more time with him and my husband Andrew than I would in an office job and I haven't had to miss out on Lewis' special 'growing up' moments."
"We now have a beautiful home in an idyllic setting which we have been able to renovate over the last 11 years. If it wasn't for the franchise, that wouldn't have been possible."
"The reality of being a franchisee has been even better than we could have hoped for!"
Sedge Gooding - Reading
 Sedge Gooding |
Sedge Gooding was formerly a dancer. 12 years ago she became a Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs franchisee in the Reading area.
"When I had to leave an established career as a dancer it was a huge decision and I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do."
"I approached Rosemary Conley about running a franchise at the age of 24, as I knew I wanted to do something physical. I thought that running diet classes combined with exercise would help to ensure that members keep coming regularly, and I was right! In fact, many of my members have been coming for the last ten years – since the first day I started the franchise! I now have over 500 members in the classes my employees and I run each week."
"Now, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I love what I do and every day that I teach, I have a real laugh with my members. If I wasn't teaching, I'd be going to Aerobics classes myself, so I might as well exercise to the music of my choice and do the exercises I want to do - and get paid at the same time!"
"I get to see my children, Emile, Remi and Joel, much more that I ever would if I worked in a 9-5 job!"
Sarah Skelton - Norwich
 Sarah Skelton |
When Sarah Skelton started work as an optician's receptionist, she never expected she would end up running her own business. But, by working and studying hard, Sarah became a dispensing optician and went on to run a Specsavers' franchise.
Sarah joined her local Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club in an attempt to shed the excess weight she'd gained over the years and, along with gaining a brand new figure, Sarah acquired a brand new career, too.
After qualifying as an Exercise to Music teacher and running classes for her local instructor, in September 1998, aged 28, Sarah bought a Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs franchise in Norwich and has never looked back.
Whilst the first year was hard work, having to spend time getting known in the area and doing lots of marketing, within two years Sarah had managed to build up a good, profitable business, and she has continued to run it successfully for the past eight years.
Sarah has three children and has found that running her franchise suits family life. The flexibility of the working hours in the day works well with bringing up children and her husband, Andrew, is able to help in the evenings when Sarah is out taking her classes.
Sarah genuinely loves her job and takes great pride in the help and support she gives to her members, several of whom have been with her for all of the eight years! She says: "The benefits of franchising with a well known name such as Rosemary Conley are enormous. You already have people who are aware of Rosemary, her formula of diet and exercise is excellent and you get great support from the team to help build your success."
Emma Shepherd - Swansea
 Emma Shepherd |
Emma was born and bred in Wales growing up in Swansea and taking a degree in accounting at Swansea university.
When Emma left university she had no idea what she wanted to do so she decided to use her accountancy skills in an office-based role.
Emma worked for three years in finance for Career Wales but found office based work boring – she was also unhappy with herself as she was overweight, something she had struggled with all her life despite being involved in fitness activities at school.
After five years in office work Emma decided it was time to turn her life around by taking charge of her weight and fitness and find a new career. She lost weight through following diets and exercising from the Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness magazine and attending the local Rosemary Conley classes.
As she lost weight, Emma's confidence grew and her husband, Robin, suggested she should look at buying a Rosemary Conley Franchise. They both attended a Rosemary Conley Presentation Day at the Company's offices in Quorn, Leicestershire in May 2005 and at last Emma felt she had found something she really wanted to put her heart and soul into.
Emma found the training of a very high quality and quite daunting but the support from Rosemary Conley's team was first rate and she really bonded with her fellow trainees.
Emma launched in January 2006 but was overwhelmed by the number of ladies wanting to join. "I had queues out of the door at several venues but it was a great way to start," says Emma.
With help from her supportive mum and sisters who act as cashiers, Emma has already over 360 members attending her nine classes.
Robin, her husband says: "You can't keep up with Emma now – her confidence is fantastic and her determination to succeed has made it happen."
Emma says the best thing about running the franchise is working for herself although she warns you have to be organised and make time for other things.
Robin and Emma are converting a barn near Swansea and Emma even has time to get up on the roof and help with the tiling!
The great thing is that you are changing people's lives, as Emma says: "A lady who is a type 2 Diabetic has been told by her doctor that she can come off her tablets as a result of the improvement in her health through attending my class. How good is that!"
For Emma, the combination of nutrition and exercise in the Rosemary Conley philosophy makes it easy to promote to new members.
Judi Brown - North Peterborough
 Judi Brown |
Judi Brown, the Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs' franchisee in the North Peterborough area had only been running the franchise for five months yet she is already beating her own financial goals and is now delighted that she made the move.
43-year old Judi grew up in the Peterborough area and had carved out a very successful career in commercial and financial management. Prior to taking up the Rosemary Conley franchise, Judi was employed as a Commercial Manager for a charity, which supports adults with learning difficulties.
Judi, who used to weigh 12st 7lb and wear a dress size 14, had previously lost 3st 7lb in weight through healthy eating and exercise.
Judi is now a trim size 8-10 and weighs just under 9st. Her personal slimming success experience gave Judi a real insight into the issues of weight loss. She also wanted the opportunity to work for herself and take ownership of her own destiny.
In October 2005 Judi attended a Rosemary Conley Presentation day and decided that the skills she had acquired in business, and her interests in exercise, made running a Rosemary Conley Franchise, an ideal move for her.
Judi now says that she has found her true vocation: "I don't feel anything like the pressure that I had when I was a Commercial Manager. In fact, it doesn't feel like I'm going to work!"
Judi says that she gets an enormous buzz from motivating people and seeing them achieve success. "Members actually say thank you and are very friendly, which makes this job so rewarding," adds Judi.
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Rosemary Conley is the UK's foremost diet and fitness expert and has almost 40 years' experience of helping people to lose weight and become fitter. Combined sales of her books and DVDs now exceed nine million. In 2004, Rosemary was awarded a CBE for her services to the fitness and weight loss industries.
In 1993, Rosemary formed the franchised Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs to establish a unique network of diet and exercise classes around the UK. To this day, it is still the only national slimming organisation in the UK to offer both dietary advice and exercise in the same class taught by professionally qualified instructors.
Prior to launching the franchised network of Clubs, Rosemary and her husband and business partner, Mike Rimmington, invested a great deal of time and money to ensure they offered prospective franchisees the best business opportunity possible. They sought the very best advice from leading franchising, accounting and legal experts.
Director Angie Higgins has worked with Rosemary for over 20 years and has vast experience in all aspects of the business and Group Marketing Director Chris Ash, who joined the company in 2005, brought with him a wealth of experience and expertise in the field of marketing and product development.
Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs offers an ideal opportunity for carefully selected franchisees to run their own business whilst benefiting from Rosemary's name, reputation, extensive knowledge and experience.
Franchising has made it possible to help hundreds of thousands of people to lose weight and become healthier and fitter and each week over 170 Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs franchisees run around 2,000 classes for their 80,000 members.
Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs has been a member of the BFA since it was formed in 1993. In 2002 and 2005, the company won the coveted BFA Franchisor of the Year Award. Previous awards include the BFA Newcomer of the Year Award in 1995 and the BFA Midland Bank Award in 1998.
Says Rosemary Conley: "The BFA is a dedicated governing body that provides good practice in franchising. Being a member gives your company credibility in a crowded marketplace and this is crucial when potential franchisees are discussing raising finance with their bank. The greatly coveted BFA Annual Awards provide recognition for any franchisor, adding extra confidence to your brand."
The start-up package franchisees receive includes everything needed to run the business, including the licence to operate the franchise, all of the necessary training and tuition fees and associated accommodation costs, public liability insurance cover, the launch advertising and promotional package, along with personalised marketing material.
Rosemary continues to play a hands-on role in all aspects of the business, including the selection of franchisees. All franchisees are highly trained in Fitness Instructing to an externally recognised qualification (OCR-Oxford, Cambridge, Royal Society of Arts). They also receive comprehensive training in nutrition and complete the Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs' Certificate in Applied Nutrition and Weight Management, a qualification accredited by University College Chester.
In addition, all franchisees, prior to starting out, complete a training course in business management and marketing at the company's offices and Training Centre at Quorn House in Leicestershire. This is held over two separate weeks.
Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs franchisees are committed to helping their members achieve their weight loss goals and adopt a healthier, fitter lifestyle.
A team of highly experienced staff is dedicated to supporting, developing and advising franchisees. Key areas of their support is New Start Ups - helping franchisees in their first few months of trading; Marketing – supporting franchisees by arranging national promotions and advertising and Operations – proactively supporting franchisees in the day to day running of their business and ensuring they follow the business model. The team also provides press and PR, advertising, accounts, administration and business support as well as day-to-day assistance to franchisees.
Operating a Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club is a full-time business and franchisees are required to run a minimum of 10 classes per week. They operate within a specific territory, which forms a national network of classes throughout the UK.
The success of the Rosemary Conley name has seen the launch of a range of products that, in addition to books and DVDs and a highly successful magazine, also includes low-fat food and healthy eating cookware. In 2010, Rosemary launched her new free internet-based TV channel. www.rosemaryconley.tv.
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