Case Study - Roger Catchpole
When Roger Catchpole was made redundant from his job as an IT Manager for the second time, he realised that being employed was no guarantee of security. He decided that in future his life would not be dictated by the decisions of other people, and that by becoming self-employed he would take control of his own destiny.
"I'd always wanted to run my own business, but I'm a cautious character and don't like to take risks," he explains. "In fact, in choosing a franchise, my number one priority was ensuring that whatever the business, the risk factor had to be minimal. Of course, it was important to find something with potential for me to earn at least the same income as I did before, but most of all I wanted security."
Roger recognised that franchising was the safest route to self-employment and set about researching the industry and identifying franchise opportunities that were well established and had a long term record of success.
In a previous career, he had also been a panel beater & welder and often wondered how he would have fared had he not changed direction, and so he was particularly interested in joining the leading SMART (Small to Medium Area Repair Technology) minor automotive paintwork repair specialists, ChipsAway.
"I attended a ChipsAway Open Day and everyone was extremely open, very professional, but also friendly and informal," he recalls. "We were given a demonstration, which was impressive, and they confirmed that ChipsAway franchisees pay only a flat monthly license fee, irrespective of how successful and profitable each individual franchisee's business!"
He continues, "ChipsAway were brilliant. I was able to speak to lots of different franchisees, whose feedback was really positive; I also met up with a Business Developer – an existing, established franchisee who helps new recruits, providing support during and after their launch. Even after that, I searched the internet looking for customer feedback on ChipsAway repairs. Everywhere I looked, the comments were excellent. Finally, I was completely convinced and signed up for a ChipsAway franchise."
Roger launched his business in Spring 2006 and says he's been booked solid ever since, with work continuing to flow in, mostly from word of mouth recommendations.
Despite the current climate, his business is still growing strongly. Roger surpassed his initial projections within the first three months. After six months his income was equivalent to his previously well-paid position. Today he is the proud owner of a top of the range 3-litre Z4 BMW Sports Coupe and a brand new Harley- Davidson Fat Boy motor bike!
"I love running my own business," he concludes. "I am no longer just a number on a company payroll and my quality of life is directly affected by my own hard work and determination to succeed. When I was made redundant, it hit me like a ton of bricks, but my ChipsAway franchise has given me my life back and restored my self-belief. I thought I'd made the right decision from the start – but now I know it!"
