Case Study - Lorraine Verlander
Working with the Metropolitan Police as a radio engineer in a male dominated environment was always going to be a challenge for a woman, but the life skills Lorraine Verlander picked up during her 20 year stint as an engineer and later a manager, have proved invaluable in running her own No Letting Go inventory management business.
A gritty determination to succeed, a willingness to learn and adapt to changes in environment, coupled with proven communication skills all stood Lorraine in good stead when she made the decision to go it alone last year as a No Letting Go franchisee.
Having risen to a managerial position supervising two teams, Lorraine recognised the limited career progression opportunities in her current role, and felt the time was right for her to consider running her own show.
Franchising had always been Lorraine's first choice as a means to start her own business but she was keen to identify a franchise which would offer a chance to operate in a totally different culture from the civil service environment that she had been used to. Lorraine was also keen to establish her business in a market sector which presented significant long term growth opportunities.
It was a former Metropolitan Police work colleague who first introduced Lorraine to the No Letting Go concept. Chris Holmes was one of the founder franchisees of the now 18 strong No Letting Go franchise network, which has undergone a massive 130% growth in the last 12 months. Chris's enthusiasm for the business combined with the natural fit of Lorraine's skills / experience together with the impressive training and support on offer from head office made the decision making easy for the former engineer. Following a couple of weeks shadowing a fellow franchise owner and an inventory clerk, Lorraine's mind was made up and she signed up to take on the Bexley / Bromley territory on 18th June 2009 – a decision which she now claims is the best move she ever made!
The decision to set up a business via the franchise route has been ratified many times for Lorraine. "You really do get the best of both worlds, the chance to run your own show but with the support and backing of a well established organisation," says Lorraine. And in terms of quality of life the changes have been equally gratifying "I used to spend three hours of my working day travelling, now I work from a home office, get to see my son off to school on a daily basis and enjoy a far great degree of flexibility in my working life.
