Case Study - Vanessa Cook
Vanessa Cook left her public sector job in 2005 to join her husband delivering organic vegetables, and other produce, in the Milton Keynes area. Here she talks about her transition from 9-5 office work, to life on the open road as a Riverford Organic franchisee.
Says Vanessa: “My husband, Russell, used to be a high level electronics engineer working for global companies. He was fed up with always being away from home and I was tired of my corporate policy and communications role within local government. We both wanted to make a life change and had been discussing starting a business, but we hadn’t considered buying a franchise.
Russell saw a Riverford Organic van while he was stuck in a traffic jam and knew that I was looking for another veg box provider – we had used a veg box scheme in the past, and liked it – so he suggested that I give Riverford a call to see if I could arrange a delivery.
Perfect Timing
When I called Riverford, I found out that nobody was delivering in the Milton Keynes area. However, a sister farm was about to open in Cambridgeshire and Riverford were ready to begin further expansion. So, with the Milton Keynes territory being available, it seemed like a perfect opportunity...
...three weeks later, in June 2004, Russell went for a tour of the Devon farm and then met with existing franchisees. He liked everyone he met and in October that year we signed the franchise agreement, becoming the owners of the Milton Keynes territory.
Seeds of development
We sold our first box in February 2005, which was a bit scary but also an exciting experience. Everything was new to us! We finished that first round very late – we had to count the takings, and enter the figures into the system Riverford had given us. It was a tiring but thrilling initiation into the business.
At the time, I hadn’t left my job. Initially, the idea had been for Russell to operate the business while it got off of the ground, and for me to continue working to give us some added security in the early stages. I found it impossible not to get more involved in the business, which interested me more, so in June 2005 I took voluntary redundancy.
From office life to the open road
On our first day we had 54 deliveries to make and 130 in the first week, all found for us by Riverford. The level of support from head office was extremely high right from the start, and enabled us to quickly gather momentum. Today we have around 800 weekly deliveries and have taken on further territories and drivers.
The thrill of the ride
Personally, I love driving the van around and meeting customers. It’s great fun, and even though I still do a fair bit of administrative work at home, I’ll always want to keep one round going for myself. Meeting people face to face enables you to find out what they want, and need. Engaging with customers also helps to foster their loyalty. In this business, retention is phenomenally important to ensure continued growth. You have to work hard to get new customers, and so that makes it even more important to keep the ones you’ve got.
Unexpected opportunities and marketing for growth
In December 2009 Riverford asked us if we wanted to take on the Stevenage territory – mainly because they knew they could trust us to do a good job of running it – and so we did! Then, in February 2010, we also took on the Luton franchise. The existing franchisee had become ill and needed to get out quickly, which is why we stepped in.
To promote further growth in our three territories, we do a lot of shows where we can meet people and tell them how Riverford works, and how our products and service can benefit them. We also get a lot of additional exposure from the branded vans, which are obviously an essential part of the core business, but also work wonders as a marketing tool. After all, that’s how we found out about Riverford in the first place!
Combined with leafleting and some advertising in smallish local magazines – plus the genuine quality of the produce, which sells itself once people have tried it – we have managed to create a good flow of positive word-of-mouth, which helps ensure that we regularly gain new customers.
The right balance
Running a Riverford Organic franchise is hard work, but Russell and I have an infinitely better lifestyle than we did when he worked as an engineer and I worked in the public sector. We enjoy a much better quality of life, and although we know Riverford isn’t the kind of business that will make us millionaires, it is a profitable business, and one that makes us very happy – something that’s of far greater value.
