Case Study - Chris Archer

Only in his late 20s, Chris Archer had been working as a pub franchisee for several years. With life governed by a gruelling schedule that ran six-days-a-week from 6am to 1am the following morning - with just a couple of breaks in between -he eventually reached the crunch point and had to make the decision whether to carry on or quit. Wisely, he chose to quit and look for a new opportunity. While still content, in principle, to buy another franchise, his brush with hospitality made him more circumspect when it came to investing in a business the second time around. Now a successful OPC franchisee, he reflects on his journey so far.

When I looked around to buy another franchise after being in the pub trade, I wanted something that was going to provide me with a good income, but not place such heavy demands on my time. I did a lot of digging around looking at the various franchise opportunities in different sectors - investigating things such as how long they'd been trading for, whether or not they operated internationally, and whether or not they owned their own premises. All of these things say a lot about the authenticity and stability of a franchise, and are strong indicators about the success of a company. OPC ticked every box for me, and appeared genuine on every level.

Another deciding factor was that my mum owns a retail outlet and has been selling OPC products for about ten years so I was already familiar with its brand and products. It therefore had the kind of credibility I was looking for in a business before I even considered buying a franchise. Also, I'd been lucky enough to see how regularly OPC's products changed at my mum's shop.

There was always something new and different coming in, and the cards were humorous without being crude or offensive. All of these things eventually made me realise that OPC was the right choice for me. I've now been running the franchise in Hull since early 2008, and things are going really well. The business is growing steadily, and I'm already up 10 percent on the turnover of the previous franchise owner who'd owned the territory for 15 years.

I'd already been told by OPC head office that the area could do with further development. I understood that my predecessor's drive had waned; he'd hit a comfort zone as far as his earnings were concerned and had stopped pushing to maximise the area's real potential.The good thing from my point of view is that I've bought a pre-existing business that delivers a good income to keep me going in the early stages, but that also has genuine growth potential.This is one of the most attractive things about buying a resale.

Once I started in the business, the first couple of months were dedicated to learning fundamentals. It took around three months to start getting new accounts in. During that time I had my Business Development Manager with me, steering me in the right direction, answering all of my questions, and providing me with advice and support. We approached the owners of shops together, and by watching him, I quickly learned how to win new accounts and maximise the potential of existing ones.

In one store where I already had a small display stand, the owner agreed to take another to hold a new range. The great thing about OPC is that it's not a hard sell. The retailer has no initial outlay for stands or stock, and they only pay on what sells, so they have nothing to lose.

Buying and running my OPC greeting card business has improved my life immensely. I've gone from working 90 hours a week to working just 40. I'm not stressed, I don't have ridiculous deadlines, there's less paperwork, I don't have to deal with drunken customers, and the money is as good. Life has become a lot easier and more relaxed since I took on the franchise. Now, the business doesn't control me, I control the business.