Case Study - Adam Michallat-Cox

Adam was one of the first franchisees to join the Wiltshire Farm Foods network and in his words, “It has been an exciting journey and very hard work.”

Before entering franchising, Adam had worked within Human Resources in the assurance industry. A desire to become involved in more strategic aspects of business led him to move back to his hometown of Bristol and join a local frozen food company, as a senior manager with responsibilities in HR and finance. “Moving to a smaller company gave me the ability to really see things through and realise the impact of my efforts,” says Adam.

When the company was bought out, the opportunity to start his own business became a serious consideration. He explains, “I had always wanted to run my own business. Most of my family have done so, including my father who was a franchisor himself, so entrepreneurial aspiration is something that is in my blood if you like.

“But when you’re earning a steady salary, it is hard to make that leap and take the risk of starting and running your own business. The great thing about franchising, however, is that some of the risk is removed.”

With his background in the frozen food industry and through this an acquaintance with Wiltshire Farm Foods, franchising was an attractive option. A number of meetings were set-up with the franchisor to gain a thorough understanding of the business model, the people involved in the business and qualities the franchisor was looking for in prospective franchisees.

Adam describes the next steps he took, “As the business was a community based concern offering ready meals to the elderly, I conducted thorough research on the marketplace and the demographics worked in our favour so I knew there was market for the service. The next stage was to develop my business plan and talk to the bank who were very supportive and enthusiastic about the enterprise.”

Adam eventually set-up his franchise in Bristol in November 1993. He worked closely with the franchise support team at Wiltshire Farm Foods who he remembers as being “very hands on”.

“I was provided with a training pack, visited regularly and was also invited to frequent conferences and meetings where franchisees would share ideas. As the franchise became more successful and the network grew, we also received more marketing support from the franchisor,” Adam says, highlighting another advantage of investing in a franchise – centralised marketing resource and consistent brand identity throughout the network.

“Owning my own business has been challenging but very rewarding at the same time. It has satisfied my desire to be involved at every level of the business and also share ideas and knowledge with the franchisor. Wiltshire Farm Foods allows for two franchisees to meet with franchisor board members and I am one of those,” says Adam. “Owning my own business also allowed me to go to back to university to complete an MBA. After trading successfully for about 9 years, I wanted to be sure that I could continue to grow the business and take it to the next level and my business qualification has been instrumental in this.”

Adam summarises his experience of running his own business through franchising as “exciting but very hard work”. His advice for anyone considering franchising is, “Make sure you carry out thorough research. Look at the marketplace and talk to existing franchisees about their experiences.”