Can you share what your life was like before you went into franchising and what made you look at franchising as an option?
Before I went into franchising, I was employed. We’re talking a long time ago now because I’ve been with ActionCOACH for nearly 20 years. A long, long time ago I worked in the food industry. I was made redundant twice and after two redundancies, I was feeling pretty disillusioned—one with the food industry, but two with the job market. I thought it was time I took control for myself, being in control of my own destiny. I started to look at options available to me and actually put my CV on Monster. Somebody reached out to me, we had an initial call, and I thought that was interesting. I love learning, I’m passionate about helping people, so why not go on the journey of finding out more? That’s how it started, and it ticked the boxes in terms of giving me the independence of running my own business and ensuring I was never going to be in the position again of someone pulling the rug from under me. So, that was the reason I initially looked.
Can you tell us about life as a franchisee?
So, as a franchisee, the training and the proven model help enormously because you don’t have to create everything from scratch. That was the beauty of getting into franchising. Through my journey, I had the opportunity to invest in the master license rights and became a master licensee. Personally, I wanted to impact more business owners and change more people’s lives. Through building my own team, I could share knowledge and support the franchise partners that came into our business. For them, it’s a fast track to results. There are many independent business coaches out there, but as a franchise, you get a business in a box with everything you need from day one. You can tap into resources, support, and community, which makes being a franchisee and a franchisor much better than going it alone.
Can you explain the journey into franchising?
People find us through various strategies like franchise portals, exhibitions, and referrals. From an initial enquiry, there’s a journey to find out more. It’s a two-way process where we need to understand more about them, and they need to understand more about us. It has to be a cultural fit from both sides. The process starts with a telephone interview to learn about the candidate’s background, what drives them, and why they think they’d be a good fit as a business coach. We assess their suitability to our business model and culture. If it feels right from both sides, we invite them to a Discovery Day or meeting to share tools, systems, support, and ROI. If they remain excited about the opportunity, they go through due diligence, examining the business model, finances, and talking to banks for an independent view on the franchise. Once they gather all information and determine the fit, we award the franchise. It’s a journey of learning and discovering more.
If you could tell someone looking at franchising one key piece of advice, what would it be?
Talk to others who are doing it. Connect with people within the framework and system. Assess who you’re most like because any franchise will have a range of performers. Your success can be influenced by your characteristics, how you apply yourself, and how you follow the system. Research and participation in events to experience the material being delivered are key parts of the process.
From your experience, what are some key factors that contribute to a successful franchise business?
Persistence is crucial in anything you do. In any biography, there’s a turning point before everything falls into place. The determination to make it work is vital. We provide tools, systems, and support, but success requires energy and effort from the franchisee. Franchising is a fair business model—you get out what you put in. Additionally, a proven model is essential. Look at what’s gone before. A franchise that’s been around for a long time shows its stability. We’ve been around for 30 years and have over 200 franchise partners, so the longevity of the franchise is also key.
