Like many great businesses, the Countrywide Signs franchise is founded on a simple idea: filling a gap in the market with a much-needed service. Naturally, there’s a lot more complexity under the bonnet with a nationwide franchise like this, but even so, when you look at what they offer, and how much potential their market has, many people think:

“This is a great business idea. So why would I join a franchise and pay a fee when I could just start my own signs company independently and keep everything I earn?”

It’s a question that comes up regularly, and understandably so. The honest answer? You absolutely can, and nobody would stop you!

You could get a van and start approaching estate agents about offering your own service; after all, that’s exactly how Countrywide Signs got started. BUT… that was 25 years ago and they’ve spent all that time perfecting exactly what they do, how they do it, and replicated it across dozens of locations across the UK. They’ve already been through all the ups and downs that new businesses face and learnt how to overcome all the obstacles and challenges thrown at them.

However, there is another very good reason why most people who go down that road either struggle to build any real momentum, or find themselves out of business within a few years…

The 60% of the market you can’t reach as an independent

That’s the proportion of income that Countrywide Signs franchisees enjoy as a result of national and regional accounts the brand has worked hard to build up over the last few decades. Ongoing relationships with major UK brands such as Purple Bricks which are the result of 25+ years of reputation building and service delivery.

These are contracts with major estate agency groups and national brands that an independent operator simply cannot compete for in any realistic sense, because those organisations want to work with a supplier who can service their branches consistently across the country.

In many areas, that adds up to as much as £4k a month in revenue. Go independent, and that 60% of the market is effectively closed off.

Sure, you could still tap into that other 40% and make an ‘OK living’ from it – eventually – but how long is that going to take? Months, years? Most new businesses take two to three years to reach a point where the income is genuinely comfortable, and that’s assuming everything goes reasonably well. An independent operator in this sector would likely be at the lower end of what’s achievable for quite some time before the business really gets going.