“I had a desire to run my own business on an established model. I wanted to become master of my own destiny rather than to work for an organisation (or perhaps even a type of organisation) for which I had lost respect.”

 

“I liked the business model. It bore some relationship to my most recent role in employed life. Before taking redundancy, I was involved in a global telecoms outsourcing arrangement so I feel comfortable in the areas of IT and communications. Very significantly, I liked the people I met instinctively and immediately trusted them. “

 

“Through personal funding.”

 

“Even better than I had anticipated. The training encompassed client acquisition and management, professional marketing and technical training for our areas of operation.”

 

“Organising my time. You must learn to make time, and plan to wear those hats that in a larger company would be worn by different people – MD, Sales, Finance, and Operations etc…! Both the franchisor and the Auditel network helped enormously in this area. Also there is a time lag between completing assignments and receiving fees so you have to build your business plan accordingly.”

 

“Decide which type of franchise would suit you. Research these sectors. Identify a number of franchisors and ‘interview’ them. Assess style, ethics, and personal chemistry, ie could I fit into their network? Take up references from existing franchisees. Build an honest business plan and then critique it and probably reduce your expectations. How much effort will it require? Can you afford the costs until they begin to reap rewards in income? Talk it through with your accountant, maybe work colleagues and especially your family – get their buy-in.”

 

“I have twenty-nine clients, which is ahead of plan. Turnover is just about on target, showing that some (too many) of these clients are not good enough! I treat this as a learning curve – must do better next year!”

 

“To grow significantly and quickly but against set targets, taking into account the ability to manage the growth. Will I need joint ventures with other franchisees? Will I need telemarketing? I plan to employ my wife significantly in market research, data-entry and admin/book-keeping roles. At some point, I may consider employing staff. My Auditel franchise allows me to put one more person through training at no extra cost. On a personal level, as I live in Llanelli, I enjoy following rugby, in particular the Scarlets. When time allows I play golf!”