Franchise Company: Dream Doors Ltd
Franchisees: Chris and Mags Jones
Franchise Territory: Peterborough
“This business is as recession proof as it gets… I genuinely didn’t appreciate how well it would work in this economic climate.” Chris Jones, Dream Doors Peterborough
Chris Jones, and his wife, Mags, bought the Dream Doors franchise covering the Peterborough area in October last year. On 1st August 2009 they opened the doors to their showroom in St Ives, just outside Huntingdon, to a flood of interest from the local community.
Says Chris: “We advertised heavily in the lead up to August, and were being asked for weeks before the showroom opened, ‘when can we come and see you, when will you open?’ People weren’t actually banging down the doors, but it felt a little like that – we took 44 appointments on the first day – and that’s a Dream Doors record.
I’ve been flat out since then, and have been going out on three appointments almost every day. My conversion rate has been as high as 55 percent and I’m thinking about bringing in some help as the business has already become too big for just the two of us. Thankfully we have a great deal of support from head office and, in the day-to-day running of the business, from our Franchise Manager, Deena Garside.
I have to credit Dream Doors for the training and support, which has been excellent. And Managing Director, Troy Tappenden’s enthusiasm is infectious. He’s very focused, and always willing to listen, to offer advice and try new things to help grow the brand. In the last year alone Dream Doors has invested heavily in advertising on television, introduced new finance and sales training courses, plus organised regular ‘best practice’ days where we get to network and learn from our more established peers.
The selling side of this business has actually surprised me. It hasn’t been as difficult as I first thought, especially when you consider that I’ve never worked in sales. I think that this business is as recession proof as it gets. I’m glad I went against the better advice of my friends who were very nervous about the economy. I bought a franchise even though I genuinely didn’t appreciate how well it would work in this economic climate – and it works.
We’re now getting more referrals, and last week when I went to collect a cheque from a customer, he told me to go and talk to his neighbour across the road. He wouldn’t tell me why, and at first I thought it might be a complaint about how the van was parked! She invited me in and, when I asked how I could help, she told me she wanted the same kitchen as her neighbour. I quoted for it there and then, on the night, and sold the job for around £4,500. Now that’s what I call keeping up with the Joneses!
Our sales in the first six months were more than £100,000, and we’re on target to smash through quarter-of-a-million pounds in our first year. I’ve got another couple of orders to finalise this week and we’ll have achieved £100,000 in the first two months since the showroom opened. At this rate, we will recoup our total financial investment next year, which is pretty good for a retail business in any economic circumstances, especially considering the showroom cost us the best part of £20,000.
I wasn’t naive coming into this, and I know running a business isn’t easy, but we definitely made the right decision. I get so much satisfaction from seeing a job through from start to finish. And the reaction from customers at the end is phenomenal.”
Says Mags: “The support and training from Dream Doors has been superb right from the start, and the week’s induction was essential. The sales training we had at Head Office was amazing, and really valuable, because neither of us had any experience in sales. It was a lot to take in at the beginning, and I felt a little out of my depth. But I’ve surprised myself at how much I did take in, and which elements of the training I’m now using every day.
We can phone or email our franchise manager, Deena, at any time, and I’m no longer surprised to get an answer straightaway even when I’ve sent her an email late at night or over the weekend. She’s pitched in to help us out on a number of occasions. Having someone like Deena, who really knows her stuff, is so important to us because we knew absolutely nothing about the kitchen industry before we started this business.
We have a family franchise here – our son James is one of the kitchen fitters – which is exactly what we wanted. It has been hard work, especially because at the same time as running the business I’ve been completing a degree in social work, but I wouldn’t change a thing. And, although I planned to go back into social work part-time next year, I don’t think that will be possible now, not unless we start recruiting staff. This business has grown quicker than we’d anticipated, and I’m not sure I’m ready to pass over the reigns to someone else just yet. The showroom is my baby after all, and I’m just enjoying myself too much.
None of this would be possible without the help of Dream Doors. We knew this business would be great the first moment we walked into the head offices in Gosport and met the team. We had a really good feeling, we get on well with everyone here, and our dream of running our own business has now come true.”
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