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Posted:23-September-2016

Hear real life franchisee stories at Birmingham's NEC franchise exhibition this Autumn

whichfranchise is delighted to once again be sponsoring the ‘Real Franchise Stories’ panels, the next of which is at the British Franchise Exhibition in Birmingham NEC on the 30th of September to the 1st of October 2016.

At whichfranchise we are passionate about helping you to decide if franchising is right for you, so what better way to do this than hearing first-hand from real-life franchisees about their journey into franchising.

What is it really like to run a franchise? Has it changed their lives for the better? What might they have done differently with hind sight? Come along to the franchisee panels on each day of the exhibition and hear the answers to these and many other questions, as well as having the opportunity to pose your questions to franchisees.

 

Panelists at the forthcoming exhibition will include:

Theatre 1: Friday, 30th of September 13.15 - 14.00

Franchise Company
Expense Reduction Analysts
Driver Hire
Right at Home

Theatre 2: Friday, 30th of September 15.15 - 16.00

Franchise Company
Auditel
Aspray
Promedica24

 

Theatre 1: Saturday, 1st of October, 11.45 - 12.30

Franchise Company 
Esquires Coffee
Bluebird Care
Tutor Doctor

Theatre 2: Saturday, 1st of October, 15.15 - 16.00

Franchise Company 
The Creation Station
Signarama
Safeclean

*Please note that the speakers may be subject to change.

 

Speaker Biographies

Tony Lucas – Driver Hire

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaTony and his wife, Linda, purchased Driver Hire’s Coventry franchise as a resale business in 2011. Prior to joining Driver Hire, Tony’s career has included over 20 years working with NatWest in a variety of front line and support roles, being the finance director of a start-up company and director at a local business support organisation.

With a background in the service industry Tony saw how his skill set could match the business needs of running a Driver Hire franchise where providing a high level of customer service is essential.

John Houghton – Right at Home

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaJohn Houghton is Owner and MD of Right at Home Derby. As Right at Home's tenth franchisee, he has now been trading for four years and as well as enabling seniors to enjoy prolonged independence, has achieved amazing outcomes for adults with learning disabilities and challenging behaviours.

Before he joined Right at Home UK John was a key figure at Enterprise UK, progressing from one of the first employees to branch, area and regional manager and finally to Group Rental Director, a post he held for seven years. A father of five, John is a local parish councillor who supports a number of community initiatives and is an independent consultant to the SME sector.

Paul Foster – Auditel

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaPrior to joining Auditel in 2011, Paul Foster had over 25 years’ experience in supply chain management, business and marketing communication. He worked with some of the UK’s leading companies such as Barclays, HSBC and J Sainsbury, managing relationships at all levels up to board room.

Over the past six years, as an Auditel consultant, Paul feels he has gained so much new knowledge and experience. Having access to industry leading tools and a network of 200 consultants, as well as an unrivalled knowledge base, has proved invaluable to him.

Alan Barker – Aspray

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaAlan’s extensive property knowledge provided him with the foundations to become a successful Aspray franchisee, when he joined back in 2008.towards the Aspray opportunity when he decided he “wanted to help people who were not in the position to help themselves” and was very happy with the business model that was presented to him at Aspray.

Alan explained that the “problem solving and negotiation skills” he had gained throughout his business development experience have significantly helped him achieve the success he has had as an Aspray franchisee.

Mira Balac - Promedica24

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaMira Balac is the regional franchise partner for Promedica24 in South Warwickshire and North Gloucestershire. Mira is a brand new franchisee, having completed her intensive training days in Poland and the UK in August 2016.

Using the powerful combination of her local knowledge and the training and guidance provided by Promedica24 head office, Mira has already built the foundations for a solid network in her area and formed key relationships which will ensure she has the stepping stones in place to provide live-in care contracts in the very near future.

Steven Prime - Esquires Coffee

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaSteven Prime is the franchise owner of the two Esquires Coffee houses in Coventry city centre. After studying Business Studies at the University of Sheffield, Steven began searching for a coffee franchise at the tender age of 21.

Steven opened his first Esquires Coffee franchise at Coventry Transport Museum in 2008 at the age of 23. He has since reinvested his profits into opening his second store in Coventry West Orchards shopping centre in 2015. Steven has also won the BFA’s prestigious ‘Young Franchisee of the Year’ in 2013.

Lorraine Gannon - Expense Reduction Analysts

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaLorraine Gannon has been running her Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA) franchise since 2011. After just five years she is one of the network’s top performing franchisees and was recently voted ‘Consultant of the Year’ by her fellow franchisees for her contribution to the network; as an expert, a mentor for new franchisees, a valued colleague and friend.

Prior to becoming an ERA franchisee, Lorraine had an impressive career as a qualified accountant. Her 18 years’ experience spanned both corporate and public sectors as well as a period of being co-owner and financial director of a chain of hotels and restaurants.

Claire Darnley - The Creation Station

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaPrior to joining Creation Station, Claire worked in event management, but when she became a mum her priorities changed and she wanted to be in control of her own working hours and gain more flexibility.

Claire has now been running her franchise for almost 3 years and she loves having her own business and being in charge of her own future. She loves knowing that there are so many revenue streams and avenues which she hasn’t yet explored and is excited that her business can grow with her and her family at a pace which suits everyone!

Ian Helsby - Bluebird Care

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaPrior to becoming a Bluebird Care franchisee, Ian had worked in advertising and marketing for over 30 years, and like most people, he didn’t know what ‘care’ involved until his mother and father were both diagnosed with terminal cancer and he felt largely disappointed with the care they had both received.

When the cut and thrust of advertising lost its appeal, Ian wanted to pursue a more rewarding and worthwhile career, so he sold up and invested every penny in setting up Bluebird Care Trafford in 2011. Since then he hasn’t looked back and, along with his team, is determined to give his customers the best care at home available – the sort of care he wanted for his parents. This year he was chose as the overall national Bluebird Care Business of the Year 2016, out of over 200 offices across the UK.

Stephen and Beverley Beaumont - Tutor Doctor

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaStephen and Beverley own Tutor Doctor Manchester, and have been with Tutor Doctor for a year. This husband and wife duo embraced Tutor Doctor’s business and have grown their franchise to over 100 customers in their first year.

Tutor Doctor's approach to education enables students of any age to get help with any subject - whether they require remedial attention or academic enrichment.

Martin Jordan - Safeclean

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaMartin is one of Safeclean’s most successful franchisees who has now gone on to purchase 3 neighbouring territories around the Derby area. He employs technicians to carry out the main physical work while he takes a more managerial role of the franchise.

He also works in a husband and wife partnership, in which his wife takes care of lots of the administration side of the business. Martin has recently won Safeclean’s Franchisee of the Year award and is very supportive of growing the network and implementing new innovations to help franchisees, and he also mentors new franchisees.

Tracy Clark – Signarama

NEC Birmingham Franchise Exhibition Business Opportunity Franchisee Panel Success Stories Case studies bfaTracy Clark established Signarama Milton Keynes eleven years ago and runs the sign centre and consultancy with her partner in business and life Martin Varney.

Before buying the franchise she spent over 20 years in business to business roles working for companies including Royal Mail where she manged events and exhibitions. She gained experience in marketing communications, pre-press, project management and customer relationship management, all skills which she has put to good use at Signarama.

Signarama Milton Keynes is now well established within the business community with a loyal customer base. The profitable signage consultancy business has been built on principles of robust financial management and delivering high levels of customer service.

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