Posted:13-January-2021
Interview with bfa Franchisee of the Year Finalist, Andy Mee, Business Doctors
When did you become a Business Doctor?
I became the Business Doctor for the North Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire regions seven years ago, back in May 2014.
What did you do previously?
I am a qualified accountant who moved into general management shortly after doing an MBA. I have run businesses in corporate, private equity, and family-owned environments. Just a selection of my previous experiences include;
- Finance Director at Compass UK, where I provided leadership to the finance team.
- Managing Director for Selecta UK
- Managing Director at American Dry Cleaning
Why did you decide to buy a franchise?
Having left corporate life, I wanted to see if I could set up a business on my own. Having looked into it, I felt a franchise business was the lowest risk and came across Business Doctors when doing my research.
What do you enjoy most about being a Business Doctor?
You can make a real difference to your client’s business. What we do isn’t rocket science, however, most business owners don’t have the inclination, time, or skill set to do what they know needs doing. That is where we step in – our strapline “we don’t just coach we get on the pitch” really sums up our approach. We roll our sleeves up and help clients make real progress in their business. The positive feedback we get from our clients is what makes the job so worthwhile.
What would you say to someone considering a BD franchise?
It is a great way of creating your own business but with a safety net. It’s hard work as is any business start-up, however, there is immense personal satisfaction in creating a successful business. Opportunities also present themselves over and above the traditional Business Doctors approach which might lead to formal nonexec roles or investment opportunities.
Briefly describe one of your most successful and rewarding projects
MotorDocs, an automotive digital software company was a fledgling venture in need of guidance when I was introduced to the business owner Ritchie Kelk six years ago.
The business was centered around Ritchie’s soon-to-be-launched revolutionary electronic deal file platform – iDealFile, specifically designed for use in the automotive dealer sector. The product enables car dealerships to move away from traditional unsecured manual paper-based document processes to a secure digital document system. Ultimately, the software was developed to make car sales much more efficient and auditable whilst also significantly reducing paper, storage, and retrieval costs and improving sales productivity.
Over the course of the last six years, I have gone from being Ritchie’s business coach to an investor, to then finally running the day-to-day activities as Managing Director. During this time we have :
- Built the fledgling business into a multi-million annual revenue company with our software installed in over 600 locations.
- Raised finance to accelerate the growth of the business and fund product development.
- Developed a suite of software products to eliminate paper processes within a car dealership.
- Won an industry award – Motor Trader IT Innovation of the Year 2019.
- Built a high-performing team centered around the values and behaviours that underpinned the culture of the business.
- Sold the business for a multi-million-pound value to a strategic buyer in June 2021.
How would you summarise this experience?
This was initially a classic Business Doctors client relationship which developed into a productive and highly enjoyable deep working relationship and ultimately a very beneficial exit.
Interested and want to know more about Business Doctors?
The Business Doctors basic profile outlines aspects of their franchise opportunity
