John Murray
Cash Generator
Airdrie

Why I chose franchising

I had always felt that if I were ever to achieve the level of success I wanted it would have to be working for myself. I chose the franchising route as I was totally blown over by the CASH GENERATOR concept. It was the first time I had seen anything like it.

What I did before taking up a franchise

Prior to starting with CASH GENERATOR I served 23 years in HM Forces, Royal Engineers. I served in UK, Northern Ireland, Berlin, Falkland Islands, Cyprus, Bosnia and Iraq. I thoroughly enjoyed my army career and believe it gave me a fantastic grounding in the management skills I now use on a daily basis.

How I raised the finance

Finance was a problem for me. I used the lump sum I received from the Army plus all my savings (and some of my parents!). The bank granted me a business loan but I was still short. The Franchisor, Brian Lewis, came to my aid and loaned me the shortfall (not the norm). This gave me a huge boost as it showed he had total faith in his franchise and sufficient confidence in me as a prospective franchisee.

I received 8 weeks pre training that was very thorough. I also had a company Director virtually hold my hand for a week when I first opened. This was very much appreciated, as you can feel a little vulnerable in those early days. Now three years into the business I tend not to need too much in the way of support. I still benefit however from the ongoing business development as the whole company continues to grow and prosper.

The challenges I have faced

In my last post in the Army I was stationed 400 miles from where I was planning to start my new business. I left the Army on a Friday and started my training on the Monday. At the end of my training I had about five weeks to recruit and train staff as well as fit out a shop ready for opening. To top it off I planned to open just nine weeks before Christmas. It would be very easy to criticise what at first looks like poor planning on my part. In reality I had little choice as I desperately wanted this franchise but literally could not afford to take my time getting everything perfect.

You have to give credit to the concept and the support from Head Office that despite taking on the handicaps that I did, the business was still a great success even in its first year.

My advice to someone thinking of buying their first franchise

Think about where you want to be and once you've decided then ask yourself if this is the franchise that is going to get you there. It should take you a fortnight to answer that question properly

My plans for the future

I am currently actively seeking premises for my second store. I could settle back and enjoy the benefits of the one store but I have always wanted to have two (possibly three). It's good fun working in the business, but a lot more fun working on it.