Name: Clif Roberson
Location: Pontypridd
Franchise: Papa John’s
Date launched the franchise: 2015

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you were doing prior to buying your Papa John’s franchise business?

I attended Cyfarthfa High School in Wales and have been great mates with John O’Brien ever since! Last year we decided to start a joint business and franchising seemed like a good way forwards. John was formerly a maths teacher and his son used to work for a rival pizza firm plus he loves pizza, so a little homework led us to discover Papa John’s and we found the numbers added up!

Previously, I worked in franchising for around ten years running sandwich bars after a brief spell trying to go it alone, I knew franchising was a better way forward. So, we began by opening our Papa John’s stores in Cwmbran and Merthyr Tydfil and have recently opened in Pontypridd.

Why did you go down the franchise route? And why did you choose Papa John’s?

Papa John's is one of the largest pizza companies in the world and has opportunities for franchisees throughout the UK. Franchising offers support when starting up and that was attractive to us. For example: Papa John’s is currently running an incentive scheme to help franchisees in the early stages of growing their businesses which includes discounted royalty fees, contribution towards marketing spend plus free equipment for new stores. This helped get us off to a great start!

Also the company’s focus on freshness and quality is compelling. Papa John’s concept of: “Better Ingredients, Better Pizza” concept combined with excellent customer service and rapid delivery times has contributed to Papa John’s recently being named as the UK National Pizza Delivery Chain for the sixth time. We wanted a slice of that action!

How did you raise the finance?

Through a mixture of private funds and a bank loan from HSBC’s franchising department. HSBC were really helpful. The staff know Papa John’s well and understand the business model. They have worked with many Papa John’s franchisees and so securing funds was a straight forward process.

What training and support did you receive initially and ongoing?

We attended Papa John’s HQ for training and we are supported on an ongoing basis by head office staff. Our own store staff are trained by us and also through an online modular system designed by Papa John’s which ensures they have all the necessary skills be serve up our great pizza every day!

What is a typical day for you as a Papa John’s franchisee?

We are still in ‘expansion’ mode so we are careful to analyse customer feedback to we can see how to improve our service further. We spend time making sure our stores are all ok and ready for the day’s trading. We have on-site managers, so really we are just checking everything is up to our high operational standards and overseeing the stores.

What challenges have you faced?

The main challenge has been to find really good locations for stores. We really took our time over this and it’s paid off. The more unexpected challenge was managing demand for pizza – we have been surprised by the level of custom which far exceeded our expectations. We needed to get staff up to speed rapidly to cope! However, this was a good challenge to face!

Has becoming a Papa John's franchisee changed your life, if so how?

I worked in franchising for a decade before joining Papa John’s. However, the move has given me greater flexibility. I am now my own boss in a thriving business, under the umbrella of Papa John’s. It is very rewarding developing the stores and providing jobs for local people.

What is the most invaluable piece of advice you could give someone looking to buy their first franchise?

Do your homework and due diligence! Speak to franchisees to see what the job really entails.

In your opinion, what makes a successful franchisee?

A dedicated hard worker who has some funding to purchase a good franchised business. You can only be as good as the product you sell and that has to have demand in the market place to succeed.

What are your plans for the future?

So far, we have all been surprised and delighted by the popularity of new our stores, which have already doubled original forecasts, seeing strong repeat business. We have plans to open two further Welsh Papa John’s this autumn!

Would you do it again?

We are doing it again! We plan to open a further five stores within the next 12 months!