The National Franchise Exhibition
3 & 4 October 2008, NEC, Birmingham
Visitor success stories continued
A visit to The National Franchise Exhibition can provide you with not only new ideas for potential businesses to buy, but also a chance to meet existing franchisees and the franchise owners face to face and find out exactly what it takes to run a franchise.
Here are just a selection of the success stories for previous visitors to the exhibition.
Motivation & Co - visitor case study
Franchising provides many options for people looking to pursue a career outside of the office-based environment. As well as offering rewarding opportunities, a home-based business can also help improve work-life balance, a priority for many these days as the pressure of workloads begins to encroach on family life.
Providing one of the easiest and often most effective ways of starting and running a business from home, franchises in this sector are also flexible enough to be fitted in with personal and family commitments. With businesses ranging from health and fitness, fashion and catering to child day care and cleaning, the opportunities are endless for those looking to start out on their own.
The ideal place to find out more about the many home-based options available is at The National Franchise Exhibition, taking place at Birmingham’s NEC on 3 & 4 October 2008. As the UK’s foremost franchise exhibition, this event features a wide selection of business opportunities for anyone considering becoming their own boss.
The range of home based ventures at The National Franchise Exhibition is considerable with exhibitors including names such as Action International, CityLocal, Britnett, Maid2Clean, MiBod, New York City Nails, On My Door Step, Planet Beach, Riverford Organic Vegetables, Salad Creation, Shoes Galore, The Original Smoothie Company, Salad Creation and Tumble Tots.
One such leading franchise exhibiting in Birmingham is Motivation & Co, which provides specialist motivation and exercise classes for the elderly in nursing and residential homes as part of the recreational facilities provided for residents.
Jane Bell and Steven Proffitt didn’t need much persuasion that Motivation & Co was a great home based business opportunity after visiting The National Franchise Exhibition in October 2007. Four weeks later they were running their own business.
Steven said of his discovery of Motivation & Co: “I accidentally came across the company whilst attending The National Franchise Exhibition. After speaking to the franchisor at the show, I knew that this was something I could enjoy and do well.
“I had worked as a mental health nurse with a well-known company for nearly 20 years and I was desperate to do something different and was very interested in franchising. As a single dad, I was looking for a business that would offer me a good work-life balance as well as offering a good financial return”.
The response from the care and residential homes has already been tremendous and the pair are already looking to employ their first member of staff. Says Jane, “I have had a fantastic response from homes in the Coventry and Leicester area. I believe this is due to the impact we have on the care home managers and staff when they see residents who wouldn’t normally get involved start to take an interest and join in”.
Jane and Steven are very excited about running their own Motivation & Co franchise and are already planning to expand. Jane says, “I am a very ambitious person and want to be in a position to offer this service to every care home with in the West Midlands.”
To book tickets for The National Franchise Exhibition 2008 click here.
Dream Doors - visitor case study
With the credit crunch now taking hold and hitting the housing market hard, many people are choosing to stay in their existing properties and invest in upgrading their homes instead. As a result, companies offering home improvement and domestic maintenance are seeing a boom in interest and demand for their services, which is also helping to see them through the current economic slow down.
Franchising is no different, and with an abundance of franchised businesses on offer in the home improvement market, there has never been a better time to invest in this growing sector. Those looking for potential new business ideas should look no further than The National Franchise Exhibition at Birmingham’s NEC, on 3 & 4 October. Click here to find out more.
As the UK’s largest franchise event, there will be a diverse range of domestic service opportunities present including home and office cleaning, gardening, plumbers and electricians and home furnishings and fittings. Leading companies in this sector will be exhibiting such as Apollo Blinds, Countrywide Lawn Doctor, Dial A Rad, GreenThumb, Maid2Clean, ReactFast, Swisher and Dream Doors.
One such successful franchise attending again this year is Dream Doors, an established door replacement and bespoke kitchen and bedroom supplier.
Norfolk based Dream Doors franchisee Helen Mahon, who attended a previous National Franchise Exhibition, commented:
“We didn’t specifically set out to buy a franchise. Originally we were looking to buy an established business, probably centred on cabinet making given my husband’s experience in this sector. We knew nothing about franchising but luck (or design!) would have it that our search started just before the National Franchise Exhibition at the NEC, so we hot footed it over to Birmingham and went to all the seminars, getting information on everything we could.
“Talking to the Dream Doors team at the exhibition, we rapidly came to the conclusion that for us, with no previous knowledge of running our own business, franchising seemed to make perfect sense. It was a more secure way of starting our own business as it was a recipe that had already worked elsewhere and we would have all the support from head office as well as other franchisees within the network. The more we found out the more it seemed the right choice for us.
“As well as talking to Dream Doors we also talked to many other exhibitors covering a huge range of different franchises, as we didn’t want to go rushing in with our first choice. However with my husband’s background in cabinet making, the kitchen companies seemed more in line with our original plans.”
A few months after having met with the Dream Doors team Helen and her husband set up the Norfolk franchise.
Helen commented: “We are now just about to move into our first showroom, as the business has rather taken over our home. The showroom will move the business to another level. Within a few years we then hope to open a second satellite showroom elsewhere within Norfolk to tap into geographical areas we have only briefly touched on so far.”
The National Franchise Exhibition 2008 takes place 3 & 4 October at the NEC. Click here to book tickets.
Subway - visitor case study
Food and beverage based businesses appeal to thousands of budding entrepreneurs every year, but with such a vast array of opportunities and choices, more often than not the problem is where to start! One solution is clear, considering a franchise food business offers a ready made, proven business model, to remove the uncertainties involved in starting a new business.
The perfect place to research the available franchises is at The National Franchise Exhibition on 3 & 4 October at Birmingham’s NEC. As the largest dedicated franchise exhibition in the country, this year’s event will showcase numerous leading food, drink and catering businesses such as Canas y Tapas, Wimpy, Confiserie Leonidas, Papa John’s, BB’s Coffee & Muffins, The Original Smoothie Company, Tiffinbites, Riverford Organic Vegetables, Salad Creation and Subway (click here for exhibitor list).
James Fleck, a Subway franchisee, first visited The National Franchise Exhibition in October 1998 and has returned every year.
“I was attracted to The National Franchise Exhibition in Birmingham because it is recognised as the largest franchise exhibition in the country, with top UK and international franchise brands.
“Prior to visiting the exhibition for the first time, I had watched the successful growth of the Subway chain across North America and felt that it was bound to become a brand leader in the sandwich franchise market in the UK and Ireland. So, when I attended the exhibition I visited the Subway chain’s stand and met representatives who explained the business opportunity to me in more detail.”
James opened his first Subway store in 1999 and now has 51 stores throughout Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
“Being a Subway store franchisee is great for many different types of entrepreneurs; this is because the Subway chain can provide as much or as little assistance as required, depending on the prospective franchisee’s personal business experience.”
For entrepreneurs considering investing in a business, The National Franchise Exhibition presents the ideal chance to meet with experts, including established franchisees such as James Fleck, and discuss the intricacies of franchising. Visitors are presented with the opportunity to assess the benefits of running their own business for themselves.
The National Franchise Exhibition incorporating the Growing Your Own Business Exhibition & Conference is open from 10am each day, closing at 5pm on Friday 3 October and 4pm on Saturday 4 October. To book tickets click here.
Lasertech - visitor case study
Whether it is printer cartridges, photocopying services, IT provision, food and beverage supplies or commercial cleaning, the number of goods and services that offices require on a day to day basis is now more diverse than ever before. With such a range of needs, the business services market is highly profitable, with opportunities in the franchise sector being no exception.
Regardless of background, an office service franchise presents anyone who has dreamt of becoming their own boss with a fantastic opportunity, as often no specific set of skills are required other than enthusiasm, hard work and a commitment to the new business. In addition, a franchise presents many advantages over starting out on your own, as the existing, structured business model can help remove the uncertainties commonly faced by new companies, and offer an invaluable support network.
With so many options available, a visit to The National Franchise Exhibition, taking place on 3 and 4 October at the NEC, Birmingham, is the perfect starting point for learning about the industry and the business services sector. The exhibition, with its variety of franchises on show, not only offers visitors the chance to discover new ideas, but also enables them to find out about the realities of running a franchise from both owners and existing franchisees alike.
The event will showcase a number of exciting business services franchises from companies such as Cartridge World, Fastway Couriers, Lasertech, Mail Boxes Etc, Pitman Training Group, Prontaprint, Fastsigns and Signs Express.
Previous visitors have found their time at the event a rewarding and valuable experience, and led to them investing in one of the franchises they met at the exhibition. Mark Wallington was one such person who became a franchisee after visiting The National Franchise Exhibition, where he met Lasertech for the first time.
Lasertech is a van based management franchise supplying small to medium sized businesses with both Lasertech branded cartridges and brands such as HP, Epson and Canon. Franchisees also supply stationery via an exclusive partnership with Spicers. This allows franchisees to be a full office solution to their customers needs.
Initially it was the exhibition stand that attracted Mark to find out more about Lasertech. Mark explains: “The stand was really bright, colourful and well presented, it really caught my eye through the crowds of people.”
He continues: “On the stand I met the key members of the Lasertech franchise team. They explained all about the Lasertech franchise opportunity and, from this first meeting, I knew this was the right business for me. Printer cartridges and office products are a necessity product, that every office uses and with Lasertech manufacturing the Lasertech brand cartridges, I could supply my potential customers at a cost saving.”
Mark was delighted to hear that the already successful Wigan and Bolton territory where he lived was up for resale, which meant he would have an existing customer base from day one, rather than starting from scratch!
Following a number of meetings with Lasertech UK in Warrington Cheshire and as well as meeting a number of current franchisees, Mark put in an offer for Lasertech Wigan and Bolton which, to his delight, was accepted.
After completing this initial training, Mark took over Lasertech Wigan and Bolton and after a year trading Mark is already excited about introducing Lasertech’s print management product to win larger customers in his territory.
