Lifetime ambition achieved with a franchise

From a young age, Raji Kaur Garawal had her sights set on being her own boss. Having been brought up in the family business in Leeds, the idea of being an entrepreneur had always appealed.

After equipping herself with a university degree in accountancy, Raji boldly set up her own business at the age of 21. It did not take very long, however, for Raji to realise she just did not have enough knowledge or experience to run a business on her own, and she closed her fledgling company.

With a view to gaining the right experience and skills to run her own business in the future, Raji headed to the world of employment in the corporate sector.

Joining a global vehicle rental business in the late nineties, Raji quickly worked her way up the ranks to a senior management position. She comments:

“I’d aimed to be an employee for just a couple of years, but two years somehow turned into 20! Being part of an ever-more successful company took me on a fantastic journey, and I’m proud of my achievements within that firm, but the dream of having my own business never left me.”

Catalyst for change

The departure in early 2017 of the company’s managing director, to whom Raji reported directly, gave Raji cause for reflection.

“Seeing my boss move on made me review my own situation,” she comments. “By now I was in my early forties, my children were less dependent on me, and I realised I didn’t want to reach my sixties without achieving the goal I’d set for myself all those years ago!”

Why franchising?

With a fresh focus, Raji began to examine what sort of business would allow her to meet her ambitions.

“Franchising immediately appealed over going it alone. Having seen the power of a successful brand in my time in employment, I liked the idea of being part of an established name and leveraging the proven business model and support offered by the franchisor.

“It was clear franchising would accelerate my path to being my own boss, and that it would mitigate many of the risks I’d previously faced.”

Raji’s research into franchising began online, making the most of the websites offering independent advice, as well as those of the franchise brands themselves. She even attended a discovery day with a retail food franchisor.

Why ActionCOACH?

In June 2017, Raji attended The British Franchise Exhibition in Manchester in order to gain face-to-face advice and to meet directly with franchise brands. By this stage she knew she wanted a management franchise.
With her corporate business background, something offering a business-to-business service appealed, but Raji walked into the exhibition with a completely open mind.

“I was keeping all my options open and I looked at businesses in several sectors as I walked around. Honestly, I’d never come across business coaching, but it was one of the useful free seminars I attended that drew my attention to it. James Vincent, UK Performance Manager at ActionCOACH, gave an excellent presentation in which he explained what ActionCOACH was all about.”

“I realised it was the type of business which would let me help people and make a difference to their lives. I’d always taken on a mentoring role in my job – I got huge satisfaction from supporting co-workers and as a graduate mentor – and I realised business coaching would let me do that every day!”

“I headed to the ActionCOACH stand to follow up. This was immensely useful as I could get a real feel for the company ethos and the people behind it. I could see a clear affinity between our aims and working styles.” 

Raji continued exploring the exhibition and approached other business-to-business brands. She says: “I left the event with two carrier bags full of information and went through it all at home, carrying on my research.”

Time to make the leap

ActionCOACH had made a strong impression, however, and Raji booked herself into a discovery day with the company. She met more of the team, and was further struck by the positive energy of the organisation.

“I went on that discovery day still with an open mind and no commitment to ActionCOACH, but by the end of the day I was convinced they were the right business for me.”

In August, Raji paid her deposit to secure her franchise and continued her due diligence, speaking with already operational ActionCOACH franchisees and running through the numbers. Left in no doubt this was the path she wanted to pursue, Raji handed in her notice to her employer of twenty years.

“That was a milestone moment for me,” comments Raji. “I’d spent half my life with that company, so it was emotional leaving, but I knew it was time to run my own business.”

Ambition fulfilled

By the end of November, Raji was free to pursue her business with ActionCOACH. A serious hand injury meant that she had to postpone her training until February. She benefited from a total of ten days’ training at ActionCOACH’s head office, as well as support ‘on the job.’

Raji is approaching the end of her second month as an ActionCOACH franchisee and as her own boss.

“I’m really enjoying my new business. An early highlight was securing my first client just six days after I’d completed my training, but every day I find something I enjoy.”

“I love meeting lots of amazing people through the networking that I do to build my pipeline – I attend around four networking events per week as I raise awareness of my services. I’m exposed to such a variety of different businesses and sectors now, and I love being able to share advice as I build connections. I am very confident that I have some fantastic clients lined-up for the future.”

“One of the biggest differences is that I am in total control of my work diary – it’s amazing! My children are seven and nine and have busy schedules. I can manage my work hours around school assemblies, swimming galas and all my son’s football training. I also run the family business with my dad.”

“I’m completely autonomous over my own time. The flexibility that being my own boss offers me is invaluable. Life is good!” 

ActionCOACH is the world’s number one business coaching team, with more than 150 offices across the UK. 

Find out more about the upcoming Franchise Exhibitions held in exclusive partnership with the British Franchise Association, and book your free tickets today using promo code DIA1 at FranchiseInfo.co.uk.