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“Get advice from someone already doing the business you’re doing” Abbie Akinfenwa, franchisee at Pink Spaghetti The biggest challenge I’ve faced has been when a client hasn’t paid me. I never recovered the money but put a process in place to prevent that from happening again. I don’t think being a woman has been a factor that’s affected my experience as a franchisee. People need things done and as long as they’re done to the timeline and quality expected, most do not care one way or the other. So far, the proudest moment in my business has been reaching the end of my first year. I never thought I’d be able to it, so that was a highlight for me. Now, my career aspirations are to continue growing my business organically and developing other means of passive income. If you’re a franchisee starting out, I would suggest getting advice from someone already doing the business you’re aiming to do. “Do your due diligence” Jane Hotz, franchisee at The Cat Butler Radlett This is my first experience as a franchisee, having come out of the corporate retail world, which I spent 36 years in. I’m discovering the benefits of being a franchisee. Make sure that the franchise you want to buy is going to give you the long term success, and the long term satisfaction that you’re looking for in your next career move. If there’s one part of the business that isn’t your passion, it’s not going to work. Also, do your due diligence and don’t rush the decision. Make sure you’ve looked at every aspect of the business: the owner of the franchise, how much support you’ll get, and the financials. Talk to other franchisees within the franchise so that you can get their honest opinion of how the business operates. Finally, just go for it, follow your gut, follow your passion, and it will be the best decision you’ll make. “Seek opportunities out” Claire Rushton-Plant, franchisee at MiniMe Mindfulness, Staffordshire and Derbyshire I think like many women, the impact of having children on my career has been immense. This is why I’ve moved to running my own business, allowing me some flexibility to support my children. My biggest challenge has been the steep learning curve when it comes to the business side of things. I left a career in teaching after almost 20 years in the classroom so delivering sessions to children, their families, and schools comes as second nature to me. However, tax, social media, and invoicing have been new skills I’ve needed to learn. I think until you get that first booking you’ll always have a little voice of doubt that will question whether you’ve made the right choice. Don’t sit and wait for opportunities to come to you, seek opportunities out. Yet at the same time be patient with your progress. It will take time to make connections, raise your profile, and build your client portfolio. “You never know what you’ll achieve unless you take the leap” RosWiggins, franchisee at Didi Rugby, Stone & Stafford Finding coaches who can lead sessions and also be the face of the brand can be challenging because it’s 100% personality-based and can’t really be taught (or not easily in my experience). I play a lot by the ‘monkey see, monkey do’ school of teaching, so I try to model the behaviour I want to see from my coaches and follow this up with feedback and suggestions. My proudest moment has been hitting the £2000 per month revenue mark. This was a real step up for me as a sole franchisee and head coach. It means that my customers believe in what I do and are on the journey with me. Being able to grow the business has enabled me to swap working full time and doing Didi Rugby on the side, to focusing on the brand full time and expand even further. You never know what you’ll achieve unless you take the leap. With franchising, you’ve got a team behind you to help and support, they don’t succeed without you, so they’re as invested as you are. INS IGHT 42 WHAT FRANCHISE | ISSUE 19.3