What-Franchise-Issue-20.1

Starting a business on a small budget ne of the great things about franchising is that anyone can enter the arena, at any price point. Got a cool £250,000 to invest in a high-street brand? No problem, coffee or burgers? Looking to invest your sizeable redundancy payment? Here are 50 brands with a nice mid-range price point to suit. Not got two beans to rub together but have a passion and fire to build your own business? We’ve got you. Nic Chaviaris and Matthew Nutting are perfect examples of two men who were not going to let lack of finances stand in their way and we hope their stories will inspire you to investigate the possibilities awaiting you through franchising. BUSINESS WITH A COMPETITIVE EDGE Nic Chaviaris, now aged 42, moved to the UK from Greece at the age of 14, meaning a change of schools, friends, and learning a new language. His history in competitive sport is integral to the current success of his business. At the age of five his parents started him swimming and he swam competitively on both national and international levels until he went to university. Sadly, the strict routine of 4am get ups, two hours of training before school, two hours after school and seemingly non-stop competitive events took their toll, and he gave up swimming, despising the sport. He still finds it hard to enjoy swimming but has replaced it with competing in the GB Master’s Basketball team, playing all over the world and building a full-sized basketball court in his garden. JUNIOR MEMBER OF STAFF In 2007, at the age of 24 Nic got a job at temporary driver recruitment agency, Driver Hire in Gatwick, one of the branches owned by head office. He was a junior member of the team, carrying the title of ‘Recruitment Consultant’ and earning £16,000 a year (which he naturally negotiated up from £13,000). UNEXPECTED PROMOTION A fewmonths after he joined, the branch manager announced he was leaving to buy his own Driver Hire franchise, leaving Nic and one other employee to run the branch. Although Nic had the support of head office and was promoted to branch manager with an intensive training period, he was still very much running the business alone and had to learn fast. AMBITIOUS JOINT VENTURE Two years later, in 2009, Nic approached Driver Hire to ask if they would consider doing a joint venture, to allow him buy the Gatwick franchise. They agreed, leaving Nic with the task of finding £10,000 to fund his half of the venture. “I sold cars and anything I could to raise the money,” says Nic. Money raised, O The BFA explains how franchising can enable multi-million-pound turnovers, even if you start off on a shoestring “I think you learn through failure. Yes, it’s painful but you only learn through trying. I like a life that is target-driven” Nic Chaviaris, owner of Driver Hire, Gatwick 79 WHAT-FRANCHISE.COM BFA