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DAE 2000 Ltd
London
Rebecca Wilson
Sales Representative
Tel: 07767 226 743
Date you started the franchise: February 2000
Challenges you faced getting your franchise started: Building up a customer base. Getting to know the area. Maintaining a client database due to competition.
Successes so far: Hackney Carriages (Black Cabs) love the product and are now confident it does the job it is meant to do. This confidence has helped propel sales and new customers.
Advice to prospective franchisees: Tenacity is everything and will be just rewarded. Organisation and data-basing is a must. Customers feel like they know you if you show you know and remember about them.
Any other comments: DAE is a fantastic business opportunity for anyone who wants to be their own boss and for people who want to be master / lady of their own manor.
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Scenic Blue
Windsor, Berkshire
Rebecca Banks
Sole Proprietor
Tel: 01753 825225
Email:
Date you started the franchise: June 2000
Challenges you faced getting your franchise started: Learning new skills: book-keeping and estimating (landscape franchise)
Successes so far: Work booked for first month.
Advice to prospective franchisees: Pick something interesting that you actually have charge of. Don't pick one that is effectively a cheap way of getting another person to deliver. Get projections - talk to an accountant.
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Helen O'Grady Children's Drama Academy (Blackburn)
Blackbrn
Pam Shackleton
Principal
Tel: 01282 852209
Email:
Date you started the franchise: 18/9/00
Challenges you faced getting your franchise started: I enjoyed the challenges I met in setting up the franchise, although hard work, I felt the franchise idea that I was selling was met with enthusiasm. The advertising/marketing campaign was mostly sheer hard work but the buzz of setting up on one's own more than made up for that and I have realised that I like being in control. This compares to most of my working life being employed by someone else!
Successes so far: After my first four weeks of trading I had enrolled 190 children into the Academy. My target for the first year was 200, which we easily achieved.
Advice to prospective franchisees: It is worth putting in the extra hours in the initial few weeks but try to keep things in perspective. Too tired and success will dwindle. When really busy, try to ensure that absolute essentials are done but don't be afraid to close the office door and take time out. The two most important factors in any business are yourself and the customers and these are the two things you must look after. Evaluate your performance - in my case teaching a high energy curriculum on a daily basis, speaking to parents on the telephone, and marketing strategies - am I doing enough - what else can be done to improve. Once you start using newspapers for advertising you will be inundated with advertisers wanting your business. Make sure you know where your public are coming from so that you know the best source of advertising and don't be bamboozled into saying yes when someone rings with a last minute offer. Don't be afraid to research new ideas for marketing and above all communicate with the people who are there to help you. They have been doing this for a lot longer than you and probably have all the answers to the questions you will ask over the next months and years!
Any other comments: Although I have had a successful start to my franchise I am aware that I must not become complacent and that there is still a lot of hard work to do to maintain this initial success. I will try to keep this in mind at all times. It is important to have a life outside the franchise and to get into the habit of structuring your day just like you would if you were employed.
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