Scaling up to his fitness business.

Nate was referred to FranchisingWorks via the “Enterprising You” programme managed by the Manchester Growth Company. Nate had over 20 years of experience within the health and fitness industry; he felt he needed to take his business to the next level, but didn’t know how to do it.

Nate completed work with Vicky, receiving advice guidance and support on taking the business to the next stage, originally looking to Franchise his business, we went through all the steps of how to Franchise his business including how organically grow his Business.

Since working with FranchisingWorks, Nate decided that growing the Business organically was the right move for him and has successfully developed the business across the Greater Manchester area, taking on another 3 members of staff growing the team to 6 people. Becoming one of of the leading fitness wellness brands in the area.

Speaking with Nate, he said “when he’s making new decisions about the Business, he always thinks back to his sessions with Vicky and the advice that she gave him and takes all this into account”.

Turning a once dying empty shell of a community centre into a thriving hub of help and support.

Viv was referred to the FranchisingWorks, via one of our partners STEC.

Having worked for some many years and losing her job due to covid, Viv was in an uncertain situation.

She needed extra support to help sort other personal issues out from our partner agencies. So, our advisor suggested focussing on supporting her to get her personal issues sorted before we spoke about her business idea. Viv then attended our Workshop, completed the 4 week course, and then went on to 1-2-1 sessions.

Viv has turned a once dying empty shell of a community centre in the community of Belle Vale – one of the most deprived wards in Liverpool – back into a place of life and inclusiveness. It is now a thriving safe, warm and secure meeting place for the community. She set up a CIC which is a social supermarket & social Café, working with local partners to support the local community with programmes on food poverty, Mental health, disability groups, work, education.

Steps to running his own driving instruction business

Ste had been out of work for over 3 years after a work  accident. Whilst working on the Docks in Liverpool, he had fell and seriously injured his back. Ste was left wondering what he could do as he struggled on some days with his mobility and was still under the care of the Hospital. He would never be able to do the job he had known all his life, his injury limited him to certain jobs.

Ste initial spoke with FranchisingWorks in 2018 and signed up to the Enterprise Hub programme in May. He decided that he wanted to look at becoming a Driving instructor, which required undergoing training and getting his license.

In terms of the business, he was unsure of what steps to take, and whether to go independent or be part of a Franchise. Our team took him through the steps, he obtained his training and licenses, and then in 1-2-1 sessions we completed a survival budget, business plan, marketing plan, and cash flow projections.

With guidance from FW, Ste then met with the RED Driving School Franchise and decided this was the best route for him as he liked the benefits and support they offered new instructors. Ste successfully started with RED driving school, but he also had aspirations to eventually become and independent driving instructor. With continuing support from his business advisor Vicky, Ste successfully left RED and setup his own Driving school 2 years later. He is now one of the top rated driving instructors in the area with an A rating from the Driving Standard Agency.  

Alexis Draper- Rosemary Bookkeeping

Alexis Draper has successfully started her own bookkeeping franchise business in Northwich after a difficult scenario resulting in her being out of work for over 3 years.

Alexis brings varied and extensive experience spanning 28 years to her new business, including experience working within large organisations, a medium sized family business and small businesses in roles that have included office supervisor, company secretarial administrator, accounts clerk and running her own beauty therapy business.

Yet, despite her broad skills, Alexis found herself unemployed due to unfortunate circumstances which ended up in a very long 3 year court battle over land surrounding her house.  “The malicious nature of the dispute made me quite ill and I spent a lot of my time trying to deal with the legalities of the situation, a lot of times staying up late into the night and early hours of the morning reading through statements and legal jargon.”

Despite the difficult situation, she remained as positive and proactive as she could,  teaching herself about litigation, taking a long distance Bookkeeping Course  and completing a 2 year Beauty Course. By February 2014 she was ready to start thinking about setting up a business, and came to FranchisingWorks Find Out About Franchising workshop to explore her options. She says:

“My initial thoughts when I first went on a workshop were that this is definitely for me.   I was at a point in my life where the structure and support of a franchising business was best suited to me.  The particular franchise I chose is Rosemary Bookkeeping due to my relevant qualifications and I have always enjoyed working with numbers.  They had also already been approved by FranchisingWorks so immediately I knew that all the leg work for due diligence had been done and it would be a trustworthy business to invest in.”

With advice and support from the FranchisingWorks Business Advisor, Alexis completed months of preparation, research and planning to start her Rosemary Bookkeeping business. She secured an investment from the FranchisingWorks Licence Fund of £7,500 to help her to start up the business in Northwich, offering outsourced bookkeeping services to small businesses and accountants in the surrounding areas. Alexis comments:

“I am so pleased that I was introduced to FranchisingWorks through the Jobcentre and feel that it has turned my life around.  It gave me a very detailed insight into a world I was not familiar with.  My assigned mentor was very attentive and helpful in all aspects of the businesses I was interested in.  I was led through the whole process step by step and never felt that I was out of my depth with all the support that I was receiving. 

I think that if I had gone through this process alone and without the help of FranchisingWorks that I would have been very overwhelmed and probably not gone through with it. I feel positive and confident about my future and would never have been able to do it without FranchisingWorks.

Susan and Lewis Bannister- London House International

Susan and Lewis Banister – a couple based in Bolton – have brought together their complimentary skills to set up a private investigations business in Warrington, changing industry, career and lifestyle to make a better life for their family.

Lewis was made redundant as Susan started a new company


with strong prospects of funding opportunities and growth. As Lewis struggled to find new employment, the funding market changed and Susan’s company began to struggle. By late 2013, they both found themselves struggling to get work and support their family.

Recognising their complimentary skills and talent, Susan and Lewis began to explore options to start their own business, and were referred by their local JobCentre in Bolton in late 2013 to the FranchisingWorks programme. They attended initial introductory workshops and found out about the opportunities – and funding – available to them in franchising.

With advice and support from the FranchisingWorks Business Advisor, they identified franchise London House International (LHI) as a great fit for their complimentary skills. LHI is a specialist and reputed franchise providing financial and a commercial investigations services – from fraud investigation, to information gathering and surveillance – to blue chip companies across the UK.

Following months of preparation, research and planning and support by the  FranchisingWorks team, in April 2014 they secured an investment from the FranchisingWorks Licence Fund of £14,750+VAT to help them to start up the business for the regional area of Warrington. They launched in May ’14 and are now offering their services to companies across the Warrington area. More than that, they have an opportunity to build a fantastic new life for their family.

 “We wouldn’t be in the position of business owners without the help from FranchisingWorks. The training and support they gave us was invaluable. It is great to finally get started with our business. Although it is early days, it is going well. We successfully passed our training and are now trained investigators working in the Warrington area. We chose this particular franchise because it matched our complimentary skills and experience. We know that the success of the business will depend on our hard work but it is a wonderful feeling to be able to support the family again.” – Susan and Lewis Banister

Lewis had a successful and stable career in auditing and accounts; and Susan similarly in senior level business development and sales, until 2013 when changes in their industries affected their employment.

Jason Greer- PTC Sports

Jason Greer made the leap into self-employment by starting a franchise business in a new industry to him, Sports Coaching. Jason’s work history included various years in security and hospitality, and in late 2013 Jason took on a Business course to prepare for new tides. His previous work with young people in 2013 led him to look at options to train and support young adults, where he found PTC Sports, a management franchise that delivers high quality coaching services for a range of sports and schools.

After rigorous preparation and remote support from FranchisingWorks, Jason launched his PTC Sports franchise for South East London in March 14 with his two colleagues Dorian Jones and Deryk Greer, and with a £8,000 investment from the FranchisingWorks Licence Fund.

Jason states:

I feel very grateful for the support I received from the FranchisingWorks team, especially Annette Dhami who worked tirelessly with me, to ensure my transition from business enthusiast to business owner was envisioned and eventually realised.” 

FranchisingWorks Business Advisor Annette Dhami adds:

“Jason worked diligently throughout his process of starting the business, and demonstrated all of the key skills of a successful franchise – I wish him all the best as his business launches and grows.”

Jason now offers PTC Sports coaching services to schools across his territory.

Gary Lowes- Business Doctors

A senior manager from the construction industry, Gary was made redundant in 2011 and after a period running his own consultancy business, Gary began to search for alternative routes to utilise his extensive skill base. Referred by his local Jobcentre, Gary sought support from the FranchisingWorks programme and began to explore opportunities in self-employment through franchising.

Keen to use his networking and relationship building skills, along with his excellent business acumen, Gary was introduced to the reputable business coaching franchise Business Doctors.

After months of research and planning, Gary was able to secure an investment of £11,450+VAT from the FranchisingWorks Licence Fund towards his business, which he used to leverage the remaining finance from Natwest.

He comments:

“FranchisingWorks provided an invaluable challenging and guiding support process to ensure that I made the right decision with my new business. I am excited to be working with SME businesses to help them achieve their growth aspirations; from time to time we all need a helping hand to achieve our goals.”

FranchisingWorks Business Advisor Annette Dhami comments:

“Gary is the perfect example of an incredibly skilled individual who has utilised our support to launch a new business that now makes a valuable contribution to his local economy. Gary is more than competent to successfully grow this business and we wish him all the best as he launches across his area.”

Gary fully launched the franchise this January ‘14 and is supporting businesses throughout North Cheshire helping them to grow and develop.

Tim Gallery- Ovenclean

Tameside Resident Timothy Gallery has started an oven-cleaning franchise after being made redundant from a long career in the print industry.

Determined to take control, Tim joined the FranchisingWorks programme in April 2013 to seek opportunities to start his own business. He researched franchising with the support of the FranchisingWorks team and chose an Ovenclean franchise as the fit for him to run in his local area of Tameside and Glossop.

Without personal savings to invest, this might otherwise have been a pipe dream. Yet Tim’s tenacity and determination earned him a £10,000+VAT investment in his business from the FranchisingWorks Licence Fund, allowing him to leverage the remaining lending required to start the business from Natwest.

FranchisingWorks Business Advisor Annette Dhami comments:

“Tim showed excellent drive and focus in preparing to start up his business. He is a great example of why the unemployment market has so much to offer the franchise industry – smart, enthusiastic and determined, I don’t doubt that Tim can build a strong business.  This will not only contribute towards a better life for himself, but he will also be delivering a valuable service to his local community”

Tim launched his business in November 2013 after being out of work for five months. Tim had to a fantastic start in business, breaking even in the first month of operation ahead of target. He says:

“We have had some lovely comments from satisfied customers, who have said they will rebook next year!”

David Blakey- Business Doctors

In October 2009 David was made redundant from a 25 year career in the construction industry, the last 10 at Director-level. Exploring new options, he set up a small business but found that, without support, progress fluctuated; he decided that he wanted to secure a more stable option and therefore began to explore franchising.

David attended the FranchisingWorks ‘Find out about Franchising’ workshop in October 2012, by which time he’d been without stable employment for 3 years and was keen to start something new. He began to explore white collar business options and identified Business Doctors, which provides specialist business coaching services to SMEs.

Having visited the franchisor and attended a coaching session run by a Business Doctors franchisee, whilst researching his local market and preparing business plans, in March 2013 David secured an £18,500+ VAT investment from the FranchisingWorks Licence Fund and launched a Regional Business Doctors franchise for the Greater Manchester region.

As a Regional Franchisee David has a market of over 20,000 SME’s to which he can offer his services, supporting them to improve their performances. As a result, David’s business positively impacts the Greater Manchester employment market, and David himself also plans to recruit a Sales Manager and an Associate in the business.

FranchisingWorks Business Advisor Annette Dhami comments:

David is an incredibly skilled individual and FranchisingWorks is delighted to provide a boost of support to David so that he can launch his business and support other businesses across Greater Manchester, benefiting both himself and the wider community.

Jim Warburton – PC Pal 

Jim became unemployed in April/May 2011 following a 15 year career as a mechanical and electrical inspector. Jim says: “I tried to secure a job every day since [being made redundant] with no real luck whatsoever.”

“When the job centre told me about a seminar to discuss the possibilities of franchising taking place in their offices, I put my name forward to attend. I will be completely honest and say that I was extremely cautious and pretty doubtful about what I was going to hear at this meeting.”

Jim came on the Find Out About Franchising workshop in October 2011 and – changing his mind about franchising – went on to attend three 1-2-1 meetings with the programme.

“Following a good deal of research looking into several franchise businesses, I finally decided on the PC Pal model. This particular franchise had been vetted by several banks and lending mediums and was also endorsed by FranchisingWorks, and so gave me quite a lot of encouragement to go back into the franchise arena”.

Jim received £10,000 in funding from the FranchisingWorks Licence Fund and will start his computer repair and support business in September 2012.

Jim comments:

“I think the programme is of great interest and offers real help to establish a new franchise and with the work situation getting worse every day, I think working self-employed (though not expecting vast wealth – you only get out what you put in), in work terms, should be there for all if at all possible.

I am really looking forward to my new career and I am intent on working as hard as I possibly can to make it work.”

Damian Holland – PC Pal

Formerly a Medical Underwriter for over 20 years, Damian Holland was made redundant in Aug 2011 and decided to explore self-employment through franchising with the help and support of FranchisingWorks.

“[The FranchisingWorks programme] helped me with business planning and financial forecasting and also enabled me to apply for funding”, Damian says. “It also provided me with better insight into the franchising world and what to look for and what questions to ask potential franchisors.”
Damian went on to set up his own PC Pal franchise with FranchisingWorks’ funding. PC Pal is a mobile PC repair and support service which Damian operates locally in the Stockport area, providing the service to domestic users and small business users.

“I have always been interested in computers and technology and PC Pal seemed an ideal career choice. They provided the opportunity to obtain industry qualifications and appeared to be a well organized and professional business.”
Damian plans to build his business, establishing the PC Pal brand in his local area.

Michael Frith and Programme Manager, Rob Dancy

Michael Frith – VIP Bin Cleaning

After 3 years’ unemployment, Eccles resident Michael Frith recently started his own franchise business with the advice, support and funding of FranchisingWorks. Michael previously worked in scaffolding but was laid off in 2009 as the recession hit the business he worked for.

Michael found it very difficult to get any work at all but continued to try through his local job centre. In June 2011 Michael was introduced to FranchisingWorks by his job centre and he went along to a free workshop. His journey back into employment began that day.

“I knew of franchising but I was not aware of the broad range of businesses it covers and how to approach and consider franchising as a route into self-employment. The workshop was both interesting and inspiring. I came out thinking that I can do this and highly valued the following 1-2-1 sessions which offered me guidance, support, access to finance, introduction to reputable franchisors and introduction to banks. FranchisingWorks was with me every step of the way from the initial workshop to starting my franchise”.

Michael Frith chose to start a VIP Bin Cleaning franchise. “It is a long established franchise with some fantastic people behind it. I was attracted by the quality of the brand, level of support, simple common sense and easy to run business concept with repeat business. It also gives me the opportunity to grow as big as I can and want to”.

Michael has only just started his business having completed his head office training and launch week in early January 2012. However, he states, “For me so far the comfort has been the total reassurance that firstly the business model works – I have already signed up more customers than forecasted and secondly the detail of the training and support. I can call, email or text whenever I am stuck and need help. I am not alone’.

Michael plans to grow the business to 1,200 regular domestic customers serving them every 4 wks from his Trafford territory of 91,000 households. Initially it will be just him running the business but he hopes to eventually take on a second vehicle and employ staff.

Michael says that “Words are not really enough for me to show my appreciation and thanks for all the help and support I have had to get me to where I am today. Prior to this I was continuously unemployed for 3 years so it is extremely exciting to now not only be employed but be employed by my own business which has the ability to significantly change my life for the better and build me a solid future. Thank you”.

Colin Hughes and Programme Manager, Robert Dancy

Colin Hughes – VIP Bin Cleaning

After 25 years in corporate roles, Colin Hughes, 53, became unemployed. He realised that his best chance of finding work and job security in the current economic environment would be self-employment.

“I started my own business with a partner but it could not support both of us so he bought my share of the business. After various short-term projects I found myself unemployed in November 2010. Then through the Stockport Silver Entrepreneur programme I came across the FranchisingWorks project”.

Colin says “The FranchisingWorks project was helpful in a number of ways but primarily in introducing candidates to a number of credible, pre-approved franchisors, cutting down the time needed to search through the vast choice available, and giving guidance to franchisees on how to decide which type of franchise would be best for them. It was also helpful in funding the franchise launch and making contacts with banks and other funding providers”

“FranchisingWorks helped me put together a check list of what I wanted from a franchise e.g. no long term expensive commitments e.g.  property lease, staff and other overheads, early positive cash flow, large potential customer base, good sales and marketing strategies”

The franchise Colin eventually chose was VIP Bin Cleaning, which provides a wheelie bin cleaning service to domestic and commercial customers.  Colin’s franchise is for the South Manchester territory.

“The highlight of the business so far has been the reaction from customers.  Many have told me they have been looking for a high quality and reliable service provider and are delighted VIP are now in the South Manchester area. I can already see the potential in the VIP business for me to buy another territory in the Manchester area and employ several staff in a variety of roles”

Mark Harvey, UK Managing Director of VIP Bin Cleaning, said “The successful launch of the first VIP Bin Cleaning franchise in Manchester was made possible by the sheer determination and support of several people including FranchisingWorks, Colin Hughes (the franchisee) and VIP itself. All of these people have been instrumental in making this franchise possible and we all hope and believe this will lead to many more opportunities for the people of Greater Manchester and it shows what can be achieved when people work together and believe in what they are doing”

Neela Jackson – The Creation Station

Neela Jackson – The Creation Station

Neela Jackson was a lecturer in Art & Design at Tameside College for 7 years, before deciding to leave the post when her daughter was 18 months old.

“I wanted to achieve a better work life balance and more flexibility. I gained employment as a Personal Adviser for the Connexions service before being made redundant in March 2011”.

“FranchisingWorks has helped me immensely. Initially it provided a really good insight into what franchising is through the workshops and it  made me realise that franchising was a good option for me and that as someone new to self-employment,  a franchise could offer the information and support I might need”

“I’d gone to the workshop with the idea that I wanted to be self-employed and with another children’s activity franchise in mind, Programme Manager Rob Dancy advised me to look at other franchise options and compare them. As a result I discovered The Creation Station, which provides no mess, no stress fun creative opportunities for children and parents to experience together. In addition, one-to-one meetings with Rob helped me to weigh up the pros and cons of the business, conduct effective due diligence, formulate a business plan, work out financial projections and apply for funding. FranchisingWorks has been a support and point of contact every step of the way”

I chose The Creation Station because it immediately ticked all the boxes in terms of flexibility and the work/life balance that I wanted. It was important to me to be able to drop my daughter off at school and pick her up; the business allows me to be able to do this”

Neela will begin trading this summer and aims to employ at least one other person towards the end of her first year in business.

Andrew Hurley inside his Snap-on Tools van

Andrew Hurley – Snap-on Tools

Oldham resident Andrew Hurley previously worked as a business development manager for 10 years and was made redundant in 2009. Following various other short-term roles and a 12 month period of unemployment, he was introduced to FranchisingWorks through his local Job Centre. “The initial workshop was very informative and I valued the level of understanding and experience the programme manager had in the franchise industry. The ongoing guidance and support was fantastic and the level of due diligence they carried out on both me and the franchise company I was interested in was second to none. Also FranchisingWorks’ ability to help me get access to funding made my investment feasible”.

Andrew chose to start a Snap-on Tools franchise and has now been in business for 2 months. He says “It is early days but current sales are meeting my expectations”. In the next year, Andrew hopes to have at least 150 customers and have built a number of strong relationships with main dealers and proprietors. Across his 5 year plan, business growth looks promising; he may take on a second van and an employee.

“If it wasn’t for FranchisingWorks level of support, guidance and access to finance, I would not be where I am today. I cannot thank them enough”.

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